Orlando Magic |

Magic falter at home vs. Mavericks

When Goga Bitadze takes the court for the Magic, fans more than 6,000 miles away are watching the 6-11 center from Georgia play basketball despite the seven-hour time difference.

He appreciates the support and positive messages from his home country located on the eastern end of the Black Sea.

“There’s a lot of support from the country,” Bitadze said ahead of Orlando’s 117-102 home loss Monday against Dallas. “You can really feel every time you play, even two minutes, there are people watching and staying up all night to see you play.”

Paolo Banchero paced Orlando (4-3) with 22 points.  Dallas (6-1) outscored the Magic 64-36 in the second half.

Bitadze, who earned his second straight start at Amway Center vs. the Mavericks, has taken on a larger role for Orlando, which will be without center Wendell Carter Jr. for at least the next three weeks because of a hand injury.

Thrust into a starting spot just six games into the season after previously playing with Orlando’s third unit in the preseason, Bitadze doesn’t make too much of the moment.

“At the end of the day, it’s basketball and I’ve been doing this all of my life,” he said. “But I’m just trying to stay ready. I know my name is going to get called at some point,  so I’ve just got to stay ready.”

As Carter — who underwent surgery Monday to repair a fractured third metacarpal in his left hand — goes on the mend, Orlando will lean on role players such as Bitadze and fellow 6-11 center Moe Wagner to fill in for the regular starter.

“Goga has been fantastic,” coach Jamahl Mosley said prior to the game. “His energy and his joy for the way he plays the game — he has fun with it but yet he takes his craft very seriously.”

Bitadze isn’t the only reserve being asked to stepped up in the early part of the season. Rookie guard Anthony Black earned his second straight start against Dallas as Orlando was without regular starting point guard Markelle Fultz for the third straight game due to patella tendinitis in his left knee.

The Magic were also without Gary Harris (strained right groin) for a second consecutive game as well as big man Jonathan Isaac, who was downgraded from questionable to out due to a sore left hamstring.

“Gary’s coming along,” Mosley said prior to Monday’s game. “He’s doing a little bit of movement on the court. Markelle tried to get in a little bit of a workout.”

Mosley was asked during his pregame availability if the left knee patella tendinitis that Fultz is dealing with is something that recently flared up or if it’s been nagging him for sometime. His sore left knee is the same one that Fultz had surgery on to repair a torn ACL eight games into the 2020-21 season.

“Just a little flare-up,” the Magic coach said. “You want to make sure you get ahead of it. It’s a long season and we’ve constantly talked about being able to recover well to be healthy.”

As Fultz works his way back to the court, Black sees more playing time in his young career. Mosley pointed out the 19-year-old’s confidence despite his rookie status.

“Also the confidence the group has in him,” Mosley said. “They bought into what they’re supposed to be doing and they’re recognizing what they’re supposed to be doing. Anthony has done a great job of staying prepared.”

Magic rookie Anthony Black makes ‘right decisions’ in 1st career NBA start

The Magic will continue to monitor the handful of injuries on their roster as the team plays their next game out of the country.

Orlando travels to Mexico City to face its first Eastern Conference opponent of the season, the Atlanta Hawks, on Thursday (Bally Sports Florida, 9:30).

Email Jason Beede at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on X, also known as Twitter, at @therealBeede.