The shorthanded Magic played Tuesday night.
But in the end, the firepower of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard proved too much to overcome. The All-Star Bucks duo rallied Milwaukee from an early deficit and then held off the Magic late for a 114-109 win over Orlando in the first game of the NBA Cup quarterfinals.
Milwaukee overcame an 18-point fourth quarter from Jalen Suggs that helped Orlando to a 107-106 lead with 40.1 seconds left. But Lillard scored nine points in the final 52 seconds to help thwart Orlando’s upset bid.
With the win, the Bucks advance to the semifinals in Las Vegas, where they will face the winner between the New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks on Saturday. A Magic team playing without its two best players will be eliminated from the NBA Cup.
Magic has endured the battle without stars
The Magic earned their berth in the NBA Cup knockout round despite playing 21 of their previous 26 games without All-Star forward Paolo Banchero, who has been sidelined since Oct. 30 with a torn oblique. Entering the knockout round on Tuesday, they played without breakout forward Franz Wagner, who suffered his own torn oblique in Friday’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
For the Magic, that meant a starting lineup of Jalen Suggs, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Goga Bitadze, Wendell Carter Jr. and Tristan da Silva. With strong support from Moritz Wagner and Anthony Black, the Magic opened a 33-25 lead and kept Orlando competitive throughout.
But the two best players on the field came through for the Bucks and ultimately led Milwaukee to victory. Antetokounmpo and Lillard combined to score 29 straight Bucks points during a stretch that stretched from midway through the second quarter through the final two minutes of the third quarter. Milwaukee’s defense was stifled in the third quarter, allowing the Bucks to win 20–13, to take an 80–72 lead in the fourth.
Dame defeated Suggs in the back-and-forth fourth quarter
But the magic wasn’t done yet. They tied the score several times in the fourth quarter before taking a 102-101 lead on a shot by Suggs in the final three minutes. Wendell Carter Jr.’s free throws put Orlando ahead 106-103 with 1:13 left.
But Lillard countered with a 3-pointer to tie the game at 106.
He then answered Black’s free throw with a layup to regain the lead at 108-107.
Lillard added four free throws in the final nine seconds to ice the game for the Bucks.
Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 37 points, seven rebounds, two steals and four blocks. Lillard added 28 points and nine assists while hitting all 10 of his free throws. He scored 13 in the back-and-forth fourth quarter, including 11 of Milwaukee’s final 13 points.
Bobby Portis Jr. was big off the bench, with 22 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. The Bucks overcame a sloppy night of ball handling, turning the ball over 16 times.
Suggs led the Magic with 32 points, nine rebounds and four steals. Black scored 17 and Wagner added 13 points and three rebounds off the bench.
