Franz Wagner returns, but Blazers stymie Magic

The Portland Trail Blazers used a stifling defensive effort to spoil Orlando Magic star Franz Wagner's return and scored their second three-game winning streak of the season with a 101-79 road rout on Thursday.

Wagner, who missed 20 games with an oblique injury, scored a team-high 20 points on 9-of-19 shooting from the floor. Portland held the rest of the Magic to just 17-of-57 shooting (29.8 percent), including a 1-of-14 performance by Paolo Banchero.

Banchero's eight points were his fewest since a six-point outing on Nov. 29, 2023.

The Blazers, meanwhile, complemented their best defensive showing of the season with a balanced scoring effort. Five Blazers scored in double figures, led by Anfernee Simons with 21 points.

All five Portland starters scored at least eight points. Toumani Camara finished with 16, Deni Avdija scored 13 and Jerami Grant had 12. Robert Williams III grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds to go with eight points and four blocked shots.

Jabari Walker came off the bench to score 10 and swiped a career-high six steals. Walker's defense helped Portland force 22 Orlando turnovers.

The Blazers led the entire second half, but did not take complete control until the latter portion of the fourth quarter when they outscored the Magic 21-10 in the final 6:50. Portland's run was 21-7 before a Jett Howard 3-pointer in the closing seconds.

Portland held Orlando to field-goal droughts of 2:11 and 2:19 over that stretch.

Howard scored 10 off the bench for the Magic and Tristan da Silva added 16. The duo was responsible for all but one of Orlando's six made 3-pointers, with da Silva shooting 2-of-5 and Howard going 3-of-4. Anthony Black, who scored 12, went 1-for-1 beyond the arc.

Portland shot 9-of-28 from 3-point range but dominated with a 58-30 advantage in points in the paint. The Blazers shot 31 of 54 (57.4 percent) on 2-point field-goal attempts.

--Field Level Media