Zurab Talakvadze

Goga BItadze gave Magic a solid game again.

Goga Bitadze and his injury-depleted Magic are into the final of NBA Emirates Cup. It was a solid performance from Georgian National Team member as he helped his team march into a semifinal round where they will face New York Knicks on Saturday in Vegas.

Bitadze did small things, but was instrumental in a win. Goga had 7 points, 6 rebounds, blocked two shots and had dime as well. He was ¾ from the field.

The game belonged to Goga’s teammate Desmond Bane, who torched the Heat with 37 points. A season high from Bane comes one game after he was fined 35 000 $ for firing a ball at Knicks forward OG Anunoby. Desmond also had a season-high 6 three-pointers.

For the season, Goga is averaging 6.3 points and 5.2 rebounds to go along 1.4 assists and 1.3 blocks. A solid stats for a back up pivot, who comes as a sub, but always delivers.

Also, Goga comes close as becoming the all time blocked shots leader among Georgian players in NBA. For now, Goga has 364 blocked shots, while the leading man Zaza Pachulia (a two time NBA champion with Golden State Warriors)  finished his career with 377. Of course, blocking shots was not a big strength of Zaza, but still, this will be a big number for Goga anyway.

And, the Magic are marching on. Still, without one of the stars Franz Wagner, this team finds some ways to deliver and this day belonged to Bane. This team has many options and can rely on a multiple players in a crunch time.

The battle with Knicks promises to be crusher.