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Butler beaten on debut as Magic rally stuns Sixers, Raptors lose
LOS ANGELES, Nov 15, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Nikola Vucevic scored 30 points as
the Orlando Magic staged a fourth quarter comeback to hand Jimmy Butler a
defeat on his debut for the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday.
Vucevic drained two free throws with five seconds remaining to seal a wild
victory which saw Orlando overturn a 16-point deficit in the final quarter to
post a 111-106 win.
Orlando improved to 7-8 with the victory while the Sixers saw their record
slip to 9-7.
Butler, who completed his move to Philadelphia from the Minnesota
Timberwolves this week, finished with 14 points from his 32 minutes on court
at Orlando’s Amway Center.
The Sixers and Butler however will be left wondering how they managed to
blow what looked like being a straightforward victory.
Philadelphia had surged into a comfortable 92-76 lead with 10min 51sec left
in the fourth quarter, seemingly well on track for a routine win.
However, Orlando came roaring back with an incredible 21-0 run to surge
into a 97-92 lead.
The Sixers fought back to tie through Wilson Chandler’s three-pointer which
made it 97-97.
Mike Muscala then added a three off an assist by Butler to help take the
Sixers into a 104-100 lead as the second’s ticked down.
With the score at 106-106 and only eight seconds on the clock, Orlando’s
Terrence Ross drained a three-pointer to make it 109-106 before Vucevic added
the coup de grace with his two free throws to complete the scoring.
As well as his 30-point haul, Vucevic contributed eight rebounds and four
assists. Four other players made double figures, with Aaron Gordon adding 17
points and Ross finishing with 15 off the bench.
J.J. Redick led the Sixers scoring with 22 points while Joel Embiid had a
triple double with 19 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.
Elsewhere Wednesday, the Eastern Conference-leading Toronto Raptors slumped
to only their third defeat of the season in a 106-104 reverse against the
Detroit Pistons at the Scotiabank Arena.
Blake Griffin did the damage for Detroit, with 30 points and 12 rebounds,
while Reggie Jackson (13 points) and Andre Drummond (11 points, 14 rebounds)
also played key roles in the win.
Kawhi Leonard led the scoring for Toronto with 26 points while Pascal
Siakam and Greg Monroe both had 17 points apiece.
Meanwhile in Milwaukee Marc Gasol scored 29 points and Mike Conley 26 as
the Memphis Grizzlies upset the Bucks 116-113.
The second-placed Bucks missed the chance to close the gap on the Raptors
at the top of the East despite 31 points from Giannis Antetokounmpo and 25
points from Khris Middleton.
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1035 hrs