Paolo Banchero had 20 points and eight rebounds, Desmond Bane added 18 points and six assists and the Orlando Magic beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 132-120 on Wednesday night.
Franz Wagner scored 17 points and Goga Bitadze came off the bench with 14 points and 15 rebounds for the Magic, who have won four straight.
The win pulled the Magic (44-36) up to seventh place in the tight race for playoff/play-in positions. With two road games remaining (Chicago on Friday and Boston on Sunday), they could finish anywhere between six and ninth in the Eastern Conference.
Terrence Shannon Jr. led the Timberwolves with a career-high 33 points. Jaden McDaniels, back in the lineup after missing six games with a left knee injury, added 18 points in 19 minutes.
The Timberwolves, who have lost five of seven, played without Anthony Edwards (right knee injury) and four players who started Tuesday night’s win at Indiana that clinched their Western Conference playoff spot.
Julius Randle missed his first game of the season and Rudy Gobert missed his fifth.
Wagner scored twice to help Orlando break away from a 47-47 tie to a 63-53 halftime lead. Jalen Suggs hit a couple of 3-pointers and a layup on a 22-6 burst that broke the game open in the third quarter. The Magic led by 24 at one point.
Shannon scored 29 points in the second half, hitting five of seven 3-point shots. He made 11 of 14 shots overall and also had five assists.
The Magic shot 53.7 percent overall in their home finale.
Timberwolves play at Houston on Friday night. Magic play at Chicago on Friday night.
A Republican lawmaker charged in an alcohol-related driving offense won’t have to appear in court again until after the Legislature adjourns for the year.
A June 10 arraignment hearing is set for Rep. Elliott Engen, a Lino Lakes Republican who faces three misdemeanor charges following an arrest early Friday. He was stopped for speeding and other infractions in White Bear Lake; officers detected alcohol and he later tested well above the legal limit for driving, according to a citation.
Engen has apologized for a lapse in judgment; he promised to learn from his actions and “do better.” Aside from being a second-term legislator, he is also a candidate for state auditor.
A second lawmaker, GOP Rep. Walter Hudson, was in Engen’s truck at the time of the stop and an open bottle of alcohol was found in a rear seat. Hudson, a second-term legislator from Albertville, was in possession of a permitted handgun, which could cause him legal problems if he is determined to have been intoxicated.
Police officers wrote in their report that Hudson disclosed he had the gun as the truck was being searched. The report said police took the firearm for safekeeping and said he could pick it up at a later time, which Hudson agreed to.
“I regret the poor decisions that were made during this incident, and commend the White Bear Police Department for their professional response,” Hudson said in a written statement. “I’m grateful that no harm was done to ourselves and others.”
Rep. Walter Hudson, R-Albertville, (center) and Rep. Bidal Duran, R-Bemidji, (right) join other Republican lawmakers gather in the House chambers Jan. 27, 2025.
Tim Evans for MPR News file
A third, unidentified passenger was in the truck as well, according to police. Hudson and that person were transferred to the police department until they could arrange rides.
The Minnesota lawmakers had been at the Capitol late into the evening Thursday as the House debated procedural motions on gun, immigration and social media legislation. The motions failed on 67-67 votes.
There is no indication yet that either Hudson nor Engen had been drinking on Capitol grounds, which would be a violation of a House rule against consumption of alcohol or drugs in spaces under that chamber’s control.
According to a White Bear Lake Police report, Engen initially said he had not been drinking when asked by the police officer who pulled him over — “nothing at all,” he is quoted as saying. He performed a field sobriety test, which the report says showed signs of impairment.
Engen gave a preliminary breath sample there, the report says, which estimated a 0.142 blood alcohol level. After he was taken by squad car to the police department “Engen spontaneously stated, ‘Sir, I had a drink three hours ago,’” the report says.
He told the Minnesota Star Tribune in an interview Monday that he had also consumed alcohol in the afternoon on Thursday as well.
Engen is charged with two impaired driving offenses and speeding. White Bear Lake police also said he was driving a vehicle with expired registration and an inoperable headlight.
Engen has not returned calls from MPR News. A court docket lists a “notice of appearance” on Tuesday.
He is being represented in the criminal case by Chris Madel, an Excelsior attorney who waged a brief Republican campaign for governor.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.