Orlando Magic point guard Jalen Suggs played a season-high 28:39 in Sunday’s 111-107 loss to the Boston Celtics, putting together arguably his most complete game of the young season. As expected, he’ll sit on the second night of a back-to-back against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Suggs finished with 20 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals against Boston. Orlando finished +21 when its point guard was on the floor, 10 points higher than the next most effective Magic player, Desmond Bane. Top backups Anthony Black (-25) and Tyus Jones (-14) were a disaster, which is one reason Orlando may be in trouble on the second night of a back-to-back against a Blazers squad that enjoys a rest advantage in the matchup, last having played in Miami on Saturday.
The Magic are 1-1 on the second night of a back-to-back this season, defeating Charlotte 123-107 on Oct. 30 the last time it materialized. Suggs has sat out the first two situations and won’t suit up on Monday. His next chance to play the second of a back-to-back will be on Nov. 23 in Boston on the heels of the Magic hosting the Knicks the previous night.
The Blazers will be leaning heavily on Jrue Holiday, who they acquired from Boston this offseason in a package that included Orlando native Anfernee Simons. Scoot Henderson remains sidelined and Damian Lillard is out for the season rehabilitating an Achilles’ injury, so Holiday will be tasked with major minutes running the show for Portland.
Here’s the rest of the injury report and game preview:
INJURY REPORT
MAGIC
Jalen Suggs: Out – Left Knee Injury Management
Moritz Wagner: Out – Left Knee Injury Recovery
Orlando Robinson: Out – G League (Two-way)
Colin Castleton: Out – G League (Two-way)
BLAZERS
Scoot Henderson: Out – Left Hamstring Tear
Matisse Thybulle: Out – Left Thumb Ligament
Damian Lillard: Out – Left Achilles Tendon Management
Blake Wesley: Out – Right Foot Fracture
Javonte Cooke: Questionable – G League (Two-way)
Game date, time and location: Monday, Nov. 10, 7:10 p.m. EST, Kia Center, Orlando, Florida
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Florida (Magic), KUNP/BlazerVision (Trail Blazers)
Radio: 96.9 The Game & ElOrlandoMagic.com (Spanish), KPOJ (Trail Blazers)
VITALS: The Orlando Magic (4-6) and Portland Trail Blazers (5-4) square off in the first of two matchups in 2025-26. The Trail Blazers have been in Florida for a few days, having lost to the Miami Heat 136-131 on Saturday. Although they’re 1-2 in November, Portland has yet to lose consecutive games this season.The Blazers and Magic will square off for the final time this regular season on Dec. 23.
The Magic are 29-42 all-time against the Blazers during the regular season, losing the last two matchups between the teams. Both of those games were played in January and resulted in Portland routs (119-90, 101-79). Orlando had won four of five prior to last season’s meetings, but dropped 10 consecutive matchups from Feb. 2017-Jan. 2022. The Trail Blazers beat the Magic the first eight times the teams played upon Orlando’s entry into the NBA in 1989, winning each meeting by nine or more points. Portland is 8-1 over its last nine visits to downtown Orlando.
Betting Lines (via DraftKings)
Spread: Magic -2.5 (-102), Blazers +2.5 (-118)
Moneyline: Magic -130, Blazers +110
Total: 236.5 (Over -105, Under -115)
PROJECTED STARTERS
MAGIC
F Franz Wagner
F Paolo Banchero
C Wendell Carter Jr.
G Anthony Black
G Desmond Bane
BLAZERS
F Toumani Camara
F Deni Avdija
C Donovan Clingan
G Jrue Holiday
G Shaedon Sharpe
QUOTABLE
Blazers acting head coach Tiago Splitter on Deni Avdija’s hot run: “Defenses are going to pay a lot of attention to him, shrink the paint around him, and he’s just got to find those passes, those kickout passes. He’s got to find shooters or cutters. He’s learning. He’s getting better at it, but Deni is a special player for us.”
More Orlando Magic Stories:
Jalen Suggs has most impactful game but it’s not enough, and other Magic takeaways
Desmond Bane being pushed to be aggressive to escape slump
Why this Magic forward is making a name for himself
