Magic end Cavaliers’ run, thunder roll on

LOS ANGELES – Paolo Banchero scored 24 points as the Orlando Magic overturned a 13-point deficit to end the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 16-game NBA unbeaten streak with a gutsy 108-103 road victory on Sunday.

Cleveland, the runaway Eastern Conference leaders, had looked poised to extend their franchise-record winning run after surging clear of Orlando early in the third quarter.

But after a season where they have staged hefty winning comebacks of their own, the tables turned on Cleveland in the face of a furious burst of Orlando scoring.

The Magic outscored Cleveland 35-23 in the third quarter with Franz Wagner leading the charge with nine points and Banchero adding seven.

Although Cleveland led by a slender 83-82 margin heading into the fourth quarter, and threatened to stretch away once more after Donovan Mitchell’s driving layup made it 91-84, Orlando refused to roll over.

The Oklahoma City Thunder continued their serene march towards the Western Conference No.1 seeding with an emphatic 121-105 road victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.

NBA Most Valuable Player contender Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder scoring with 31 points as Oklahoma City improved to 56-12, a massive 13 games clear of the second-placed Houston Rockets.

In Los Angeles the Lakers snapped a four-game losing streak and dealt a blow to the Phoenix Suns’ hopes of reaching the playoffs after powering to a 107-96 victory.