Wagner and Banchero help Magic beat Celtics to cut Boston's lead to 2-1
Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner (22) shoots against Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) during the second half in game 3 of a first-round NBA playoff basketball series,, Friday, April 25, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Franz Wagner scored 32 points, Paolo Banchero added 29 and the Orlando Magic beat Boston 95-93 on Friday night to cut the Celtics' lead to 2-1 in the Eastern Conference first-round series.
Jayson Tatum had 36 points and nine rebounds for the Celtics in his return to the starting lineup after missing Game 2 with a bruised wrist.
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The defending NBA champions were 33-8 on the road this season but are now 0-3 in Orlando in 2024-25. The Magic host Game 4 on Sunday.
Boston rallied after scoring just 11 points in the third quarter to tie it 91 on Derrick White's layup with 2:31 to play. Wagner answered with a layup, and after a miss by Tatum, followed with another basket for a 95-91 lead with 1:26 to play.
White scored, and after Wagner missed a 3-pointer, the Celtics got the ball and inbounded with 0.3 seconds left but White's pass toward the basket was tapped away as time expired.
Jaylen Brown had 19 points for the Celtics, who went 17 minutes without a 3-point basket in the second half.
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BUCKS 117, PACERS 101
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Gary Trent Jr. tied a franchise playoff record with nine 3-pointers and scored 37 points, Giannis Antetokounmpo also had 37 and Milwaukee used a big second half to beat Indiana and cut the Pacers' series lead to 2-1.
The Pacers led 57-47 at halftime, but Trent hit three 3-pointers early in the third to pull the Bucks even at 62. The Bucks grabbed a 72-69 lead on Antetokounmpo's three-point play and led 86-75 at the end of the quarter.
The lead grew to as many as 20 in the fourth and Trent finished 9 for 12 behind the arc to tie Hall of Famer Ray Allen's mark for most 3-pointers in a postseason game.
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Antetokounmpo added 12 rebounds for Milwaukee, which hosts Game 4 on Sunday. A.J. Green scored 12 points and Bobby Portis had 10 for the Bucks, who took on the Pacers for the 18th time in the past two seasons.
Indiana had won five of the last six playoff games between the teams and ousted the Bucks from the playoffs in the opening round last season.
Pascal Siakam had 28 points and Aaron Nesmith scored 18 for the Pacers. Tyrese Haliburton finished with 14 points and 10 assists.
TIMBERWOLVES 116, LAKERS 104
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota's stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat Los Angeles to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round series on Friday night.
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Anthony Edwards scored 29 points and Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored the Lakers 13-1 over the final 4:37 of the game after Doncic's tying baseline jumper.
LeBron James did the heavy lifting with Doncic playing through a stomach illness, scoring 38 points including three 3-pointers in a four-possession span midway through the fourth quarter. But he couldn't find a shot after that, hitting the side of the backboard with a corner heave with the Lakers down 111-104 with 1:26 left.
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