Magic knock off Nets in home opener, 116-101

ORLANDO, Fla. — Protecting home court has been point of emphasis for the Magic under fourth-year head coach Jamahl Mosley.

And, although it wasn’t easy, Orlando did just that on Friday night in its home opener against the visiting Nets at Kia Center.

In a physical bout between East foes, Franz Wagner led the Magic with 29 points in the 116-101 victory.

Brooklyn (0-2) had four starters finish in double figures, but Orlando outscored them 67-55 in the second half after only leading by three at the break.

Orlando (2-0) has a quick turnaround when they travel to Memphis to face the Grizzlies on the second night of a back-to-back Saturday at FedExForum.

Starting 5

Mosley rolled with the same starting five as opening night: Jalen Suggs, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Wagner, Paolo Banchero (15 points) and Wendell Carter Jr. against Brooklyn.

Orlando opened 4 of 6 on corner 3s. Despite the strong showing from distance, the Magic seemed stuck on offense at times with multiple 3-4 minute segments without scoring in the first half.

But the success from 3 continued in the second half before Orlando finished 15 of 30 from distance while limiting Brooklyn to 37.8% shooting from 3.

Wagner racked up nine quick points in first 12 minutes before he finished 3 of 6 from 3-point range for the second straight game.

Caldwell-Pope impacted the contest on both ends with 10 points, two assists, two steals and two blocks.

Second unit

Jonathan Isaac (left hip contusion) was ruled out pre-game after he suffered the injury in Miami on Wednesday.

Mosley said pre-game Orlando had different options when deciding how to fill Isaac’s minutes and the flow of the game would play a factor.

The Magic used 10 players in the first half with reserve center Goga Bitadze filling in for Isaac, but Bitadze didn’t see the court in the second half.

He joined Anthony Black, Cole Anthony, Gary Harris and Moe Wagner off the bench, which outscored Brooklyn’s bench 44-23.

Black (10 points) was aggressive on both ends. But he picked up three fouls before the break and what would have been his fourth before a challenge by Mosley was successful.

Father-son matchup

Magic guard-forward Jett Howard faced his father, Juwan, for the first time in his basketball career. Juwan Howard joined Brooklyn’s coaching staff as an assistant in April after he was fired by the University of Michigan as head coach of the men’s basketball program a month prior.

Jett shared with the Sentinel that he spoke with his father earlier in the day.

“Any time I can beat up on him, I will,” Jett Howard joked. “This is a good opportunity for that, for sure.”

Jett Howard played for his father at Michigan as a freshman and their relationship has only strengthened since he was drafted by Orlando, where Juwan spent one season (2003-04) during his 19-year NBA career.

“Just bonding over ball has been great,” Jett said. “He’s been a really good mentor just on how to stay the course and the big picture of things.”