The Orlando Magic rallied late to secure a 116-105 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night, moving up to seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner each scored 24 points for Orlando, with Banchero also grabbing 10 rebounds. The Magic, who trailed most of the game, used a dominant fourth quarter to outscore San Antonio 37-21 and seal the win.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 23 points, knocking down seven three-pointers as the Magic (37-40) won for the fifth time in seven games. The victory allowed them to leapfrog the Atlanta Hawks (36-39) in the East playoff race.
Harrison Barnes led the Spurs with 24 points, while Julian Champagnie chipped in 19. Stephon Castle added 16 points, and Chris Paul had 10.
San Antonio (31-44) lost its fifth straight game and saw its already slim chances of making the Play-In Tournament take another hit. The Spurs are five games behind the 10th-place Sacramento Kings with only seven contests remaining.
Despite missing Jeremy Sochan, who was ruled out just before tip-off with back spasms, the Spurs built a double-digit lead in the third quarter. A 9-0 run spanning halftime gave them a 68-61 advantage early in the second half.
Orlando struggled offensively in the third, scoring just 18 points, but flipped the script in the final frame. Banchero took over, scoring 11 of his 24 points in the fourth on 5-of-6 shooting.
San Antonio held a 93-91 lead with 7:29 left, but the Magic responded with a 14-2 run to take control. Banchero, Wagner, and Caldwell-Pope fueled the late-game push as Orlando clamped down defensively.
Reserve forward Caleb Houstan provided a key spark off the bench, scoring 12 points and hitting four three-pointers in 25 minutes.
Chris Paul made history in the loss, playing in his 1,347th career game to surpass Kobe Bryant for 15th place on the NBA’s all-time games played list. The 39-year-old has appeared in all 75 games for the Spurs this season, making him the second-oldest active player in the league behind LeBron James.
The Magic shot 47.8% from the field and went 18-for-47 from three-point range. San Antonio finished at 49.4% from the floor but struggled in the fourth, missing key shots down the stretch.
