Desmond Bane scores 36 to lead Magic past Clippers
Desmond Bane scored 36 points on 13-of-19 shooting to lead the Orlando Magic to a 111-109 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night at Inglewood, Calif.
Paolo Banchero had 16 points, eight assists and seven rebounds and Wendell Carter Jr. added 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Magic, who are 2-1 on a four-game trip. Tristan da Silva had 13 points and Anthony Black added 11 for Orlando.
Bennedict Mathurin missed a potential game-winning 3-point attempt at the buzzer for the Clippers.
Kawhi Leonard had 37 points on 14-of-25 shooting and collected eight rebounds for Los Angeles while topping 20 points in his 36th consecutive appearance.
Mathurin had 21 points, nine rebounds and five assists off the bench for the Clippers. Backup Jordan Miller added 14 points and Brook Lopez scored 10 as Los Angeles dropped its second straight game.
Yanic Konan Niederhauser blocked Bane's driving shot with about eight seconds left to give Los Angeles a chance to tie or win. Leonard was defended tightly and gave up the ball to a wide-open Mathurin, who got the 3-pointer off in time but it bounced off the back rim.
Orlando shot 48.2% from the field, including 8 of 23 from 3-point range.
The Clippers also made 48.2% of their shots and were just 5 of 23 from behind the arc.
Mathurin made two free throws to give the Clippers a 105-101 lead with 4:49 remaining.
Bane and Black answered with layups to knot the score with 3:30 to play. Leonard knocked down a shot 27 seconds later to put Los Angeles back ahead.
Bane hit a mid-range jumper to tie it at 107 with 2:40 remaining. He then scored on a layup when Niederhauser was called for goaltending with 1:26 left to put the Magic ahead.
A fast-break dunk by Banchero with 40.4 seconds to go gave Orlando a 111-107 lead.
Leonard hit a short jumper to bring Los Angeles within two with 28 seconds remaining.
Bane scored 18 points as Orlando took a 57-53 halftime lead. Leonard had 12 points in the half for Los Angeles.
Leonard exploded for 18 points in the third quarter when the Clippers made 13 of 20 shots.
Bane stole the ball and made the layup to give Orlando a one-point lead with 9.6 seconds left in the period before Mathurin sank a turnaround jumper with no time remaining to give the Clippers an 89-88 edge entering the final stanza.