Desmond Bane, Magic outlast Suns with strong start, finish

Field Level Media|published: Tue 31st March, 22:12 2026

Mar 31, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) handles the ball in front of Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) during the first quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images

Desmond Bane scored 21 points and Jalen Suggs added 20 to help the Orlando Magic earn a 115-111 victory over the visiting Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.

Paolo Banchero added 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists while Wendell Carter Jr. had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Magic (40-35), who had dropped seven of their previous eight. Jamal Cain and Jett Howard both scored 15 for Orlando, which won despite committing 25 turnovers.

Devin Booker led Phoenix (42-34) with 34 points followed by Royce O'Neale's 14. Collin Gillespie and Rasheer Fleming scored 11 apiece and Grayson Allen finished with 10. Oso Ighodaro compiled five points and 10 rebounds for the Suns, who have lost seven of their last 10.

After trailing by 14 at halftime, the Suns began the third quarter on an 11-2 spurt, cutting their deficit to 72-67 on Jalen Green's dunk.

With just over a minute remaining in the third, Cain's triple gave Orlando an eight-point lead before Jordan Goodwin's buzzer-beating 3-pointer stamped an 8-0 run to pull the Suns even for the first time since the game's opening minutes.

Fleming's dunk opened the fourth and gave Phoenix its first lead of the game. After Brooks' pullup jumper put the Suns ahead 107-105 at the 5:26 mark, Banchero and Bane's layups gave the Magic the lead for good.

With Orlando leading 111-108, Bane made a floater with six seconds left to push the margin to five. Booker answered with a 3-pointer with 3.6 seconds remaining. Tristan da Silva then sealed the win with a pair of free throws.

Orlando opened up a 22-10 lead on Suggs' floater with 5:15 left in the first quarter. The margin ballooned to 16 before Allen's 3-pointer punctuated a 10-1 run to cut the Suns' deficit to 28-21 entering the second.

Phoenix inched closer as Mo Wagner and Banchero each earned technical fouls in the midst of an 8-0 Suns run to pull within three.

Orlando answered with nine straight points, and Bane's buzzer-beating floater gave the Magic a 70-56 halftime lead.

--Field Level Media

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