Tuesday night’s game featured the Magic, who were shorthanded.
However, the combined firepower of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard proved too much to overcome. The All-Star Bucks combination pulled Milwaukee from an early deficit and held off the Magic late to beat Orlando 114-109 in the first game of the NBA Cup quarterfinals.
Milwaukee overcame Jalen Suggs’ 18-point fourth quarter, which allowed Orlando to take a 107-106 lead with 40.1 seconds left. However, Lillard scored nine points in the final 52 seconds to help defeat Orlando’s upset bid.
With the win, the Bucks move to the semifinal stage in Las Vegas, where they will face the winner of the New York Knicks-Atlanta Hawks game on Saturday. A Magic squad missing its two top players is ousted from NBA Cup competition.
Magic put up the fight without stars
The Magic advanced to the NBA Cup knockout phase despite playing 21 of their previous 26 games without All-Star forward Paolo Banchero, who has been out since Oct. 30 with a torn oblique. Then, when they advanced to the knockout round on Tuesday, they were without breakout forward Franz Wagner, who sustained his own torn oblique in Friday’s loss to the Philadelphia Sixers.
For the Magic, the starting lineup included Jalen Suggs, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Goga Bitadze, Wendell Carter Jr., and Tristan da Silva. With solid bench help from Moritz Wagner and Anthony Black, the Magic took a 33-25 lead and maintained their competitiveness throughout.
However, the best two players on the court dressed up for the Bucks and ultimately drove them to victory. Antetokounmpo and Lillard combined to score 29 consecutive Bucks points between the middle of the second quarter and the last two minutes of the third. Milwaukee’s defense tightened in the third quarter, which the Bucks dominated 20-13, giving them an 80-72 lead heading into the fourth.
Dame defeats Suggs in back-and-forth fourth quarter
But the Magic wasn’t finished. They tied the game several times in the fourth quarter before taking a 102-101 lead in the last three minutes on a basket by Suggs. Wendell Carter Jr.’s free throws put Orlando ahead 106-103 with 1:13 left.
But Lillard responded with a three-pointer to tie the score at 106.
He then responded to Black’s free throw with a basket to retake the lead, 108-107.
Lillard made four free throws in the final nine seconds to seal the win for the Bucks.
Antetokounmpo paced the Bucks with 37 points, seven rebounds, two steals, and four blocks. Lillard finished with 28 points and nine assists, making all ten free throws. He scored 13 points in the back-and-forth fourth quarter, including 11 of Milwaukee’s final 13 points.
Bobby Portis Jr. was a force off the bench, tallying 22 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists. The Bucks overcome a terrible night of ball handling, turning it over 16 times.
Suggs led the Magic with 32 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 steals. Black scored 17 points, while Wagner contributed 13 points and three rebounds off the bench.