Magic clobbers Pelicans, 119-96
ORLANDO, Fla.—Evan Fournier scored 22 points and Aaron Gordon added 20 and the Orlando Magic routed the New Orleans Pelicans 119-96 on Wednesday night.
Terrence Ross had 19 points and Nikola Vucevic added 15 points and 17 rebounds for Orlando, which won its third straight.
New Orleans played without All-Star center Anthony Davis, who flew home Wednesday morning. The team said Davis was excused to attend a family matter.
Stanley Johnson led the Pelicans with 18 points. Fellow reserve Ian Clark had 17 and Frank Jackson was the only starter in double figures with 14.
New Orleans’ Elfrid Payton had his streak of triple-doubles end at five straight games. He finished with seven points, two assists and three rebounds. The only other NBA players with a triple-double in five straight games are Russell Westbrook (four times), Oscar Robertson (three), Wilt Chamberlain (two) and Michael Jordan (one).
Orlando held a 22-point halftime lead and never let the advantage go below 15 in the second half. Payton hit a follow-shot layup to cut New Orleans’ deficit to 15 at 76-61 with 6:23 left in the third period and prompted a timeout by the Magic.
After the timeout, Vucevic drained a wide-open 3-pointer and blocked two shots to ignite a 15-0 run that sealed it. New Orleans missed 11 straight shots and turned the ball over twice during the Magic’s run. The Pelicans trailed 98-67 going into the fourth quarter.
Cavaliers 107, Bucks 102
CLEVELAND—Rookie Collin Sexton scored 25 points, Jordan Clarkson added 23 and the Cleveland Cavaliers delayed Milwaukee from clinching the Central Division on Wednesday night with a 107-102 win over the bruised Bucks, who were without superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Sexton made a 3-pointer with 1:42 left and dropped a driving layup one minute later as the Cavs held on. Down 105-102, Milwaukee had a chance to tie it but had an ugly turnover without getting a shot off.
Khris Middleton scored 26 points and Eric Bledsoe 24 for the Bucks, who couldn’t wrap up their first division title since 2001. They were at a disadvantage as Antetokounmpo sat his second straight game with a sprained right ankle.
The Bucks weren’t just without Antetokounmpo, one of the top MVP candidates, either. They were also down five other rotational players including starting guard Malcolm Brogdon (foot) and forward Nikola Mirotic (thumb).
Sexton’s development has been one of the bright spots in an otherwise dreary season for Cleveland. He became the only rookie in team history to score at least 23 points in seven straight games. Austin Carr (1972) did it six times.
Jazz 137, Knicks 116
NEW YORK—Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, Rudy Gobert made all seven shots and added 18 points, and the Utah Jazz romped to their fifth straight lopsided victory by beating the New York Knicks 137-116 on Wednesday night.
Joe Ingles made six 3-pointers and also scored 18, while Mitchell made five 3-pointers as the Jazz finished 20 of 42 (48 percent) from behind the arc.
The Jazz led by as much as 37 in a game that was even easier than their recent easy victories. They started their winning streak with a 17-point win over Phoenix, then beat Minnesota by 20, Brooklyn by 16 and Washington by 21.
That was a rather soft portion of their schedule and it got even softer with a game against the NBA-worst Knicks, who the Jazz had already clobbered 129-97 at home on Dec. 29. Utah trailed for less than a minute of this one and was shooting 63 percent through three quarters, a number that dropped to 56.5 by the finish only because the best players were on the bench for most of the fourth quarter.