Cavs blow big lead, hold off Magic late

CLEVELAND — Isaiah Thomas made two free throws with 11 seconds left, and the Cleveland Cavaliers came up with a defensive stop in the frantic final seconds after blowing a 23-point lead to beat the Orlando Magic 104-103 on Thursday night.

After Thomas made his shots, Orlando’s Elfrid Payton missed a contested layup with three seconds left. The officials ruled there was an inadvertent whistle and held a jump ball at midcourt.

Magic forward Aaron Gordon grabbed the toss and sank an apparent game-winning 45-footer as the horn sounded, and the crowd shrieked in disbelief. But Gordon committed a jump-ball violation with the move, and Cleveland then had only to inbound the ball to come away with a win that shouldn’t have been so difficult.

76ERS 89, CELTICS 80

Joel Embiid scored 26 points and matched a career best with 16 rebounds, leading host Philadelphia to a victory over Boston and its sixth win in seven games.

BLAZERS 100, PACERS 86

Damian Lillard scored 26 points, Jusuf Nurkic added 19, and Portland won its fifth consecutive home game.

ODDS AND ENDS

Chicago Bulls guard Kris Dunn is out indefinitely after being placed into concussion protocol following a fall during a game that ended up with his dislocating two front teeth. … The NBA suspended Orlando Magic swingman Arron Afflalo two games without pay for fighting the Timberwolves’ Nemanja Bjelica on Tuesday night.