Upstart Magic crush Spurs
ORLANDO, Fla. — Evan Fournier scored an efficient 25 points and the Orlando Magic handed the San Antonio Spurs their first loss, 114-87 on Friday night.
Fournier made 10 of 12 shots, including all four of his 3-point tries.
It was the third straight win for the Magic, who got 17 points from Jonathon Simmons, 16 from Aaron Gordon and 15 from Nikolai Vucevic. Orlando shot 57.1 percent while limiting the Spurs to 33.7 percent.
San Antonio lost for the first time in five games, and it wasn’t close. Orlando led by 14 after the first quarter, 27 points at halftime and by 36 points during the second half.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points and 11 rebounds for San Antonio. Patty Mills added 12 points, and Pau Gasol scored 12 points with 11 rebounds.
James Harden had 27 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, and Houston made 22 of 57 3-point attempts in a victory over Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina. Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson led the 3-point barrage. Gordon was 6 of 16 from beyond the arc and had 26 points, while Anderson was 6 of 15 and finished with 21 points. Kemba Walker led the Hornets with 26 points. Kristaps Porzingis had 30 points and nine rebounds, and New York beat Brooklyn at home for their its victory of the season. D’Angelo Russell returned from a onegame absence with 15 points for the Nets.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 33 points and 19 rebounds as Minnesota held off visiting Oklahoma City. Timberwolves guard Jimmy Butler, back after missing two games with an upper respiratory infection, came up big down the stretch. He scored nine points in the final 4:09 to help the Wolves close it out. Butler finished with 25 points and was 11 of 13 at the free throw line. Russell Westbrook led the way for Oklahoma City with 27 points. He had nine assists and eight rebounds. Carmelo Anthony added 23 points for the Thunder.