Franz Wagner scored 31 points and Paolo Banchero had 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists as the Orlando Magic beat the Washington Wizards 130-125 on Friday night to tie a franchise record with their ninth straight victory.
It was the third straight 30-point game for Franz Wagner, whose brother Moritz Wagner added 18 points to help Orlando beat Washington for the second time in three nights.
The Magic have had four nine-game winning streaks, previously in 1994, 2001 and 2010-11. They are one of only two NBA franchises without a double-digit win streak on their record. The Indiana Pacers’ longest win streak is also nine games.
“It’s not easy to stack up wins in this league,” noted Moritz Wagner.
“It’s pretty special,” Banchero said. “Eventually I think a loss is going to come, but we just want to keep it rolling for as long as we can. But you’re not surprised when you do something like this because we’ve got great chemistry and we play really well together.”
The Magic will try to set the franchise record Saturday night at Brooklyn, site of their last defeat Nov. 14.
“It’s big time for this group, but more importantly I think it’s big time for the fans and the organization,” coach Jamahl Mosley said. “There’s an energy, there’s a vibe, a buzz about this group, and our guys are doing a good job of embracing it — not getting too high or too low but being able to register that this is something special.”
Kyle Kuzma scored 27 points and Daniel Gafford had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Wizards, who have lost 11 of 12.
Kuzma, who fouled out in the final minute, left the two-game set a big believer.
“Look at Franz and look at Paolo,” he said. “They can manipulate the game because they are so big, so strong, and just [play] downhill. They are a problem.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
