Orlando Magic 130-120 Washington Wizards: Terrence Ross scores 25 points as Magic continue mastery over Wizards
Terrence Ross scores 25 points off the bench for Magic; Nikola Vucevic collected 22 points and 17 rebounds and Maryland native Markelle Fultz had 21 points; Russell Westbrook recorded his second straight triple-double by collecting 15 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists for Wizards
Sunday 27 December 2020 08:22, UK
Terrence Ross scored 25 points off the bench as the visiting Orlando Magic continued their mastery over the Washington Wizards with a 130-120 win on Saturday.
Nikola Vucevic collected 22 points and 17 rebounds and Maryland native Markelle Fultz had 21 points for the Magic, who scored at least 120 points en route to winning all four games against the Wizards last season.
Washington's Bradley Beal answered a 31-point performance in the season-opening loss to Philadelphia by scoring 39 on Saturday. Beal made 9 of 13 free-throw attempts, however, the rest of the team made 6 of 15 attempts from the charity stripe.
Russell Westbrook recorded his second straight triple-double by collecting 15 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists for the Wizards, who will host the Magic again on Sunday.
Thomas Bryant scored 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor, though he endured a regrettable moment in the third quarter. Bryant unintentionally dunked on his own basket while attempting to corral a rebound, with Evan Fournier being credited with the easiest two points of his career.
Orlando claimed a 70-64 lead after that flub, but Bryant atoned for his miscue by making a 3-pointer, a dunk and his third layup in a 2 1/2-minute span to give Washington an 81-80 advantage.
The teams continued their back-and-forth affair before the Magic erupted on a 9-0 run midway into the fourth quarter. Vucevic drained a 3-pointer and Aaron Gordon converted an alley-oop to highlight that surge and stake Orlando to a 113-103 lead with 5:53 to play.
Bryant's uncontested 3-pointer cut the Magic's lead to 115-110 with 3:52 remaining, but Ross' 3-pointer stopped the momentum. Fultz made a pretty reverse layup and had a nifty pass for an easy conversion by Vucevic.
Orlando broke a 32-all tie by scoring 10 of the first 12 points of the second quarter. Ross highlighted that surge by draining a pullup jumper and sinking all three free throws after being fouled on a 3-pointer.
