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(Photo credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images)
Jalen Suggs knocked down five 3-pointers on his way to a team-high 23 points, and the Orlando Magic continued the tailspin of the visiting Los Angeles Clippers with a 129-101 triumph on Thursday.
Orlando overwhelmed Los Angeles defensively, holding the Clippers to just 36-of-89 (40.4%) shooting from the floor while forcing 21 turnovers. The Magic rode their defensive dominance to their fifth win in the last six games, while sending Los Angeles to its ninth loss in the last 10 outings.
The Clippers mounted little offensive threats outside of James Harden. One game removed from becoming just the 11th player in NBA history with at least 28,000 career points, Harden led all scorers on Thursday with 31.
The only other Clipper to score in double-figures, however, was Ivica Zubac with 14 points. Zubac also grabbed a game-high 19 rebounds.
Orlando countered with six double-figure-point scorers, including four of its five starters. Franz Wagner complemented Suggs with 20 points, Tristan da Silva added 17 points and eight rebounds, and Desmond Bane converted 3-of-6 from 3-point range on the way to 15 points.
Suggs and Bane paced Orlando to a torrid 18-of-34 shooting (52.9%) from long distance. Nine different Magic shooters made at least one 3-pointer, including Anthony Black, who led Orlando reserves with 12 points.
The Magic owed their balanced scoring to effective ball movement, scoring 32 of their 45 made field goals off of assists. Suggs led the way with seven assists, while Wendell Carter Jr. dished out six.
The Magic were also excellent at the free-throw line, going 21-of-24.
Orlando led almost wire-to-wire, but the Magic’s definitive stretch came in the back-half of the third quarter when they held the Clippers without a point for almost three minutes. The Los Angeles drought overlapped with a 16-7 Orlando run, during which the Magic opened up an 88-69 lead with 1:56 to play in the stanza.
Orlando’s advantage swelled to as many as 30 points when Jase Richardson knocked down a 3-pointer in the final minute.
–Field Level Media
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