Kawhi Leonard, Paul George make key shots late as Clippers top Magic

Kawhi Leonard, Paul George make key shots late as Clippers top Magic

By DICK SCANLON The Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. — When in doubt, turn to your All-Stars.

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George hit jump shots in the final seconds on Friday night and the Clippers beat the Orlando Magic,100-97.

Leonard, who scored 25 of his 29 points in the second half, put the Clippers ahead with a mid-range jumper with 34 seconds left. George scored with five seconds to play before Orlando’s Franz Wagner missed a couple of 3-point attempts just before the buzzer to finish the Clippers’ fourth straight road win.

Paolo Banchero led Orlando with 23 points and eight rebounds, but he had two of his seven turnovers late in the game.

Jalen Suggs scored 15 for the Magic and Moritz Wagner came off the bench for 12 points and nine rebounds.

It was the third straight loss for the Magic.

Clippers center Ivica Zubac, who finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds, scored twice to help them open the second half on an 8-0 run for a 61-50 lead, the biggest lead of he game

Banchero responded with 11 points over a five-minute stretch to help Orlando regain a brief lead, but Leonard and Amir Coffey hit 3-pointers late in the third quarter and the Clippers took a 10-point lead.

Mo Wagner scored the Magic’s first 10 points of the fourth quarter, most of them during a Clippers scoreless stretch of 5:35. By the time George finally scored on a layup with 4:15 left, Orlando led 94-89.

But the Magic came up empty down the stretch.

UP NEXT

The Clippers play at Charlotte on Sunday at 3 p.m. PT.

More to come on this story.

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