Magic cruise past short-handed Bucks to take season series
Paolo Banchero scored a game-high 33 points to lead the Orlando Magic to a 130-91 victory over the Bucks in Milwaukee on Sunday night.
Jalen Suggs added 20 for Orlando, which won its fourth consecutive game. Desmond Bane scored 18 with a game-high nine assists.
The Bucks fell for the fifth time in their last six contests, this one played without Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf), Kevin Porter Jr. (knee) and Kyle Kuzma (back).
Bobby Portis led Milwaukee in scoring with 18 along with a game-best 10 rebounds. Portis made history with his performance, pulling into second place in the all-time NBA ranks with his 87th double-double off the bench. He trails only Detlef Schrempf (106), who played forward for four teams from 1985-2001.
Cam Thomas added 17 points with six assists for the Bucks, while Ryan Rollins scored 15 points and Jericho Sims added 10 with seven boards.
Milwaukee could not find any offensive rhythm from the jump. The Bucks started the game 4 of 16 from the field and scored just 15 points in the opening quarter to the Magic's 25.
While the Bucks found their way a bit offensively toward the end of the half, turnovers became a problem as they committed nine turnovers in the half alone and trailed 67-55.
The Magic's defense continued to suffocate the Bucks in the third. Milwaukee scored just nine points in the first 10 minutes of the third quarter. Orlando also shot over 60% from the field as it took a 100-70 lead into the fourth.
The Bucks committed 16 turnovers in the game while the Magic shot 14-for-33 (42.4%) from beyond the arc.
The Magic captured the three-game season series 2-1 with the win, claiming the tiebreaker that likely will not come to pass given Milwaukee's position in the standings.
It's the first time Orlando has outright won a season series against Milwaukee since the 2011-12 season (4-0).