Magic’s defense clamps down

Wagner steps up to help tie series

By the time Franz Wagner finished outscoring Cleveland by himself in the third quarter, what had been a competitive game turned into another rout in this series between the Orlando Magic and Cavaliers.

Wagner had 34 points and 13 rebounds, and the Magic held the Cavaliers scoreless for a second-half stretch of almost seven minutes, cruising to a 11289 victory Saturday in Orlando, Fla., that tied the Eastern Conference firstround series at 2-2.

After putting up 60 points in the first half, Cleveland was outscored 37-10 in the third quarter and managed only 29 points in the second half.

Asked if he had ever seen a more dominant defensive quarter, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said: “I’d have to look that one up.”

Wagner had 10 points in the first five minutes of the third quarter and finished with 12 in the period, when the Cavaliers missed 14 of their 18 shots.

Other game

Thunder 106, Pelicans 85: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points and Oklahoma City beat host New Orleans to take a 3-0 lead in their first-round playoff series. Jalen Williams and Josh Giddey each scored 21 for the Thunder, who escaped Game 1 with a two-point victory before posting victory margins of 32 in Game 2 and 21 in Game 3.

Celtics 104, Heat 84: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each scored 22 points, and Boston soundly beat host Miami to take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference firstround series. Tatum added 10 rebounds and six assists for the Celtics, who led Game 3 wire-towire and reclaimed the home-court edge that they lost when Miami won Game 2 in Boston. Kristaps Porzingis had 18 points and Derrick White scored 16 for the Celtics, who used runs of 12-3, 11-0 and 20-8 in the first half to take full control.

Lakers 119, Nuggets 108: LeBron James scored 30 points, Anthony Davis added 25 points and 23 rebounds, and Los Angeles avoided playoff elimination with a win over Denver. D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves scored 21 points apiece for the seventhLakers, who snapped their 11-game losing streak against the defending NBA champions with their first win over the Nuggets since December 2022.

Notes

Damian Lillard underwent an MRI to determine the severity of his Achilles injury, and it was not known if the Milwaukee Bucks would be without the star guard for Game 4 of their playoff series Sunday against the Indiana Pacers.