Holding visiting Miami to just eight fourth-quarter points, the Orlando Magic set a franchise record in rallying from 22 points down at the start of the final period to beat the Heat, 121-114, on Saturday.
Orlando, having trailed by as many as 25 points in the first half, began chipping away at the deficit with a 13-0 run to open the fourth quarter. The Magic then went on another 11-0 run to take their first lead since the early first quarter.
The runs were powered by the trio of Cole Anthony, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Goga Bitadze, who combined to score 21 of Orlando’s 37 fourth-quarter points, including the final 17 points that sealed the comeback victory. The 25-point comeback is tied for the largest in franchise history. Orlando also overcame a 25-point deficit on Nov. 8, 1989, at Cleveland.
Anthony’s 35 points and nine assists off the bench were season highs. Caldwell-Pope added 24 points, half of which came on a perfect 12-of-12 shooting from the free-throw line, and Bitadze finished with a double-double, scoring 18 points on 8-of-8 shooting and grabbing 13 rebounds.
Miami was without Jimmy Butler due to a stomach ailment. Despite Butler’s absence, Miami scored 76 first-half points — a team high for one half this season. Bam Adebayo scored 23 points and grabbed six rebounds, Terry Rozier notched another 23 points off the bench and Tyler Herro recorded 22 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Celtics 123, Bulls 98
Jayson Tatum collected 43 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists to help visiting Boston avoid back-to-back losses by beating Chicago.
Tatum made 16 of 24 field-goal attempts, including 9 of his 15 shots from 3-point range, in 36 minutes. Kristaps Porzingis added 22 points and seven rebounds for Boston, which received 19 points, five rebounds and eight assists from Jaylen Brown. The Celtics have not dropped consecutive games this season.
Nicola Vucevic led the Bulls with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Patrick Williams, Coby White and Zach LaVine each added 14 points for Chicago, which was held to 44 points in the second half.
Lakers 103, Kings 99
LeBron James scored a game-high 32 points, D’Angelo Russell came off the bench to chip in with 20 and Los Angeles held on to complete a three-day, two-game road sweep of Sacramento.
The Lakers had won the first game of the sequence 113-100 on Thursday night. James complemented his big scoring night with seven rebounds, a team-leading six assists and four steals. He hit 13 of his 24 shots, helping the Lakers outshoot the hosts 48.2 percent to 43.3 percent. Anthony Davis was the Lakers’ top rebounder with 15 to go with 10 points, five assists and three blocks.
De’Aaron Fox paced the Kings with 31 points to go with seven assists. He made three of his five 3-point attempts as Sacramento held a slight 30-27 edge in points from beyond the arc.
Pistons 133, Suns 125
Cade Cunningham recorded 28 points and 13 assists while Jaden Ivey had 20 points, eight rebounds and eight assists to lead Detroit to a victory at Phoenix.
Malik Beasley scored 18 points off the bench and Jalen Duren had 17 points and 11 rebounds as the Pistons ended a string of seven straight losses to the Suns.
Kevin Durant scored a season-high 43 points and also had six assists and five rebounds for the Suns, who were without Devin Booker (groin) for the first time this season. Bradley Beal had 26 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Knicks 104, Pelicans 93
Jalen Brunson scored 29 of his season-high 39 points in the second half for visiting New York, which overcame a 14-point third-quarter deficit to beat upset-minded New Orleans.
Brunson scored 20 points during a decisive 37-13 run bridging the third and fourth quarters for the Knicks, who mounted their biggest comeback of the season. Karl-Anthony Towns (11 points, 10 rebounds) posted a double-double as the Knicks won their third straight and improved to 8-2 in their past 10 games.
Trey Murphy III scored 26 points for the Pelicans, who have lost six straight to fall to 2-21 since a 3-3 start. New Orleans fell by at least 10 points for the 17th time this season. Dejounte Murray (14 points, nine rebounds, eight assists) flirted with a triple-double.
Spurs 114, Trail Blazers 94
Victor Wembanyama poured in 30 points and tied a career high with 10 blocked shots as host San Antonio rolled to a win over struggling Portland.
The Spurs turned a close game into a decisive victory with a 13-2 run late in the second quarter that helped them build a 16-point lead at halftime. Charles Bassey tied a career high with 16 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for the Spurs.
Shaedon Sharpe put up 25 points for the Trail Blazers, who have lost seven of their past eight contests. Anfernee Simons added 18 points, Deandre Ayton amassed 14 points and eight rebounds, and Scoot Henderson hit for 12 points off the bench.
Bucks 112, Wizards 101
Bobby Portis scored a season-high 34 points while leading short-handed Milwaukee to a win over Washington.
The NBA Cup champion Bucks played without Giannis Antetokounmpo (back) and Damian Lillard (calf). Portis was on triple-double watch, adding 10 boards and eight assists to his tally. Teammate Khris Middleton contributed 18 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
Jordan Poole led Washington with 26 points on 8-for-19 shooting. Bilal Coulibaly scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, Corey Kispert added 16, and Alexandre Sarr added 11 points.
Warriors 113, Timberwolves 103
Stephen Curry scored 31 points and dished 10 assists as Golden State held on to beat Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Trayce Jackson-Davis finished with 15 points and nine rebounds for Golden State, which snapped a three-game losing streak and earned its first road victory since Nov. 22.
Anthony Edwards scored 19 points for Minnesota but made only six of 20 shots from the field. Donte DiVincenzo finished with 19 points off the bench, and Rudy Gobert registered 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Grizzlies 128, Hawks 112
Scotty Pippen Jr. scored 22 points starting in place of the injured Ja Morant to lead visiting Memphis to a win over Atlanta.
Memphis was playing without Morant because of lingering back soreness. Pippen entered the game averaging 10.2 points and turned in his second-best scoring performance of the season. Pippen was 9-for-12 from the field and 3-for-4 on 3-point tries to go along with five rebounds, nine assists and two steals. Desmond Bane added 23 points, including four 3-pointers.
Atlanta was led by De’Andre Hunter’s 26 points off the bench. Dyson Daniels added 15 points, six assists and six steals. The Hawks were missing Trae Young with a bruised heel and lost their third straight.
Cavaliers 126, 76ers 99
Darius Garland scored 26 points to lead six players in double figures as Cleveland improved to a league-best 25-4 with a win over visiting Philadelphia.
Evan Mobley had 22 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for Cleveland, which led by as many as 35 and won its fourth straight game. Donovan Mitchell scored 19 points, Georges Niang added 13, Caris LeVert had 12 and Ty Jerome chipped in 11.
Philadelphia played without star Joel Embiid, who was rested on the second game of the Sixers’ back-to-back set. Tyrese Maxey led Philadelphia with 27 points. Paul George played his first back-to-back set of the season and finished with 11 points.
Mavericks 113, Clippers 97
Quentin Grimes scored a team-high 20 points off the bench, helping guide Dallas to a victory over visiting Los Angeles.
Klay Thompson added 16 points, while Spencer Dinwiddie and Kyrie Irving each chipped in 15 for the Mavericks, who have won nine of their past 11 games and avenged a 23-point loss to the Clippers on Thursday.
Normal Powell’s 28 points paced the Clippers, who got 19 points apiece from James Harden and Kevin Porter Jr. Ivica Zubac produced 13 points and 15 rebounds for Los Angeles, which had its two-game winning streak end.
Jazz 105, Nets 94
Lauri Markkanen scored 14 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and Utah pulled away in the second half for a victory over Brooklyn in New York.
The Jazz won consecutive games for the first time this season by allowing a season low in points and holding an opponent under 100 for the second time this season. Markkanen shot 5-for-10 in the fourth, when he hit 2 of 6 3-point attempts.
Brooklyn lost for the seventh time in nine games. The Nets also lost for the fifth time in their past six home games. Cameron Johnson finished with 13 of his 18 points in the fourth. Ben Simmons collected a season-high 15 points while adding 10 assists for his first double-double of the campaign.
–Field Level Media