Franz Wagner Shines with 24 Points as Magic Conclude Preseason, While Risacher Matches His Mark for Hawks

German player Franz Wagner led the Orlando Magic to a 132-125 victory against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Kia Center, scoring a game-high 24 points with an impressive shooting performance of 8/14 from the field. As the Magic wrapped up 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 Magic showcased additional European talent with German Tristan da Silva scoring seven points, Georgian Goga Bitadze adding six points, and French player Noah Penda contributing one point, while German Moritz Wagner remained unavailable due to injury. On the opposing team, Croatian Karlo Matkovic did not see any action during this final preseason game.

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

Meanwhile, Finnish Lauri Markkanen and Ukrainian Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk each scored 15 points, leading the Utah Jazz to a narrow 132-129 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in the Delta Center. Off the bench, Bosnian Jusuf Nurkic added another 12 points. On the losing side, Israeli Deni Avdija scored eight points but had to leave the game due to upper back stiffness. French teammates Sidy Cissoko and Rayan Rupert contributed seven and three points, respectively, while Belgian Toumani Camara was inactive.

In a matchup between the Washington Wizards and the Detroit Pistons at the Little Caesars Arena, French player Alex Sarr concluded the preseason with ten points and nine rebounds, but the Wizards fell 119-98. His fellow starter, Swiss Kyshawn George, matched the game’s highest total with 20 points, while Serbian Tristan Vukcevic added seven points; however, French player Bilal Coulibaly did not participate. For the Pistons, Swedish player Bobi Klintman scored two points.

Lastly, Lithuanian Matas Buzelis scored 19 points and Montenegrin Nikola Vucevic recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, guiding the Chicago Bulls to a 126-120 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves at the United Center. French player Noa Essengue contributed two points, while the Timberwolves had Frenchman Rudy Gobert scoring 12 points, Italian Donte DiVincenzo finishing with nine, and French player Joan Beringer adding four points.