----- Franz Wagner scored a team-high 29 points and Paolo Banchero registered a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds as the Orlando Magic earned a wire-to-wire victory 109-106 over the Portland Trail Blazers Tuesday night at Moda Center.
The Orlando Magic showed up in Portland and wasted little time getting to their tricks Tuesday night at Moda Center.
Orlando (16-26) opened up the game on a 39-20 run to start the game and a 15-0 burst to start the third quarter as the Magic handed the Portland Trail Blazers their fourth-straight loss 109-106 Tuesday night at Moda Center.
With the loss, Portland (19-21) has dropped four-straight games, eight of their last 10, and are now just 9-17 since their 10-4 start to the season.
Franz Wagner scored a team-high 29 points and rookie Paolo Banchero recorded a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Damian Lillard led Portland with a game-high 30 points but connected on just 2-of-12 from three-point range. The Blazers made just 6-of-35 from beyond-the-arc. Jusuf Nurkic navigated foul trouble to finish with 22 points and 10 rebounds on 7-of-14 shooting.
Lillard's layup with 1:32 left cut the deficit 105-101. Gary Harris fouled Lillard on a 3-point attempt, and Lillard made all three free throws to pull the Blazers closer at 107-106 with 25.1 seconds to go.
Markelle Fultz made a pair of free throws to push Orlando's lead to 109-106 with 22.0 remaining. Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant, and Nurkic all missed potential game-tying threes before the final buzzer sounded.
Up Next- The Trail Blazers host the Cleveland Cavaliers Thursday night at Moda Center. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:00 PM.
Chad's take- Maybe this loss will force Bert Kolde to doing something crazy at the deadline.