Magic set Cavs on their heels

ORLANDO, Fla.-Aaron Gordon scored 21 points, D.J. Augustin added 20 points and seven assists and the Orlando Magic routed the Cleveland Cavaliers 121-91 on Thursday night.

Nikola Vucevic had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Magic. They won for only the second time in six games while chasing the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

Collin Sexton scored 23 points for the Cavaliers, his fourth straight game over 22 points.

Eight Magic players contributed to 45.3 percent 3-point shooting, making 14 of 31 attempts.

Jordan Clarkson came off the bench for 15 points for Cleveland. The Cavs beat the Magic by 14 points at Cleveland on March 3.

Gordon, Evan Fournier and Terrence Ross made 3-pointers in a 15-0 run that left the Magic with a 44-20 lead early in the second quarter. A 3-pointer by Kevin Love cut the margin to 17 a few minutes later, but that is as close as the Cavaliers would get.

 

Pacers 108, Thunder 106

INDIANAPOLIS-Wesley Matthews tipped in a basket with 1.8 seconds left and the Indiana Pacers rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 108-106 on Thursday night.

Domantas Sabonis scored 26 points against his former team, and the Pacers won their second straight by erasing the Thunder's lead in the final 15 minutes. Indiana's magic number for clinching a playoff spot is one.

Paul George led the Thunder with 36 points in his second trip back to Indianapolis since a blockbuster trade in July 2017. Russell Westbrook added 19 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists but missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

George and the Thunder were in control most of the game.

Indiana crept back into the contest by closing the third quarter on a 16-5 run that included a 46-foot, buzzer-beating heave from Cory Joseph. They made it 88-83 when Sabonis hit the opening basket in the fourth.

After Oklahoma City appeared to steady itself with an 8-2 spurt, the Pacers charged back. They tied it on two free throws from Sabonis and took their first lead since the opening minutes when Myles Turner's dunk made it 102-101 with 2:50 to go.

After Bojan Bogdanovic made it 104-101, George tied it with his sixth 3-pointer and broke the tie with two free throws.

Sabonis tied it back up with another layup with 57 seconds left. George turned the ball over twice and slipped while on defense during Indiana's final possession, leaving Matthews the space to get free for the winning putback.

Matthews had 16 points and seven rebounds.

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