Magic wins sixth in row
A STRONG start gave the Mid City Magic the upper hand in its intraclub derby on Saturday.
It piled on 59 firsthalf points to beat the Magic Lions 10586 in the Dunedin men’s competition.
The result extended the Magic’s winning streak to six games and left it top of the table.
It was Richie Rodger, Aaron Roydhouse and Josh Aitcheson who did the damage on the scoresheet for the Magic.
Rodger led with 32 points, while Roydhouse and Aitcheson chipped in with 25 and 21 respectively.
That helped quell a Lions side which had Otago Nugget Kane Keil on debut, as well as having added Sam Timmins (27 points) and Darcy Knox (15 points) in recent weeks.
Aitcheson hit three threepointers early to give the Magic an early buffer, while 12 points to centre Roydhouse took the Magic to a 3222 lead at the first break.
Timmins kept the Lions going with a pair of threes, but the Magic’s range of threats told in the second quarter.
It led 5940 at halftime and, while the game became even from there, Rodger stepped up to keep the Magic’s advantage — he finished with seven threes.
The City Rise Bombers claimed a key win in the race for the playoffs with a 9952 thrashing of a highly depleted Varsity team.
Matthew Bardsley had 24 points, while Tom Davison added 15.
It leaves the Bombers in thirdplace on six wins, one ahead of the Lions and Andy Bay Falcons with two weeks to play in the battle for the top four.
The Falcons were beaten 9572 by a St Kilda Saints side which remains just one win behind the Magic.
A run early in the fourth quarter proved key for the Saints, pulling away after being unable to shake the Falcons throughout the game.
Centre Jack Andrew (19 points) had been dominant finishing around the hoop early, while guards James Ross and Jamie Macdonald were also prominent with 18 and 17 points each.
Paden Kennedy topscored for the Falcons with 24 points, including seven threepointers.
Jamal Murray scored 27 points and Nikola Jokic had 26 points and 18 rebounds, leading the Denver Nuggets to a 110101 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in game 2 of their Western Conference semifinal yesterday in the bubble near Orlando, Field Level Media reports.
Pascal Siakam scored a seriesbest 23 points and Kyle Lowry added 22 as the Toronto Raptors evened their Eastern Conference semifinal series with a 10093 win over the Boston Celtics.