Scheduled
Denver Nuggets at Indiana Pacers
2026-27 · Regular season · NBA Mexico City Game
Desmond Bane misses his first game as a Magic after 97 straight, leaving Orlando without three starters at Golden State
Desmond Bane was ruled out with an illness for Saturday’s game at Golden State, ending a 97-game run since Orlando traded for him. The 2-6 Magic are also without Paolo Banchero and Jalen Suggs.
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Desmond Bane will not play for the Orlando Magic on Saturday night. The team added him to its injury report a few hours before tip-off at the Golden State Warriors and ruled him out with an illness. It ends a run of 97 straight games for Bane since Orlando acquired him from Memphis in the summer of 2025.
Bane played all 82 regular-season games in his first season with the Magic, averaging 20.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists and shooting 39.1 percent from three. He then played all seven games of Orlando’s first-round series loss to Detroit and the first eight games of this season. He is averaging 17.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 34.5 minutes so far.
Three opening-night starters out
The illness takes a third starter out of Orlando’s lineup. Paolo Banchero (right low-grade high ankle sprain) and Jalen Suggs (right knee contusion and bone bruise) were already ruled out. Jonathan Isaac (left knee injury management), Izaiyah Nelson (left ankle) and Noah Penda (partially torn right hamstring) are also out, so the Magic will have six players unavailable at Chase Center.
Anthony Black, who was upgraded to available earlier Saturday, Jase Richardson and Jevon Carter are the guards most likely to pick up Bane’s minutes. Franz Wagner, who had a career-high 15 assists in Phoenix on Thursday, will have the ball in his hands even more.
Orlando is 2-6 and has lost three straight. The Magic turned it over 25 times in Thursday’s 117-104 loss to the Suns, and Phoenix scored 36 points off those giveaways. Orlando is averaging 18.3 turnovers a game, the third most in the NBA, and it was already without two of its main ballhandlers in Banchero and Suggs.
“I think just decision-making (and) being sound with the basketball,” coach Sean Sweeney said before the trip. “Playing with great technique, playing with good fundamentals, and then from there, trying to make the right decision and the right play.”
Wendell Carter Jr., who had season highs of 27 points and 13 rebounds in Phoenix, said the fix starts with talking on the floor. “We have to do a better job of communicating early,” Carter said. “It’s a two-sided thing. Not just talking, but also receiving information and making sure you are in the right spots. But this is a team that wants to be right, wants to be good. We know what we are capable of. We are going to figure it out.”
A bad matchup for a short roster
Golden State has won six straight and is 6-3. The Warriors force 18.0 turnovers a game, the fifth most in the league, and score 22.2 points a night off them. They also lead the NBA at 38.9 percent from three. Stephen Curry is averaging 29.9 points and rookie Yaxel Lendeborg 21.0. Orlando has lost 12 of its last 13 road games against Golden State.
The Warriors have their own injury questions. Draymond Green (right elbow), Gary Payton II (right calf) and Gui Santos (left knee) are questionable. Jimmy Butler III and Moses Moody are out after surgery, and Kristaps Porziņģis is away from the team.
Tip-off is at 8:30 p.m. ET, which is 3:30 a.m. Sunday Cairo time. It is the second game of a four-game road trip. Bane’s next chance to return is Tuesday against the Sacramento Kings.
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