Simmons’ 35 works Magic
Jonathon Simmons scored a career-high 35 points, D.J. Augustin added 32 and the Magic bounced back from an embarrassing defeat to beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 126-117, last night in Orlando.
Simmons was 7-of-12 from 3-point range and Augustin hit 6-of-9, three of them in the fourth quarter to help Orlando pull away.
Nikola Vucevic had 22 points, nine rebounds and nine assists for the Magic, who were routed 108-72 Tuesday night in San Antonio, their fifth straight loss.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 38 points for Milwaukee, which has lost 7-of-10.
Augustin and Simmons combined for 20 points as the Magic closed out the first quarter on a 27-7 run to take a 16-point lead.
Milwaukee erased most of it by scoring the first 10 points of the second quarter, but did not regain the lead until Eric Bledsoe converted a turnover into a layup with 4:50 left in the third quarter.
Orlando scored the final 14 points of that period to take 91-80 lead into the fourth.
The Bucks never got within five in the fourth quarter.
• • • Stephen Curry wanted nothing more than to play on his milestone 30th birthday, a home game against the Lakers last night.
The two-time MVP is doing his best to see the big picture, though. The playoffs are a month away and he plans to be in top form to lead another special Golden State run.
“I’ve been through this countless times but I feel very confident in the approach that we’re taking to get to as close to 100 percent as possible going into the stretch run of the regular season and then obviously the playoffs,” Curry said yesterday. “I would obviously love to be out there playing every game down the stretch, to be out there with my squad. At this point there’s enough time, not just me, we have a bunch of guys banged up, that we all can prioritize health and understand that we need to all be ready to go.”
Curry will miss at least the next four games for the ailing defending champions as he heals from his latest right ankle injury, while Klay Thompson also will miss those games. The Warriors announced on Tuesday Thompson has a fractured right thumb that will sideline him until March 22.
After last night’s matchup with LA, they will miss tomorrow at home against the Kings, then road games at Phoenix on Saturday and at San Antonio Monday. Golden State is 11-6 this season without Curry, who missed an 11game stretch with the ankle in December then injured it again March 2 at Atlanta but was able to play.