NBA: Paolo Banchero leads Magic past Pelicans for season sweep
Paolo Banchero #5 of the Orlando Magic celebrates during the second half against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on February 27, 2023 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images/AFP
Paolo Banchero scored 29 points and the visiting Orlando Magic defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 101-93 on Monday night.
The score was tied at 93 with less than two minutes remaining before Banchero made two jumpers and Franz Wagner, who finished with 11 points, added a jumper to give the Magic a six-point lead with 23.6 seconds left.
Moritz Wagner and Markelle Fultz added 14 points each and Wendell Carter Jr. had 11 points and 11 rebounds for Orlando, which began a three-game road trip by finishing a season series sweep against New Orleans.
Paolo pulls up to give Orlando a 95-93 lead with under 2 minutes to play 🔥
Watch the final seconds of Magic-Pelicans live on the NBA App!https://t.co/0rrSPxOHD0 pic.twitter.com/2b6bIo9vv8
— NBA (@NBA) February 28, 2023
Brandon Ingram scored 25 points, CJ McCollum scored 18 and Herbert Jones Jr. added 10 to lead the Pelicans, who lost their fourth consecutive game in their first home game in 17 days.
The Magic started the third quarter with a 12-6 run that gave them a 62-55 lead. Carter had six points in the run.
McCollum scored five of his team’s seven points in a spurt to help New Orleans pull even at 64, but Banchero scored 10 points in the final six minutes of the third Orlando rebuilt its lead to 79-74 entering the fourth.
Jonas Valanciunas’ basket for the Pelicans started the fourth-quarter scoring before the Magic scored the next five points for an eight-point lead.
New Orleans fought back to tie the game at 89-89 midway through the period — the first of three ties before Banchero scored eight of the game’s final 12 points.
The Magic were hot early, hitting 6 of 11 of their 3-point shots in the first quarter, taking a 36-25 lead after 12 minutes.
But the Magic scored just two points in the final four minutes of the second quarter and New Orleans outscored them 24-14 in the frame. Josh Richardson beat the buzzer with an 18-foot jumper that trimmed Orlando’s lead to 50-49 at halftime.
