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Tristan da Silva delivered a perfect shooting night off the bench as the Magic edged the Mavericks. His growth in an expanded role is becoming a major storyline for Orlando down the stretch.

The Orlando Magic escaped with a dramatic win Thursday night, but one storyline unfolded quietly on the bench. Second-year forward Tristan da Silva delivered one of the most efficient performances of his young career.

He scored a team-high 19 points in Orlando’s 115-114 win over the Dallas Mavericks while thriving in an expanded role without Franz Wagner. He finished with 19 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals in 25 minutes off the bench. He shot a perfect 7-for-7 from the field and 4-for-4 from three-point range.

The Magic needed every bit of it. Orlando nearly squandered an 11-point lead late in the game. Jalen Suggs hit a clutch three-pointer and then assisted Wendell Carter Jr. on the game-winning dunk with 1.4 seconds left.

For a Magic team still navigating injuries across its core rotation, his emergence has become one of the most encouraging developments of the second half of the season.

Da Silva Delivering Efficient Scoring Boost

Da Silva’s performance against Dallas was not an isolated burst. Over his last six games, the 23-year-old forward is averaging 13.3 points per game. He is also posting a staggering 76.8 percent true shooting percentage.

That efficiency has provided Orlando with valuable offensive stability. It has been especially important during stretches when starters have missed time.

The Magic have spent much of the past two seasons juggling injuries. Wagner continues receiving treatment for the ankle injury he suffered on Dec. 7. Suggs has also missed time throughout the year, while Anthony Black has recently been sidelined. Even Paolo Banchero endured a 10-game absence earlier this season with a groin strain. The result has been constant lineup adjustments.

Starring in Role Amid Magic’s Injury Issues

Since the start of last season, Banchero, Wagner and Suggs have shared the floor in just 19 of Orlando’s 142 regular-season games. That equals only 13.4 percent of the time. Those absences have forced players like da Silva into larger roles.

Head coach Jamahl Mosley praised the bench’s collective impact after the win. He highlighted da Silva’s perfect shooting night while crediting the group effort that helped Orlando secure the victory.

“Oh, I mean, didn’t miss a shot,” Mosley said during his postgame press conference. “I think that’s a pretty daggone good lift. And I think I got to give a shout out to our bench. You know, that’s another night that Goga comes in and, you know, plays the right way, does the right thing, just continues to have a presence on the rim. Setting great screens, defending the right way. And then Noah [Penda] did an unbelievable job in there, you know, blocking shots, physicality. All those keys, all those things are big keys to us winning games. And it’s by committee as always.”

Mosley’s comments reflect Orlando’s reality this season. Production has needed to come from everywhere.

Growth Through Opportunity

For da Silva, those opportunities have accelerated his development. The forward acknowledged after the game that injuries around the roster forced him to grow quickly. That experience started last season.

“Yeah, I mean, you know, obviously last year with Franz and Paalo being out, you know, I feel like I kind of had to, to experience a lot and, and grow a lot as a player,” da Silva said. “But it’s all, you know, it’s all for my betterment. It’s all the stuff that I, you know, take, take near and dear to my heart.”

He said those experiences helped build confidence and trust within the locker room.

“I cherish those opportunities that I’ve had over the last couple months and over the season, last season,” he said. “It just helps me grow as a person, as a player. More experience, more looks, more confidence, more trust from teammates and in teammates.”

Even after a perfect shooting night, da Silva stressed that consistency remains the goal.

“So yeah, it feels good, obviously, to have a performance like this,” he said. “But I also know that it’s a continuous process, and I’ll be back tomorrow working on the stuff that I work on every day.”

That mindset could prove important for Orlando down the stretch.

If the Magic eventually get their full core healthy, da Silva’s steady production may turn him into more than a temporary fill-in. Instead, he could become a reliable rotation piece during a playoff push.