Vucevic hits game-winner as Magic knock off Lakers
ORLANDO, FLA. >> Nik Vucevic hit a fallaway 18-footer at the buzzer to lift the Orlando Magic to a 101-99 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night.
Shabazz Napier led Orlando with 22 points, including five 3-pointers, and Evan Fournier added 16 for the Magic, who got 65 points from their reserves including 18 from Vucevic, who came off the bench for the first time in his four seasons in Orlando.
Magic guard Victor Oladipo left the game in the first quarter with a concussion and did not return.
Los Angeles, playing without Kobe Bryant for the second straight game, put six players in double figures, led by Roy Hibbert with 15 points. Rookie D’Angelo Russell added 14 and Larry Nance Jr. and Lou Williams had 13 apiece.
Neither team could break away in the fourth quarter until the Magic scored seven straight points to take a 99-94 lead with 2:17 left, the largest lead of the second half for either team.
The Lakers scored five straight points with Williams hitting three free throws and Julius Randle adding a driving layup to tie the game at 99 with 1:18 to play. PACERS 102, CELTICS 91 >> Paul George scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Indiana to a victory over Boston.
C.J. Miles had 17 points and Monta Ellis added 13 for the Pacers, who posted their fifth win in six games.
Evan Turner led Boston with 20 points, while Isaiah Thomas had 14 and Jared Sullinger scored 11 with 11 rebounds. The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Celtics.
Boston was just 4 on 3-point attempts. NETS 106, ROCKETS 98 >> Bojan Bogdanovic came off the bench to score a seasonhigh 22 points with nine rebounds and lead Brooklyn to its first victory of the season, over Houston.
The Nets entered the game 0-7 and the Rockets had won four straight after opening the season 0-3.
Brooklyn scored six straight points to turn a tie game into a 99-93 lead with 3½ minutes remaining. Thomas Robinson led the way in that stretch, scoring four points highlighted by a dunk after a steal. HAWKS 106, PELICANS 98 >> Al Horford scored 26 points and Atlanta rallied to beat injury-depleted New Orleans Pelicans, which
for
24 led much of the way but couldn’t hang on without star Anthony Davis.
After trailing by 12 points in the first half, the Hawks pulled away down the stretch. Paul Millsap converted a couple of three-point plays to help seal the victory for Atlanta, which bounced back from a home loss to Minnesota two nights earlier.
The Hawks didn’t have to worry about Davis. The star center missed the game with a right hip contusion sustained Tuesday against Dallas in the Pelicans’ first win of the season. Horford took advantage by making 11 of 15 shots. Millsap was also a force, finishing with 19 points and 16 rebounds. WARRIORS 100, GRIZZLIES 84 >> Stephen Curry scored 28 points and Andre Iguodala added 20 as Golden State matched a franchise record for most wins to start a season with a victory over Memphis.
Harrison Barnes added 19 points for Golden State, which won its ninth straight to open the season. Curry’s was 9 of 21 from the field, but only 3 of 10 from outside the arc. The Warriors finished shooting 41 percent from 3-point range, 11 of 27.
Marc Gasol had 26 points, Zach Randolph added 19 and Tony Allen finished with 15 as the Grizzlies lost their fourth straight.
The game was the first between the teams since the Warriors defeated Memphis 119-69 on Nov. 2, the worst loss in franchise history. HORNETS 95, KNICKS 93 >> Cody Zeller scored on a layup off an inbounds play with 0.6 seconds left and Charlotte held on for a victory over New York when Kristaps Porzingis’ 3-pointer was ruled too late.
Zeller had set a pick for Jeremy Lin under the Hornets basket, then alertly released to the hoop inside of Robin Lopez for the layup.
Porzingis then hit from 29 feet on the ensuing inbounds play, but officials huddled and ruled that he didn’t get the shot off in time after a video review.