NBA: Magic extend streak, Lillard returns for Bucks

Franz Wagner tallied 32 points and eight assists as the Orlando Magic kept rolling with Monday's 109-99 victory over the injury-plagued Phoenix Suns.

Orlando also received 20 points and nine assists off the bench from Anthony Black to extend its winning streak to six games by taking this matchup of teams currently going in opposite directions. Goga Bitadze added 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting along with 10 rebounds for the Magic, who are now 6-4 since All-Star Paolo Banchero went to the sidelines with an oblique injury.

Phoenix was dealt a fourth consecutive loss while playing without three starters in Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkic. The Suns are 1-5 since Durant went down with a calf injury after starting the season 8-1.

Devin Booker, coming off a season-high 44-point effort in the Suns' loss at Minnesota on Sunday, managed just 17 in this one while missing six of seven shots from 3-point range.

Tyus Jones paced Phoenix with 18 points and eight assists, while Grayson Allen scored 17 points off the bench.

Orlando remained in control after scoring the final four points of the first quarter to take a 26-22 lead after one period. The Magic then dominated the second, shooting 60 percent for the quarter while outscoring the Suns by a 38-26 margin to head into the break owning a 64-48 advantage.

ANOTHER big night from Franz Wagner: 32 PTS 8 AST 4-8 3PT 6-game win streak for the @OrlandoMagicpic.twitter.com/jxhMZXtE4X

— NBA TV (@NBATV) November 19, 2024

The Magic's lead got as high as 19 points in the second half, and they maintained a double-digit cushion until a Booker 3-pointer with 3:36 remaining got Phoenix within 98-91.

Lillard returns, hits winning shot as Bucks end Rockets' winning streak

Damian Lillard capped his return to the Milwaukee Bucks' lineup by making a go-ahead layup with 3.9 seconds left that lifted his team to a 111-110 win over the Houston Rockets.

Having missed Milwaukee's previous three games while in concussion protocol, Lillard went just 6 of 18 from the field while compiling 18 points and 10 assists in 36 minutes. The eight-time All-Star hit the biggest shot of the night, however, by driving past a Houston defender and eluding another to convert the layup that put the Bucks ahead.

The Rockets then failed to get a shot off before time expired as their five-game winning streak came to an end.

Milwaukee, meanwhile, has now won three of four following a surprising 2-8 start to the season. The Bucks received 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting along with 10 rebounds from Brook Lopez in this victory, while Giannis Antetokounmpo chipped in 20 points and 13 rebounds.

Dame winner. pic.twitter.com/IwQegD1pJX

— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) November 19, 2024

The Rockets got 26 points from Fred VanVleet and 21 from Jalen Green but struggled from the perimeter, shooting just 28.1 per cent from 3-point range.

Houston shot just 26.9 per cent overall in the second quarter and was outscored by a 30-17 margin for the period as the Bucks built a 57-45 half-time lead.

Milwaukee's advantage was 14 points deep into the third quarter before the Rockets began closing the gap. Houston finished the period on a 9-2 run to pull within 83-80 entering the fourth following a three-point play from Alperen Sengun.

The Rockets' surge continued into the fourth quarter, as Sengun's tip-in with 1:58 left put the Bucks at a 100-94 deficit. Milwaukee scored the game's final seven points, however, with AJ Green's clutch 3-pointer with 1:17 remaining cutting the lead to 100-99 and setting up Lillard's game-winner.

Clippers hold on to halt Warriors' run

Norman Powell scored 23 points and the Los Angeles Clippers survived a late comeback attempt by the Golden State Warriors to hand the current Pacific Division leaders a 102-99 loss.

Powell went 5 of 6 from 3-point range on a night the Clippers shot 47.1 per cent from beyond the arc en route to their fifth straight win at the brand-new Intuit Dome. Los Angeles had lost its first four games at the state-of-the-art arena.

James Harden dished out 16 assists to go along with 12 points to help the Clippers end Golden State's three-game winning streak and deal the Warriors just their third defeat in 13 games this season. Ivica Zubac contributed 17 rebounds for Los Angeles.

3’s ARE HIS NORM https://t.co/57ZXWCzGaC pic.twitter.com/moTr1PDWvV

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) November 19, 2024

Stephen Curry finished with 26 points for Golden State and Andrew Wiggins had 22, and the duo nearly led the Warriors back after Powell's 3-pointer with 2:30 left staked the Clippers to a 102-92 lead.

Wiggins answered with a three-pointer of his own with 1:44 to go, and Curry followed with a layup to cut the margin to five points entering the final minute. After Harden misfired on a 3-point try, Wiggins scored off a Draymond Green feed with 35 seconds remaining to pull the Warriors within 102-99.

Powell then was stripped of the ball on the following possession, but both Curry and Gary Payton II missed 3-point shots in the closing seconds as the Warriors' rally fell short.

Powell had 11 points and Harden scored 10 in the first half to lead the Clippers to a 56-45 advantage at half-time. Los Angeles was up 61-49 early in the third quarter before the Warriors reversed momentum, as they outscored the Clippers by a 23-11 count over the next eight minutes to tie the game at 72-72 late in the period.