BERLIN — Paolo Banchero had 26 points and 13 rebounds, Franz Wagner had 18 points and nine rebounds in his return to the Magic lineup, and Orlando beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 118-111, on Thursday (Friday in Manila) in the NBA’s first regular-season game in Germany.
Wagner had missed more than a month with a high ankle sprain but was able to return in his native country and play alongside his brother, Moritz Wagner, for the first time in more than a year. Moritz Wagner tore his left ACL on Dec. 21, 2024 and returned earlier this week. He had seven points in 14 minutes on Thursday.
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 30 points, Santi Aldama had 18 and Cedric Coward had 17 for the Grizzlies, who have lost seven of nine. Memphis’ Ja Morant was sidelined with a right calf injury, but NBA Commissioner Adam Silver expressed some optimism that the two-time All-Star will play on Sunday when the Grizzlies and Magic meet again in London.
Anthony Black added 21 points for the Magic, who have won three of four.
The Grizzlies took a 52-32 lead midway through the second quarter, but the Magic got back within nine by halftime and then went on a 13-0 run for an 84-73 advantage late in the third.
Memphis rallied and led 105-102 on GG Jackson’s layup with 4:05 left in the game. Franz Wagner tied it with a 3-pointer and then helped the Magic close it out by scoring five points in the final 1:39.
The NBA played its first preseason game in what was then West Germany in 1984. At the time, there were 10 international players on NBA rosters.
This season opened with a record 135 international players, including 71 from Europe. Tickets were sold to fans from 62 countries for Thursday’s game, the NBA said, and more than 250,000 people tried to obtain tickets by registering on the league’s site.
Thunder 111, Rockets 91
In Houston, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 20 points, Chet Holmgren added 18 and the Oklahoma City Thunder pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat the Houston Rockets.
Cason Wallace added 17 off the bench and the NBA-leading Thunder outscored Houston, 34-16, in the final quarter to get a fifth straight victory.
Kevin Durant led Houston with 19 points, but he was 0 for 5 on 3-pointers and 7 for 23 overall on a night the Rockets made just 7 of 24 behind the arc.
The Thunder led by two early in the fourth quarter before using an 11-2 run, with a 3-pointer from Ajay Mitchell and two from Wallace, to make it 90-79 with less than nine minutes to go.
Oklahoma City remained up by nine later in the fourth when Mitchell hit another 3-pointer to start a 7-0 run that made it 99-83 with about four minutes remaining. Jaylin Williams capped that scoring spurt with a two-handed dunk and Houston coach Ime Udoka called a timeout as many fans began streaming toward the exits.
Udoka was given a technical foul for barking at officials during the timeout and the Thunder continued their run after it, extending it to 14-0.
Mavs 144, Jazz 122
In Dallas, Klay Thompson matched his season high with six 3-pointers and moved into fourth place on career list, scoring a season-best 26 points to help the Dallas Mavericks beat the Utah Jazz, 144-122, on Thursday night.
The Mavericks (16-26) played without rookie star Cooper Flagg after he sprained his left ankle Wednesday night in the first half of a home loss to Denver.
Thompson has 2,809 3-pointers, passing Damian Lillard (2,804) on the career list. Stephen Curry is the leader, followed by James Harden and Ray Allen, who had 2,973. Thompson shot 10 for 18 overall and had a season-high six assists.