Griffin leads Pistons past Magic

Detroit Pistons forward Blake Griffin (23) knocks the ball away from Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon (00) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
Detroit Pistons forward Blake Griffin (23) knocks the ball away from Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon (00) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

DETROIT-Blake Griffin scored 30 points to lead the Detroit Pistons to a 120-115 overtime victory over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night.

Andre Drummond added 14 points and 21 rebounds for the Pistons, who won for the third time in 11 games. Detroit had six players with at least 13 points.

Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross each scored 24 points for Orlando, which had won two in a row after a four-game losing streak.

Detroit led by as many as 11 in the fourth quarter, but Vucevic helped pull the Magic within 105-104 with 3:23 to play and tied it at 107 with 2:14 to go. D.J. Augustin followed with a layup to put Orlando ahead, and the teams went scoreless on their next possessions.

Drummond's tip-in tied the game at 109-all, and Vucevic missed a jumper with 20.4 seconds left.

Griffin ran down the clock, but missed a jumper at the end of regulation.

Detroit scored the first four points of overtime, but Ross answered with a pair of 3-pointers. Both teams struggled to score after that, and the Magic called a timeout with 42.5 seconds left, trailing 117-115.

Vucevic missed a hook, and Griffin hit a layup in traffic to give Detroit a four-point lead.

The Magic shot 67.5 percent from the floor in the first half, but the Pistons were able to hold the margin to 63-58 with a 6-1 rebounding advantage on the offensive glass and nine free throws to Orlando's three. Vucevic and Ross had 15 each for the Magic, while Griffin led Detroit with 12.

Ish Smith's 3-pointer gave the Pistons a 75-74 lead late in the third quarter, and Griffin's nine points in the period helped Detroit take a 90-84 lead into the fourth.

The Pistons reserves, supplemented by Drummond, started the final period with a 7-2 run to expand the margin to 11 with 9:45 to play.

 

Bucks 111, Grizzlies 101

MEMPHIS, Tenn.-Giannis Antetokounmpo had 27 points and 11 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks used a third-quarter outburst to capture their third straight win, 111-101 over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.

Eric Bledsoe added 16 points and D.J. Wilson scored 13 for the Bucks, who won for the 14th time in 17 games.

Omri Casspi led the Grizzlies with 17 points. Marc Gasol, Mike Conley and JaMychal Green scored 14 points apiece for Memphis, which lost its ninth in the last 10.

The Grizzlies took their only lead of the game at 59-58 early in the second half on a 3-pointer by Gasol.

The Bucks made sure any Memphis excitement was short-lived. Milwaukee ran off 19 straight points to extend its lead to 18. By that point, the Grizzlies returned to uninspired play as the Bucks outscored Memphis 41-28 in the quarter. Memphis committed eight turnovers in the third, leading to 20 points.

The Bucks took an early lead thanks to anemic shooting by Memphis. The Grizzlies starters seemed lackadaisical and not up to the task of challenging one of the better teams in the NBA as Milwaukee stretched its lead to as many as 14 points.

The Memphis reserves brought more energy and steadily chipped away at the Bucks advantage. Casspi and Green led the rally.

But the Bucks used 15 points from Antetokounmpo to hold on for a 50-45 lead at the break.

The third-quarter rally led to Milwaukee building the advantage to as many as 31 points in the fourth.

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