Paolo Banchero had 26 points and 13 rebounds, Franz Wagner had 18 points and nine rebounds in his return to the Magic lineup, and Orlando beat the Memphis Grizzlies 118-111 on Thursday in the NBA’s first regular-season game in Germany.
Wagner had missed more than a month with a high ankle sprain but was able to return in his native country and play alongside his brother, Moritz Wagner, for the first time in more than a year.
Moritz Wagner tore his left ACL on December 21 2024 and returned earlier this week. He had seven points in 14 minutes on Thursday.
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 30 points, Santi Aldama had 18 and Cedric Coward had 17 for the Grizzlies, who have lost seven of nine.
Memphis’ Ja Morant was sidelined with a right calf injury, but NBA Commissioner Adam Silver expressed some optimism that the two-time All-Star will play on Sunday when the Grizzlies and Magic meet again in London.
Anthony Black added 21 points for the Magic, who have won three of four.
The Grizzlies took a 52-32 lead midway through the second quarter, but the Magic got back within nine by half-time and then went on a 13-0 run for an 84-73 advantage late in the third.
Memphis rallied and led 105-102 on GG Jackson’s layup with 4:05 left in the game. Franz Wagner tied it with a three-pointer and then helped the Magic close it out by scoring five points in the final 1:39.
The NBA played its first preseason game in what was then West Germany in 1984. At the time, there were 10 international players on NBA rosters.
This season opened with a record 135 international players, including 71 from Europe. Tickets were sold to fans from 62 countries for Thursday’s game, the NBA said, and more than 250,000 people tried to obtain tickets by registering on the league’s site.
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