Losing streak reaches 3 as Magic fall to Clippers
The Orlando Magic had more for the Los Angeles Clippers this time around, but it still wasn’t enough to overcome Kawhi Leonard.
The Magic dropped the third and final game of a three-game homestand as Leonard scored a game-high 31 points to power the Clippers to a 112-97 victory Sunday night at Amway Center.
Magic fans and players from both teams paid tribute to former Lakers star Kobe Bryant, who was killed in a helicopter crash hours before tipoff Sunday.
Michael Carter-Williams finished with 15 points to lead the Magic (21-26), who have lost five of six since beating the Lakers 119-118 in Los Angeles on Jan. 15.
Nikola Vucevic had 13 points, Wes Iwundu had 12 points, Evan Fournier had 11 points and Aaron Gordon and Mo Bamba had 10 points apiece for Orlando.
Landry Shamet and Montrezl Harrell each scored 19 points and Lou Williams added 15 for Los Angeles.
With the win, the Clippers (33-14) swept the season series 2-0. They won 122-95 on Jan. 16 in Los Angeles.
Leonard scored 32 points that night. On Sunday, he picked up where he left off.
Leonard (15 points) nearly outscored the Magic (20) in the third quarter when the Clippers used a 29-9 run to take control. Leonard scored 17 of the Clippers’ 29 points during one stretch from the second quarter into the third.
Orlando trailed by as many as 19 at one point before getting to within nine on a Carter-Williams’ 3 with 4:26 to play. But the Clippers pulled away from there.
The Magic struggled to shoot the ball as their top four scorers — Fournier, Vucevic, Gordon and Terrence Ross — combined to go 16-of-61 (26.2%) from the field. Ross and Fournier were a combined 1-of-14 from the 3-point line as Orlando was 7 of 32 overall (21.9%).
The Magic travel to Miami to face the Heat on Monday for the first game of their road-and-home set that will include Saturday’s contest at Amway Center. In their first meeting of the season on Jan. 3, host Orlando beat Miami 105-85.