Cole Anthony and Franz Wagner led the way for the Orlando Magic as they picked up their second Summer League win over the Jalen Green-less Houston Rockets. Jalen Suggs (thumb), RJ Hampton (rest), and Jalen Green (hamstring) were all unavailable. This matchup was not nearly as intriguing as it could've been but there were still some positive observations in a 89-76 Magic win.
It was nice to see Cole Anthony make confident decisions with the ball in his hands and did a nice job leading the team after a somewhat a head-scratching first three games. He had entered Sunday evening making only 5 of his first 25 attempts from the field in Summer League but played with much more conviction against Houston. (Anthony 15 pts 6-13 fg, 7 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk)
Isiah Thomas was on the ESPN2 broadcast and was very complimentary of Franz Wagner. "Zeke" mentioned that Franz was the player he was focusing on coming into the game and he liked what he saw. While he missed a few "bunnies", he was always in the right place as far as spacing and cutting. (Wagner 13 pts 5-9 fg, 3 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl)
Yante Maten, previously of the Korean Basketball League, ended up having the stat sheet of the night for the Magic with 18 points, 9 boards, 2 steals and 2 blocks. He played his college ball for Georgia and had a cup of coffee (two games played) with the Heat in '18-'19.
For the Rockets, rookie Josh Christopher (Jalen Green's high school teammate) led the scoring with 22 points on 7-19 shooting but he did turn the ball over 7 times. 16th overall pick Alperen Sengun continues to show promise. He has a patience about him and has the ability to create shots and getting to the free throw line by selling pump fakes (Sengun 13 pts 5-10 fg, 10 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 3 blk.)
The Orlando Magic will take on number one overall pick Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons on Monday night at 8pm on ESPN2 in what will most likely be their final Summer League game. I'm curious to see if both Cole Anthony and RJ Hampton will play. The Magic and Pistons are both 2-2 in Summer League entering the game.
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