The Orlando Magic defeat the Toronto Raptors thanks to a brilliant performance by Franz Wagner. The Dallas Mavericks are desperate at the free throw line. And the LA Lakers lose again. The NBA from Saturday night.
Franz Wagner played a big part in the Magic victory.
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Franz Wagner scored 34 points in Orlando’s 113-109 win over the Toronto Raptors. In the first half, the international scored 14 points in a three-and-a-half-minute phase – but had a decisive part in the victory, when he putback 27 seconds before the end to make it 111:109 for Orlando. Two free throws by Paolo Banchero (23 points), who was also strong, finally produced the final result.
The LA Lakers suffered a painful overtime defeat: The record champions lost to the Philadelphia 76ers 122:133. First, the Californians fought back despite being 16 points down in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter. Anthony Davis, fit again, could have taken the lead from the free-throw line with 3.7 seconds to go, but misplaced a free-throw and “only” equalized – which resulted in overtime. In this, the Sixers – led by Joel Embiid (38 points) – turned up the heat and secured victory against the Lakers, who were weak in overtime.
Lousy free throws and a misunderstanding: Mavs suffer a bitter defeat
The Dallas Mavericks suffered a narrow 105:106 defeat. Luka Doncic (33 points) and his comrades-in-arms had actually gained a lead at the beginning of the final section (11 points), but gave up victory in the final sequences. What happened? The Texans initially managed to narrow Giannis Antetokounmpo’s radius (five points before half-time), but the Greek turned things up in the end (28 points total) but conceded his sixth foul with three minutes to go and ended the game. The crux: Tim Hardaway Jr. missed all three free throws due to Antetokounmpo fouls and thus clearly expressed the Mavs’ free throw weakness (only 41.7 percent).
However, Dorian Finney-Smith’s failed attempts eleven seconds before the final siren were much more bitter. The forward missed both free throws when Dallas was 105-104. Three seconds later, Brook Lopez coldly exploited a misunderstanding on the Mavs defense – in which Maxi Kleber didn’t look good either – and made the 106:105 final score, which the visibly frustrated Doncic also attempted with a difficult step-back three-pointer couldn’t change anything.
