European Stars Shine as Franz Wagner and Zaccharie Risacher Lead Preseason Scoring Splits

German Franz Wagner led the way for the Orlando Magic by scoring a game-high 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting, guiding his team to a 132-125 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans at Kia Center.

As the Magic completed their NBA Preseason 2025 schedule on Thursday, the 24-year-old forward also contributed three assists and two steals in 25 minutes of play. The European influence continued with contributions from three substitutes: German Tristan da Silva with seven points, Georgian Goga Bitadze who added six, and Frenchman Noah Penda with a single point, while German Moritz Wagner remained out of action.

On the opposing side, Croatian Karlo Matkovic did not see any playing time during the final preseason matchup.

In a different game, Frenchman Zaccharie Risacher netted 24 points and Latvian Kristaps Porzingis recorded a double-double with 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Atlanta Hawks, although they lost 133-115 to the Houston Rockets at State Farm Arena. Czech player Vit Krejci scored three points, while Spanish Eli Ndiaye and Serbian players did not participate in the last exhibition before the start of the 2025-26 Regular Season. Turkish Alperen Sengun and Swiss Clint Capela were rested by the Rockets.

Finnish Lauri Markkanen and Ukrainian Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk each contributed 15 points, helping the Utah Jazz secure a narrow 132-129 win against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Delta Center. Bosnian Jusuf Nurkic added 12 points off the bench. On the losing side, Israeli Deni Avdija tallied eight points before leaving the game due to upper back stiffness. French teammates Sidy Cissoko and Rayan Rupert scored seven and three points respectively, while Belgian Toumani Camara did not play.

Frenchman Alex Sarr concluded the preseason with ten points and nine rebounds, but the Washington Wizards lost 119-98 to the Detroit Pistons at the Little Caesars Arena. Fellow starter, Swiss Kyshawn George, led the team with 20 points, and Serbian Tristan Vukcevic contributed seven points, while Frenchman Bilal Coulibaly did not take the court. For Detroit, Swedish Bobi Klintman scored two points.

Lithuanian Matas Buzelis put up 19 points, and Montenegrin Nikola Vucevic posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, helping the Chicago Bulls defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 126-120 at the United Center. French player Noa Essengue added two points, while for the Timberwolves, Frenchman Rudy Gobert scored 12 points, Italian Donte DiVincenzo finished with nine points, and Frenchman Joan Beringer contributed four points.

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