The Magic must rely more on what got them back into the series against the Cavs — physicality, a core of young players, and a bit of trash talking.
in Wednesday’s Game 5 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Moritz Wagner was fed up with the boos.
They began in earnest within the first minute of the second quarter when the Orlando Magic center stepped up to the line after drawing a foul off Cavs counterpart Tristan Thompson. The jeers turned to cheers when Wagner missed the first of his two shots.
The boos ramped up again with 8:11 left in the quarter as Wagner exchanged words with Thompson after another foul that sent him to the line. The crowd at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse loudly approved when Wagner again clanked his first shot.
With 5:53 left before the half, Wagner swished in a 3-pointer from the top of the arc. As he jogged back, the 6-11 big man formed his hand into three fingers, brought them to his lips and blew a kiss to the crowd.
It’s been a tenuous relationship between Wagner and the Cavs home crowd since the beginning of the series. In Game 1, Wagner reached for a loose ball with his right hand while shoving Cavs forward Evan Mobley out of bounds with his left. As he walked away and bumped into Cavs guard Darius Garland, Wagner turned toward his teammates on the bench and clapped several times. Isaac Okoro then purposely bumped into Wagner, which drew a technical foul on the Cavs forward and the ire of the crowd.
On the Magic’s next offensive possession, Wagner secured an offensive rebound off Joe Ingles‘ missed shot. He finished the play with a put-in and turned to his bench again.
„With a crazy face, he’s got spit coming down his chin, and just yelled ‚I’m built for this.‘ I love it,“ Orlando guard Jalen Suggs told ESPN. „As soon as he came over I told him ‚I like you like this.‘
„To me, that’s free motivation, free gas. When you see a teammate doing something like that, you have no choice but to stand on that yourself.“
No road team has won a game in this feisty first-round series. Following the 104-103 loss in Game 5, the Magic are down 3-2 in the best-of-seven series and now face a must-win Game 6 on Friday in Orlando (7 p.m. ET, ESPN).
To force a Game 7 back in Cleveland, the Magic need to rely on what helped them clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2020: tough defense, rebounding, a core of young players — and a bit of on-court chirping.
„It’s obvious I’m embracing it. It’s clear that I’m enjoying it as well,“ Wagner told ESPN. „But I always have a problem with myself — I don’t want to get caught up in it too much.
„If the stuff around I can use as a productive instrument, I will do that for sure. But it’s very important for me to always be aware of my surroundings and not get caught up in that.
