Second-year guard Jalen Suggs’ return from his ankle injury and Wendell Carter Jr. tying his career high in points weren’t enough to put the Orlando Magic over the hump against the Thunder in Oklahoma City.
Suggs, who was sidelined for the last five games because of a sprained right ankle, returned Tuesday to give the Magic guard depth they’ve missed but they blew an 11-point fourth-quarter lead, losing to the Thunder, 116-108, to fall to 1-7.
Suggs had nine points on 3-of-14 shooting (1 of 9 on 3s) to go with four assists, four turnovers and two steals.
He came off the bench, with the jumbo lineup of Carter, Franz Wagner, Terrence Ross, Paolo Banchero and Bol Bol starting for the third consecutive game.
Carter led the Magic with 30 points, tying a career-high he set last season against the Thunder, and 12 rebounds.
Tuesday was Suggs’ first game since spraining his right ankle on a drive to the basket during the third quarter of the Magic’s loss to the Hawks on Oct. 21 in Atlanta. He also landed awkwardly on his right leg after being fouled on the drive.
Cole Anthony (torn right internal oblique), Markelle Fultz (fractured left big toe), Gary Harris (left knee injury recovery), Jonathan Isaac (left knee injury recovery) and Moe Wagner (sprained right midfoot) remain sidelined.
Second-year guard Josh Giddey also returned Tuesday for the Thunder after missing three games because of a sprained right ankle. Chet Holmgren (right foot surgery — out for season), the No. 2 pick in June’s draft, was sidelined for Oklahoma City.
Suggs played in the Magic’s first two games. He scored 21 points (8-of-11 shooting, 4 of 6 on 3s) in 25 minutes before fouling out in the fourth quarter of the regular-season-opening loss to the Detroit Pistons and had three points (1 of 5 shooting) and three steals in 16 minutes against the Hawks before his injury.
Suggs wasn’t too far removed from a left knee injury — a capsule sprain and bone bruise — he suffered during the Magic’s preseason win over the Dallas Mavericks on Oct. 7. He missed the final two preseason games but was cleared for the regular-season opener.
“It says a lot about our performance staff, what they’re pushing him to do and the way he’s willing to continue to work,” coach Jamahl Mosley said pregame about Suggs coming back from his injuries quickly. “Maybe it’s some of the football stuff that he can bounce off those injuries early.”
Suggs, the No. 5 pick in 2021 who was Mr. Football in high school, had an up-and-down rookie season in part because of injuries that limited him to 48 games.
He was sidelined for 20 games from early December through mid-January after fracturing his right thumb and dealt with injuries to his right ankle that sidelined him for 13 of the final 18 games.
Suggs had surgery to address a stress fracture in his right ankle — the same one he injured 1 1/2 weeks ago — early in the offseason, limiting his participation in basketball activities over the summer.
