Paolo Banchero on Sunday scored 24 points as the Orlando Magic overturned a 13-point deficit to end the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 16-game unbeaten streak with a gutsy 108-103 road victory.
Cleveland, the runaway Eastern Conference leaders, had looked poised to extend their franchise-record winning run after surging clear of Orlando early in the third quarter, but after a season where they have staged hefty winning comebacks of their own, the tables turned on Cleveland in the face of a furious burst of Orlando scoring.
The Magic outscored Cleveland 35-23 in the third quarter, with Franz Wagner leading the charge with nine points and Banchero adding seven.
Photo: AP
Although Cleveland led by a slender 83-82 margin heading into the fourth quarter, and threatened to stretch away once more after Donovan Mitchell’s driving layup made it 91-84, Orlando refused to roll over.
Eight more points from Wagner in the final frame, and five apiece from Banchero and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope saw the Magic home to silence a 19,432 sellout crowd at Cleveland’s Rocket Arena.
Former No. 1 draft pick Banchero finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, while Wagner added 22 points with eight rebounds and two assists as Orlando improved to 32-37 to remain eighth in the Eastern Conference.
“It’s a big win,” Banchero said after what was the final leg of a five-game road trip for Orlando. “We knew this was going to be probably the toughest game of the trip. 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 points, with Jarrett Allen finishing on 20 and Darius Garland adding 19.
Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson praised Orlando’s performance and said it demonstrated the depth of quality in the league.
“Huge credit to them,” Atkinson said. “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.”
The Oklahoma City Thunder continued their serene march toward the Western Conference No. 1 seeding with an emphatic 121-105 road victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
NBA Most Valuable Player contender Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder scoring with 31 points as Oklahoma City improved to 56-12, a massive 13 games clear of the second-placed Houston Rockets.
In Los Angeles, the Lakers snapped a four-game losing streak and dealt a blow to the Phoenix Suns’ hopes of reaching the playoffs after powering to a 107-96 victory.
Phoenix, sitting 11th in the Western Conference and just outside the play-in places, badly need wins as they attempt to force their way into the post-season reckoning, but 33 points from Luka Doncic and another assured performance from Austin Reaves, who scored 28 points, carried the Lakers to a comfortable victory that left the Suns on 31-37 in the Western Conference standings.
In Texas, the Philadelphia 76ers scored an upset 130-125 win over the Dallas Mavericks on the road.
Quentin Grimes led the scoring for a depleted Sixers lineup missing Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre Jr, finishing with 28 points.
Elsewhere, the Nets downed the Hawks 122-114, the Trail Blazers edged the Raptors 105-102, the Timberwolves silenced the Jazz 128-102 and the Clippers stung the Hornets 123-88.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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