Not enough from Paolo, Orlando starters against Washington

The Orlando Magic continued their streak of shorthanded games against the Washington Wizards, where they found themselves in a hole early. After a competitive first quarter, the Magic found themselves in a double digit defecit going into halftime, which only continued to swell to 26 points midway through the third quarter. After the Magic went to their bench, spearheaded by Jase Richardson & Noah Penda, the team was able to muster up a comeback that brought the game as close as a one possession game. Unfortunately for the Magic, the Washington Wizards responded with a run of thier own, putting the game just out of reach as the buzzer sounded.

While the team as a whole had struggled in large part until the latter stages of the game, a few individual plauers for the Magic stood out against the Wizards. Let's see who graded best in the comeback attempt against Washington.

Paolo Banchero: 14 Points, 4 Rebounds, 4 Assists: C+

Paolo Banchero had his quietest night of the new year, putting up a quiet 14 points on an efficient 50% shooting. His minutes were limited as the Magic fell in a hole early and Coach Mosley decided to give the bench extended runs with this game being on the first night of a back-to-back. With Banchero only playing 24 minutes in the game against the Wizards, look for him to bounce back in tonight's game against the Brooklyn Nets

Jase Richardson: 20 Points, 3 Rebounds, 3 Assists: B+

Jase Richardson helped spark the comeback attempt for the Magic, helping take the lead from 26 points down to as little as 2. Although the team wasn't able to finish the job on what would've been a historic comeback, Jase Richardson showed his offensive prowess in multiple facets tonight. He was able to have a few nice passes to cutting players, resulting in baskets at the rim. He was also tied with Tristan da Silva, leading the team in 3-point shots made.

Desmond Bane: 15 Points, 3 Assists, 2 Rebounds: C

Desmond Bane, much like Paolo Banchero had a quiet night due to the large lead of the game. Even with that, he was able to have an efficient night and even getting to the free throw line a team high six times. With Bane having his minutes on the lower end tonight, look for him also to have a bounceback game against the Brooklyn Nets.

Orlando Magic Latest

• Magic rookies can't complete late comeback in loss to Wizards
• Jase Richardson, Magic nearly overcome 26-point comeback, but fall to Wizards
• Why Magic are at a crossroads as trade deadline looms
• Magic unsung hero earns praise from Jamahl Mosley