This is the upside of the game between the Utah Jazz and Orlando Magic on Wednesday night in Salt Lake City: One of those teams will win.
Ten games into the NBA season, the Magic have three wins. That is an embarrassment of riches against the Jazz, who have just one victory in 11 games and have lost nine in a row. Utah has not held an opponent to less than 110 points this season.
The Magic should have a bit of confidence and momentum after defeating the Sacramento Kings, who like the Jazz stand 1-10. Orlando won in the California capital 107-100 on Tuesday night.
Franz Wagner totaled 33 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to help Orlando snap a four-game losing streak. Anthony Black added 26 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals in the Magic’s first win in November.
“We got better activity. We still had a couple of lapses, but we’ll get better,” Wagner said. “Big one (Wednesday) for us.”
Orlando is looking for consecutive victories for the first time this season. Wednesday’s game will wrap up a four-game Western Conference road trip, which also encompassed an overtime loss to the Golden State Warriors and a setback against the Phoenix Suns.
Wagner helped Orlando take the lead for good in Sacramento by finishing a game-changing 18-5 run in the first half with a 3-pointer. The Magic led 57-52 at halftime and never trailed in the second half.
Orlando played without Paolo Banchero (right ankle), Jalen Suggs (right knee), Jonathan Isaac (left knee) and Tristan da Silva (left calf).
The Magic will go against an equally undermanned Jazz team that seems to be making progress, despite its record.
Playing without four starters — Lauri Markkanen (right wrist), Keyonte George (right ankle), Jaren Jackson Jr. (right MCL tear) and Jusuf Nurkic (right foot) — Utah rallied late to make the game interesting against the visiting Miami Heat on Tuesday, losing 115-109 after being down by 20 points entering the fourth quarter.
On the bright side, the Jazz’s two up-and-comers played well.
Rookie Darryn Peterson, selected second overall in the June draft, scored 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field against Miami after netting a career-high 26 in his previous outing. Though he had five of Utah’s 18 turnovers, the guard had four assists and four rebounds.
Second-year forward Ace Bailey, the No. 5 pick in the 2025 draft, also made a big contribution for Utah on Tuesday. He had 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds.
Bailey is 20; Peterson is 19.
“Both of those guys are showing a ton of poise where they are in their careers,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said. “You’re watching their understanding grow. For those two to play within the construct of the team and to have that type of success, it shows a lot of growth.”
Isaiah Collier had his best game of the season with 17 points, five rebounds and five assists off the bench.
Hardy was pleased that his short-handed team battled until the final buzzer after Giannis Antetokounmpo, who finished with 30 points, pushed the Heat to a 23-7 early lead. Utah outscored Miami 37-23 in the fourth quarter.
“There’s a lot of hope when you watch your guys play like that,” Hardy said. “They’re not giving in, and I think that we got a lift from a bunch of guys tonight. I thought everybody that took the floor was competing and trying to win — obviously a great rally there in the fourth quarter.”
