Franz Wagner leads Magic past Suns, to sixth consecutive victory

On a night when both sides were missing their top stars, the Magic (without All-Star Paolo Banchero) dominated the paint and shared the ball to hand the Kevin Durant-less Suns their fourth consecutive loss.

For Orlando, the 109-99 victory at Footprint Center is its sixth in a row, just its second on the road through the first 15 games and what coach Jamahl Mosley was looking for from his group when it opened a three-game trip out West.

Franz Wagner led the way with 32 points, Anthony Black added season-high 20 off the bench and the Magic led by as many as 19 against the Suns, who fell Sunday on the road against the Timberwolves at the buzzer.

Orlando’s road win over the Suns is franchise’s first win at Phoenix (9-6) since Nov. 30, 2018, snapping a five-game road losing skid to the West foe.

The Magic (9-6) continue their trip on the West Coast against the Clippers on Wednesday inside the league’s newest arena, the Intuit Dome, on the first night of a back-to-back (Orlando is at the Lakers on Thursday).

Starting 5

Wendell Carter Jr. (left foot plantar fasciitis) was downgraded from doubtful to out earlier Monday, which led to Mosley to lean with the same first five on the floor as the last seven games: Jalen Suggs, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (9 points), Franz Wagner, Tristan da Silva and Goga Bitadze.

Named Eastern Conference Player of the Week the same day, Wagner record his eighth game in a row with 20-plus points. The dynamic scoring was needed for the Magic, who continue to be without Banchero (torn right abdominal muscle).

Wagner attacked the basket (12 paint points) and sunk four triples to go with eight assists and five rebounds.

Bitadze made his presence felt on both ends with an efficient 17 points (7-of-8 shooting) and two blocks. He had 15 points by halftime and recorded his fourth double-double by way of 10 rebounds.

Suggs was involved early on offense with seven first-quarter points before he finished with 12 and two blocks.

Carter missed his eighth game in a row.

Second unit

Off the bench came Black, Gary Harris, Cole Anthony, Jonathan Isaac and Moe Wagner.

Portraying his ability as a playmaker, Black dished out a career-high seven assists by halftime and notched two more in the final two frames. He added four rebounds and three steals in 33 minutes.

Isaac helped defend Phoenix’s Devin Booker (17 points, 5 fouls) at times and added seven points with three blocks.

Moe Wagner was active in the paint with nine points and six rebounds.

Rookie watch

Da Silva made his ninth straight start of his young career and continued to do the small things for the Magic.

His impact went beyond scoring (3 points) when the No. 18 pick racked up six assists and five rebounds in 26 minutes.

Second-chance scoring

The Magic had some some uncharacteristic problems with Phoenix’s ability to score second-chance points.

Orlando entered the matchup limiting opponents to 9.1 second-chance points, which led the league, but allowed 12 second-chance points by the 9-minute mark of the second quarter.

Phoenix, which outrebounded Orlando 45-38, finished with 20 second-chance points.