Magic vs timberwolves delivered a decisive result in Orlando on Wednesday night, with the Magic beating the Timberwolves 132-120 in their home finale. Paolo Banchero led Orlando with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Desmond Bane added 18 points and six assists. The win lifted Orlando to 44-36 and into seventh place in the Eastern Conference with two road games left.
Orlando controls the pace after halftime
Magic vs timberwolves was tied 47-47 before Orlando turned the game with a strong push into halftime and then widened the gap in the third quarter. Franz Wagner scored twice to help break the tie and spark a 63-53 lead at the break, and Jalen Suggs followed with two 3-pointers and a layup during a 22-6 run that helped push the margin out to 24 points.
Wagner finished with 17 points, and Goga Bitadze came off the bench with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Tristan da Silva added 12 points, while Suggs and Jevon Carter scored 11 apiece. Orlando shot 53. 7% overall in its home finale, a sharp offensive showing that held up even as Minnesota made repeated scoring runs.
Shannon Jr. sets a career high for Minnesota
Terrence Shannon Jr. led Minnesota with a career-high 33 points and also had five assists. He scored 29 of those points in the second half, hitting five of seven 3-point shots and finishing 11 of 14 from the field. Jaden McDaniels returned after missing six games with a left knee injury and scored 18 points in 19 minutes.
Magic vs timberwolves also came with Minnesota short-handed. Anthony Edwards missed the game with a right knee injury, while Julius Randle sat out for the first time this season and Rudy Gobert missed his fifth straight game. Minnesota has now lost five of its past seven.
What the standings shift means
The result matters for Orlando because it moved the team into seventh place in a tight race for playoff and play-in positions. With road games remaining at Chicago on Friday and Boston on Sunday, Orlando can still finish anywhere from sixth to ninth in the Eastern Conference.
For Minnesota, the loss followed Tuesday night’s win at Indiana that clinched its Western Conference playoff spot, but this game showed how different the matchup looked with several regular starters unavailable. The second meeting of Magic vs timberwolves on the season ended the same way as the first: with Orlando in control.
What comes next is straightforward. Orlando heads to Chicago on Friday with its postseason position still unsettled, while Minnesota visits Houston on Friday night and waits for its final regular-season stretch to play out. Magic vs timberwolves may be over for now, but the standings pressure around both teams is not.
