Kawhi Leonard, Paul George make key shots late in Clippers’ win over Magic

March 29, 2024

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George made jump shots in the final seconds on Friday night to lead the Clippers past the Orlando Magic 100-97.

Leonard, who scored 25 of his 29 points in the second half, put the Clippers ahead on a midrange jumper with 34 seconds left. George scored with five seconds to play before Orlando’s Franz Wagner missed a couple of three-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 to contribute 12 points and nine rebounds.

It was the third straight loss for the Magic.

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

Banchero responded with 11 points over a five-minute stretch to help Orlando regain a brief lead, but Leonard and Amir Coffey sank three-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.