3 takeaways from Magic's hard-fought opener vs. Heat

The first half was the antithesis of typical Orlando Magic (and Miami Heat) basketball. In a game featuring a pair of good defenses and below-average offenses, on paper, the two teams scored a combined 134 points in the opening half.

Both teams shot 8-of-18 from deep apiece (44.4 percent) while the Magic and Heat shot 52.1 percent and 51.2 percent, respectively. In totality, the Heat shot 48.4 percent from the floor and the Magic shot 46.7 percent.

In the opening half, Orlando's offense was in flow offensively -- both in transition and in the halfcourt. However, its defense felt disconnected -- which began from the jump when it committed two fouls on 3-point shots (one a four-point play, the other not) on the game's first two defensive possessions.

The Magic defense tightened up in the second half -- and specifically down the stretch -- but it's safe to say that an offensive explosion to this degree.

Franz Wagner looked in midseason form with aggression

If there was anything to take away individually from the offense, it's that Wagne's aggression -- especially in the first half -- was noticeable. He was consistently breaking down the Heat defense off the dribble.

Wagner made seven of his first eight shots, blowing past Jaime Jaquez Jr. with a jaw-dropping euro-step, hitting a step-back three over Nikola Jovic and draining a difficult floater over Bam Adebayo. He wasn't as efficient down the stretch, but he looked confident and creative every time he had the rock throughout the night.

Jalen Suggs didn't miss a beat

Suggs played his first game in nearly eight months on Wednesday night. And he didn't miss a beat, scoring 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting and 2-of-3 from 3-point range, adding four rebounds, two assists and two steals in 17 minutes. Obviously, we knew he wouldn't have a high minute total in his first game back.

But when Suggs, 24, was on the floor -- his impact was loud. He was moving great laterally at the point-of-attack and was consistently pressuring the Heat guards toward half-court with good screen navigation.

He blew up so many of the Heat's possessions by how forceful and disruptive he was on the perimeter. They couldn't screen him, they couldn't blow by him ... and he provided excellent help-side rim protection.

His efficient night offensively was icing on the cake. Suggs was moving like he was never injured to begin with -- which is a great sign as his workload will continue to increase.

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