The Orlando Magic followed up their 8-game homestand with a 117-108 road victory against the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night. Paolo Banchero finished with a team-high 32 points - marking his first 30+ point performance since Feb. 14. Franz Wagner regained his groove, finishing with 24 points and knocking down three three-pointers for the first time since March 6.
Things are looking up for Orlando, which sits at 45-31 on the year and currently 4th in the Eastern Conference. As for it's opponent last night, things aren't looking so promising for New Orleans. Brandon Ingram missed his 7th straight game with a knee injury suffered on March 21. Zion Williamson has taken responsibility for the scoring absence averaging over 25 points over the stretch, but I saw a cause for concern for the Pelicans star on Wednesday night. Williamson checked out at the 7:24 mark of the 4th quarter and would not return to the game. Reports of a potential illness and injury suffered in the game were reported as the reasoning for the star not returning to a single-digit ball game, but I think this adds to a growing problem for the Pelicans.
Brandon Kravitz and I dove into this further earlier today on In The Zone. Check out the podcast linked below or the full conversation.