Paolo Banchero led the Orlando Magic with 24 factors as they erased a 13-point deficit to snap the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 16-game profitable streak with a hard-fought 108-103 highway victory Sunday.
Cleveland, the runaway Eastern Conference leaders, had seemed poised to increase their franchise-record profitable run after surging away from Orlando early within the third quarter.
But after a season the place they’ve staged hefty profitable comebacks of their very own, the tables turned on Cleveland within the face of a livid burst of Orlando scoring.
The Magic outscored Cleveland 35-23 within the third quarter with Franz Wagner main the cost with 9 factors and Banchero including seven.
Although Cleveland led by a slender 83-82 margin heading into the fourth quarter and threatened to stretch away as soon as extra after Donovan Mitchell’s driving layup made it 91-84, Orlando refused to roll over.
Eight extra factors from Wagner within the last body and 5 apiece from Banchero and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope noticed the Magic residence to silence a 19,432 sellout crowd at Cleveland’s Rocket Arena.
Former No. 1 NBA Draft choose Banchero completed with 24 factors, 11 rebounds and 7 assists whereas Wagner added 22 factors with eight rebounds and two assists as Orlando improved to 32-37 to stay eighth within the Eastern Conference standings.
“It’s a big win,” Banchero mentioned after what was the ultimate leg of a five-game highway journey for Orlando. “We knew this was going to be most likely the hardest recreation of the journey.
“To come in here … against one of the better teams in the league, also on a win streak – big win.”
Mitchell led the Cleveland scoring with 23 factors, with Jarrett Allen ending on 20 and Darius Garland including 19.
Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson praised Orlando’s efficiency and mentioned it demonstrated the depth of high quality within the league.
“Huge credit to them,” Atkinson mentioned. “This league is humbling, and if you think you’ve won 16 in a row or whatever, right around the corner is a playoff team and a tough team to play.”
Thunder roll on
The Oklahoma City Thunder continued their serene march in direction of the Western Conference No.1 seeding with an emphatic 121-105 highway victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
NBA Most Valuable Player contender Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder scoring with 31 factors as Oklahoma City improved to 56-12, a large 13 video games away from the second-placed Houston Rockets.
In Los Angeles, the Lakers snapped a four-game shedding streak and dealt a blow to the Phoenix Suns’ hopes of reaching the playoffs after powering to a 107-96 victory.
Phoenix, sitting eleventh within the Western Conference and simply outdoors the play-in locations, badly want wins as they try and power their approach into the post-season reckoning.
But 33 factors from Luka Doncic and one other assured efficiency from Austin Reaves, who scored 28 factors, carried the Lakers to a cushty victory that left the Suns on 31-37 within the Western Conference standings.
In different video games, the Philadelphia 76ers scored an upset 130-125 win over the Dallas Mavericks on the highway.
Quentin Grimes led the scoring for a depleted Sixers line-up lacking Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre Jr, ending with 28 factors.
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