Four games on tap on Friday around the Association, and they were good ones, with thrilling finishes and scintillating endings.
Here are the best of ‘em:
Magic Shoot Down Lakers
Two of the hottest teams in the NBA—the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers—went at it at crypto.com Arena, and it ended magically for the road team.
Gifted a freebie with Anthony Davis missing two potentially game-clinching freebies, the Magic made sure to capitalize, handing the ball over to rising star Franz Wagner, who did the rest. Isolated at the top of the key, the young German set up an off-the-dribble, stepback three that swished nothing but net to give the Magic a thrilling 119-118 victory over the erstwhile surging Lakers.
Davis was nonetheless spectacular again, going off for 39 points and 9 rebounds. Wagner was just as good, going off for 37 points to go along with 6 rebounds and 11 assists.
The Magic have now won seven of their last eight games, while the Lakers saw their six-game winning streak snapped. It was also the Purple and Gold’s first home loss of the season.
Orlando will next face Detroit on Monday, while LA will take on the Denver Nuggets.
Hornets Outlast Pistons
Elsewhere, the Charlotte Hornets and the Detroit Pistons battled it out to overtime in another thriller on Friday, which the Hornets won, 123-121.
For a moment, though, it looked as if Charlotte would race out to an easy win as it built a 20-point lead in the third. But Detroit had other plans, storming back in the fourth behind some tenacious defense and the poised playmaking of Cade Cunningham. The Pistons even took a two-point lead off two freebies by Cunningham, only for Ball to tie it with a floater in the next possession.
The Pistons’ Malik Beasley missed a pair of close-range shots that would’ve given the lead back to Detroit, while Ball muffed a floater for the win. The game continued to be a back-and-forth in OT, with the Hornets needing two huge, off-balanced treys from Brandon Miller to ultimately prevail.
Miller’s two OT triples were fitting crowns to a career game, with the sophomore finishing with a career-high 38 points on top of 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals. Ball added 35 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists before fouling out one second into OT. Cunningham paced the Pistons with 27 points and 10 assists but left the game in the fourth due to an apparent hip injury.
The Hornets next take on the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday, while the Pistons square off against the red-hot Magic, also on Sunday.
