The Orlando Magic finally snapped a 14-game losing streak to the Milwaukee Bucks with a 112-97 win on Saturday night at the Amway Center. Both teams struggled in the beginning, but it was the Magic that took the bull by the horns and controlled things on their home turf.
Milwaukee Bucks Without Damian Lillard for Second Straight Game
Damian Lillard was seen taking some shots on the court during pregame warmup on Saturday, but was ultimately ruled out of the game due to calf soreness. As a precaution, coach Adrian Griffin sat him out, and the Bucks struggled without Lillard on the court.
Griffin said that Lillard sitting out for a second straight game wasn’t cause for concern.
“I just think if we have to err on the side of caution; being cautious with him.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the team with 35 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists. In place of Lillard, Cam Payne stepped in, adding 14 points and two assists. Bobby Portis added 13 more and seven rebounds off the bench. Antetokounmpo went 5-for-12 from the free-throw line on Saturday, respectively.
In the first nine games of the season, this was the second time that Milwaukee let an awful offensive team run over them. They allowed 66 first half points to the Toronto Raptors on Nov. 1, and then 65 points to the Magic on Saturday. Coming into Saturday’s contest, the Magic was ranked 22nd in the league in scoring 109.9 points per game.
The Magic was able to score 13 points off of eight offensive rebounds, and another 13 off of nine Bucks turnovers. Milwaukee was already entering the game as one of the worst rebounding teams across the league, and tonight just further proved that statistic. Orlando also went 18-for-21 from the free throw line thanks to the Bucks getting the whistle 13 times.
Franz Wagner and his brother Moe combined for a total of 36 points for the Magic, while Jalen Suggs contributed 20 points on 5-of-11 shooting.
Jae Crowder leaves game with apparent injury
With just a little under four minutes left in the third quarter, Bucks’ Jae Crowder was subbed out with AJ Green and the vet walked into the Bucks locker room where he was soon ruled out of the rest of the game due to left groin soreness. Crowder played 17 minutes going 0-for-1 from the floor and 1-for-2 from the free-throw line for one point and he also had two rebounds.
Bucks Bench Tries to Cut Deficit
Heading into the second half, the Bucks needed to start playing with a little more fire under them. Thanasis Antetokounmpo, rookies Andre Jackson Jr. and Chris Livingston, were all rotated in to play alongside Giannis, Khris Middleton, and Bobby Portis. Thanks to a Jackson Jr. dunk, Milwaukee was able to cut the deficit down to 11 with a little over eight minutes left to go. However, Banchero slammed one over Livingston and then Orlando’s Jonathan Isaac followed that up with a three-pointer to bring their lead back to 16.
Both Cam Payne and Bobby Portis received technical fouls tonight, marking Portis’ second on the season and Payne was the sixth player to be issued a technical this season.
This marks the Bucks’ second straight loss, and the first time they’ve lost against the Orlando Magic since 2018. For the Magic, this put them back over .500 at 5-4, whereas last season, it took them 16 games to obtain their fifth victory.
Up Next for Milwaukee:
The Milwaukee Bucks will host the Chicago Bulls on Monday, Nov. 13 at Fiserv Forum with tip off scheduled for 7:00PM CST.
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