NAW's Fourth-Quarter Dagger Sinks Banchero's Triple-Double Effort
Nickeil Alexander-Walker buried a 27-foot step-back three with 1:27 left in the fourth quarter, swinging Orlando's win probability from 36% to 18% and effectively ending the game. Atlanta walked out of Orlando with a 132–125 win despite Paolo Banchero posting 35 points, 10 assists, and 7 rebounds.
Orlando looked like the sharper team through most of the first quarter. Banchero was assertive early — a 24-foot step-back three gave the Magic their first lead at 11–9, and Tristan da Silva hit back-to-back threes off Jase Richardson assists to push it to 29–21 and then 29–21 before extending it further to 33–23 late. Franz Wagner added a driving layup to make it 33–23 with under two minutes left in the first, and Orlando carried a 33–28 lead into the second. The Magic looked in control. They weren't.
Atlanta chipped away. Aaron Wiggins hit a 26-foot three early in the second to flip the lead to 35–33 Atlanta, and though Orlando kept answering — Jase Richardson's running layup briefly put the Magic back up 36–35 — Luguentz Dort knocked down a 24-foot three to make it 38–36. The game stayed tight through the half, a back-and-forth that looked like it could go either way. That's where the story of the night becomes undeniably Atlanta's: Dyson Daniels finished with 20 points and 5 steals, Jalen Johnson posted 20 points, 14 rebounds, and 6 assists, and Alexander-Walker kept finding buckets when Atlanta needed them most. His 31-point night was built on relentless shot-making, including that backbreaking fourth-quarter three that drained whatever life Orlando had left.
Banchero's triple-double — 35 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds — was genuinely special, and Wendell Carter Jr. added 22 points and 7 rebounds to give Orlando a credible frontcourt punch. Wagner's 22 points and 5 assists were equally efficient. But it appears Atlanta's collective depth was simply too much to overcome. Seven players were listed as DNPs by coach's decision across both rosters, so neither team was at full depth, yet Atlanta's contributors spread the damage more evenly. When Alexander-Walker stepped back and let that 27-footer go with 87 seconds left, the game was over in everything but the final buzzer. Atlanta wins, 132–125.