The duel of basketball world champions in the NBA goes to Franz and Moritz Wagner. The brothers won 100:92 with the Orlando Magic against the Brooklyn Nets and Dennis Schröder. In a close game, Orlando ultimately prevailed thanks to its better defense. Franz Wagner led Orlando with 20 points, Schröder also had 20 points.
“We fought until the end, but couldn’t keep up with their physical game,” said Nets coach Jordi Fernandez after the defeat: “Congratulations to Orlando, it was a deserved win.” Orlando is still third in the East with 15 wins, Brooklyn is in ninth place.
The game was characterized by many interruptions. After three quarters, both teams had already collected 46 fouls, a good seven more than an average game total (38.8). Accordingly, there was little flow in the game; a lot depended on the individual class of the world champions on both sides.
And they delivered well despite the miserable throwing rates. As in the win in the NBA Cup three days ago at the same place (123:100), Franz Wagner came close to a rare triple-double with nine rebounds and eight assists. His brother Moritz also had a strong game with twelve points and eight rebounds in just 16 minutes. Schröder led Brooklyn with seven assists, but also committed six turnovers.
Photo: Noah K. Murray/AP/dpa
