When asked prior to Sunday’s game at New Orleans what would be a key for success, the first thing Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said was that his squad must protect the paint against the New Orleans Pelicans.

And that was the first thing Orlando failed to do. New Orleans racked up 50 points in the paint to go ahead by as many as 15 points in the third quarter at the Smoothie King Center.

The Magic flipped the script, though. Trailing by seven points entering the fourth quarter, they outscored the Pelicans 31-20 in the final frame to finish off a 112-108 victory on the road.

Magic teammates Desmond Bane (27 points) and Paolo Banchero (23) combined for 50 points in the four-point win and four other players scored at least 11 points: Wendell Carter Jr. (13), Franz Wager (11), Jalen Suggs (11) and Jevon Carter off the bench (11 points).

It was the 18th time this season Orlando has overcome a double-digit deficit to win. Despite Saddiq Bey notching 32 points, New Orleans (25-54) lost its eighth game in a row while Orlando won its second straight.

With only four games left in the regular season, the Magic (42-36) have a quick turnaround when they host the Detroit Pistons on the second night of a back-to-back Monday at Kia Center.

Banchero’s impact

Banchero followed up a nine-point second quarter by adding seven in the third. He remained aggressive throughout the night by attacking the paint and getting to the free throw line.

The Magic forward did a little bit of everything when he recorded his 25th double-double of the season and his 20th game with 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds with 16 boards.

Making plays often for his teammates, Banchero added six assists, but turned the ball over five times.

It marked the 28th game in his career with 20-plus points, 10-plus rebounds and five-plus assists, a total that is third-most in franchise history and trails only Nikola Vucevic (42) and Tracy McGrady (34).

Slow second quarter

Orlando led by one point after the first 12 minutes of action but found itself down eight at the half. The Pelicans went on a 17-3 run across a five-minute stretch in the second quarter when their zone defense gave Orlando’s offense problems.

The Magic settled for 3-pointers at times and failed to attack the paint with as much success as New Orleans found on the other end. The Pelicans shot 6 for 10 in the paint for 12 points near the rim during the second quarter while the Magic were 4 for 9 for eight paint points.

Ultimately, New Orleans outscored the Magic 32-23 in the second quarter when it notched seven points off six takeaways.

Inaccurate from distance

The Magic missed their first nine triples of the night and shot 2 for 20 in the opening half.

They followed that up by missing their first four 3-pointers of the third quarter.

Suggs, in particular, struggled from distance by missing his first nine shots from distance. It wasn’t until midway through the third quarter when Suggs converted from beyond the arc, hitting back-to-back 3s.

Still, the Magic ended 7 for 33 from 3-point range (21%) and the Pelicans weren’t much better at 10 for 31 (32%). Suggs shot 3 for 12 from downtown while Bane finished 3 for 8.

Second-chance scoring

Twenty-six missed 3-pointers led to multiple chances for the Magic to grab offensive rebounds and get extra chances to score.

Orlando held a 16-9 advantage on the offensive glass and scored 24 second-chance points.

On the other end, New Orleans only scored five second-chance points. Overall, the Magic outrebounded the Pelicans 57-47.

Howard update

Jett Howard was added to Orlando’s injury report Sunday afternoon and ruled out because of a left ankle sprain.

Mosley said before the game the team will continue to re-evaluate him upon its arrival home.

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