Also thanks to the best performance of the season by national basketball player Moritz Wagner, the Orlando Magic overturned a large deficit in the NBA and won against the Los Angeles Clippers after nine losses. At 116:111 after overtime, the Florida team was already trailing by 18 points last night (local time).
Wagner scored 20 points for the first time this season and also contributed 13 rebounds. His younger brother Franz Wagner scored 15 runs, the Magic’s leading pitcher was Paolo Banchero with 23 runs. It was the 12th loss of the season for the Clippers, who are in a playoff race with stars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.
“To win in this championship you have to have enormous faith in yourself and in your teammates. If you don’t win for a long time, it becomes more and more difficult. So you have to invest a lot for it, and that’s what we did today.” said Moritz Wagner. ‘You need victories like that.’
Like the Clippers, their city rivals also lost. In 113:126 against the Toronto Raptors, the Los Angeles Lakers started with weak substitutes and had to do without LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Patrick Beverly. National team captain Dennis Schröder was the most successful pitcher with 18 points for the NBA-record champions, who never led during the game and sometimes trailed by 27 points.
The Phoenix Suns slap in the top game between the leaders of the Eastern and Western Conferences was completely unexpected in this clarity. The Suns allowed a 96:125 against the Boston Celtics in the comeback of top performer Chris Paul, who had recently injured his heel after trailing by 45 points at times. The New Orleans Pelicans topped the Suns in the standings with a 104-98 victory over the Detroit Pistons.
