The Orlando Magic, coming off a 36-point road loss in San Antonio the night before, should have been easy prey for a Milwaukee Bucks team that had won two straight and had a day of rest. But that was not the case on Wednesday night in Orlando.
The Magic held the lead for most of the night and hit a franchise-record-tying 18 of 34 three-pointers and knocked off the Bucks 126-117.
Orlando used a 13-0 run to take the lead in the first quarter and every time the Bucks tried to make a run, the Magic would answer with a flurry of three’s. They led 36-20 after the first quarter.
The Bucks rebounded to take the lead in the third quarter at 80-77 with 3:57 left in the period. That would be the last points the Bucks would score in the quarter. Orlando went on a 10-0 run to take the lead for good.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 38 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists to lead the Bucks, but it wasn’t enough to prevent them from falling into eighth place in the Eastern Conference with 14 games to play.
The Bucks (36-32) are back home to host the Atlanta Hawks (20-48) on Saturday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.