In the weeks and days leading up to opening night of the 2026-27 NBA season, Magic players and coaches alike expressed excitement about starting a new era in Orlando franchise history under first-time head coach Sean Sweeney on the right foot.
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The Hawks, however, had other plans.
On a night that saw 22 lead changes and both the Magic and Hawks lead by double digits, it was Atlanta which pulled away late to capture a 132-125 victory in front of a packed house at Kia Center on Wednesday evening.
“The 3-point shooting for Atlanta in the second half — they were 8 for 20 — and then in the fourth quarter, we had a tough time shooting,” Sweeney said when asked what he saw as the difference down the stretch. “Just in general, we can improve a lot on our execution in that second half.”
Atlanta’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker (31 points) sunk a pair of clutch 3-pointers that put the Hawks ahead by four points with 1:27 left in the game and then by five with 51 seconds remaining.
The Magic trailed by as many as 14 points early in the third quarter but responded with a 17-4 run that saw them tie the game at 95 late in the frame and shortly thereafter take their first lead of the game at 97-95 since the 7:43 mark of the second quarter. Atlanta then outscored Orlando 33-25 in the fourth quarter.
Although Paolo Banchero led all scorers with 35 points and neared a triple-double with seven rebounds and 10 assists, the Magic failed to take care the ball (20 turnovers) and couldn’t convert at the free throw line (nine missed free throws).
“There’s plenty to work on, certainly,” Sweeney said. “A lot of correctable things. Defensively, I think we can do a much better job than we did tonight. And we will do a much better job than we did tonight.”
Atlanta (1-0) had beaten Orlando in all four regular-season matchups last year as well.
The Magic (0-1) remain at home when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves for the lone time in the regular season on Friday night.
Starting 5
The Magic opened with their regular five – Jalen Suggs, Desmond Bane, Franz Wagner, Banchero and Wendell Carter Jr. – when they looked to play with pace early.
Banchero got off to an efficient start when he converted six of his first seven shots from the floor, including his first three 3-pointers, to lead all scorers with 22 points in the first half.
It didn’t help Wagner that he picked up his third foul at the 11:14 mark of the second quarter and only was able to see eight minutes of first-half action. The Hawks opened the second frame on a 7-0 run and outscored the Magic 44-29 in the quarter with Wagner off the floor for majority in that span.
On the first play of the third quarter, Wagner stole the ball from Hawks big man Onyeka Okongwu and scored with ease in transition. In fact, Wagner scored seven of Orlando’s first 10 points out of the half. Wagner ended with 22 points, six rebounds and five assists in 29 minutes.
Wednesday’s game marked the 73rd time during their NBA careers that the duo of Wagner and Banchero has scored 20-plus points in the same game.
“I don’t think offense was the problem,” Banchero said. “We scored 125, scored a lot of points. So, we’ve just got to find a way to get more stops and get some of those shooters that they had off the line.”
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Bane (18 points) missed his first three 3-pointers and opened 1 for 6 from distance before sinking back-to-back long-range buckets in the third quarter. He still finished 3 for 10 from downtown.
Carter neared a double-double with 22 points and seven rebounds in 31 minutes.
Second unit
The Magic were still without Anthony Black (right ankle sprain) on Wednesday night and will continue to be without Noah Penda (partially torn right hamstring) for an extended period.
Sweeney turned to Tristan da Silva, Jase Richardson, Goga Bitadze, Jamal Cain and Nikola Vucevic as his first five players off the bench.
It was da Silva who led the bench in scoring when he knocked four 3-pointers for 12 points in the first half. He didn’t hit another 3-point the rest of the night, however, ending 4 for 10 from distance with just 14 points.
Richardson was the only other reserve to score in the first half with a layup early in the second quarter. He didn’t score again with two rebounds and three assists.
Bitadze sunk four critical free throws during Orlando’s third-quarter push. The reserve center finished with six points and six rebounds in 12 minutes.
Atlanta’s bench, powered by 16 points from guard Aaron Wiggins, outscored Orlando’s 34-22.
Too many turnovers
Two-time All-Defensive guard Dyson Daniels and the Hawks defensive pressure made it difficult at times for the Magic to bring the ball up the court, which led to early mistakes by Orlando.
In the first half alone, the Magic turned the ball over 13 times for 18 points while only scoring seven points on eight takeaways on the other end of the floor. Daniels came up with four steals before the break while four different Magic players had at least two turnovers, including three apiece from Banchero and Wagner.
Orlando was able to tighten up some on the defensive end when it ended the night notching 18 points off 17 Atlanta turnovers. But the Hawks pressure didn’t go away when they totaled 24 points off 20 takeaways.
“We definitely felt prepared,” Banchero said. “I think some of the stuff that killed us tonight, had been a common theme throughout the preseason (and) into the regular season now. So, we’ve just got to clean that up and address it. And just get better.”
Paint points
The Hawks turned those turnovers into easy points in the paint while they attacked the basket early and often.
Atlanta not only outscored Orlando 38-18 in the paint in the first half but also had double the amount of attempts in the paint (30 vs. 15) before the break.
The Magic had more success scoring near the basket from there, recording 32 points in the paint in the second half alone. Atlanta still finished with a 60-50 advantage in the paint for the contest.
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Jason Beede can be reached at [email protected]