Magic cruises 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 win over the Bucks on Sunday night in Milwaukee.

Jalen Suggs added 20 goals for Orlando, which has won its fourth straight win. Desmond Bane scored 18 points and a game-high 9 assists.

The Bucks fell for the fifth time in their last six contests. They played without Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf), Kevin Porter Jr. (knee) and Kyle Kuzma (back).

Bobby Portis led Milwaukee with 18 points along with a game-high 10 rebounds. Portis made history with his performance, recording his 87th double-double off the bench, moving into second place all-time in the NBA. He trails only Detlef Schremp (106), who played forward for four teams from 1985 to 2001.

Cam Thomas added 17 points with six assists for the Bucks, Ryan Rollins added 15 points and Jericho Sims added 10 points with seven boards.

Milwaukee couldn’t find an offensive rhythm from the jump. The Bucks started 4 of 16 from the field and scored just 15 points in the opening quarter to the Magic’s 25.

Although the Bucks found some offensive momentum toward the end of the first half, turnovers became an issue as they committed nine turnovers in the first half and fell behind 67-55.

The Magic’s defense continued to suffocate the Bucks in the third inning. Milwaukee scored only 9 points in the first 10 minutes of the third quarter. Orlando also led 100-70 until the fourth inning and recorded a field goal success rate of over 60%.

The Bucks committed 16 turnovers in the game and the Magic shot 14-for-33 (42.4%) from beyond the arc.

The Magic took the three-game season series to 2-1 with the win, claiming a tiebreaker that would likely not pass given Milwaukee’s standing.

This is the first time that Orlando has won a season series against Milwaukee since the 2011-12 season (4-0).

–Field level media