The basketball world champions Franz and Moritz Wagner suffered a clear defeat in their debut in the playoffs of the North American professional league NBA. In game one of the best-of-seven series, the Orlando Magic lost 83:97 (41:53) to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Franz Wagner, who scored his first playoff points after around 1:20 minutes, had 18 points. His older brother Moritz scored ten points.
“The fact that we can play against these guys and are now even in the playoffs means a lot,” Franz Wagner said about the importance of the finals after 82 games of the regular season. In the first meeting with the slightly favored Cavaliers, it was clear to the young team from Florida that they had not had any previous experience in the playoffs.
Franz Wagner lost his rhythm after a solid first quarter and only picked it up again late. Moritz Wagner brought energy into the game as usual as a bench player – but he was unable to revive the Magic’s faltering offense in just 13 minutes of playing time. The best throwers of the game were Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell (30 points) and Orlando’s Paolo Banchero (24). The second game will take place again in Cleveland on Monday (local time).
