Orlando’s Desmond Bane ‘settled in’ for Magic since game-winner

PHILADELPHIA — The night Desmond Bane hit a buzzer-beating 3-point shot to help lift the Magic over the Trail Blazers two weeks ago, his on-court play shifted for the better.

In the first 10 games leading up to the shot, Bane averaged 14.2 points on 29.3% shooting on 4.1 attempts from 3-point range to go with 4.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists and half a steal.

Those marks were well below the type of player he once was throughout the first five years of his career with the Grizzlies before Orlando acquired him in a blockbuster trade this past summer.

In the eight games since that shot?

He’s returned to form, averaging 21.4 points on 41.5% shooting on 5.9 attempts from distance alongside 5 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.1 steals.

“Definitely,” Bane said after Tuesday shootaround inside Xfinity Mobile Arena when asked if the game-winner helped him. “Just where I come from, how I was raised, the things that I’ve been through, trust is a big thing for me, and after making that shot, I just felt the love from everybody.

“Orlando’s starting to becoming to feel like home,” he added. “I feel like I’ve settled in since then.”

Bane’s scoring surge has a come at a time when the Magic have needed it most.

Orlando ruled out All-Star forward Paolo Banchero (left groin strain) for a seventh consecutive contest Tuesday against the 76ers. Before the game, the Magic were 4-2 without Banchero with Bane stepping up alongside forward Franz Wagner and guard Jalen Suggs (who was back off the injury report Tuesday after missing Sunday’s game at Boston).

After falling to the Celtics to open a three-game road trip, the Magic were 7-3 in their past 10 games.

“I think that everything is a work progress,” Bane said. “I feel like I’ve said it before, but we all want to be playing our best basketball as the season goes on and continue to get better it goes on. We’ve done that as a group collectively.”

Even when Bane wasn’t playing the type of basketball he planned on with his new team, the 27-year-old guard continued to say the right things and put in the necessary work to get back on track.

Entering Tuesday, he had scored in double figures 14 times and 20-plus points eight times, and sat inside the top 10 in free-throw percentage (92.5%) among all players who had appeared in at least 15 games according to NBA.com.

The Magic hope he continues to stay on that upward trajectory when they travel to Detroit on Friday for a critical NBA Cup game that could determine East Group B and who hosts a quarterfinal matchup.

“I never lost faith though,” Bane said. “I always trusted in my work and I’m glad that we’re getting the results.”

Jason Beede can be reached at [email protected]

Up next …

Magic at Pistons

When: 7:30 p.m., Friday, Little Caesars Arena

TV: FanDuel Sports Network Florida