Nov 25, 2018 3 min read

The Orlando Magic had swept the season series against the Los Angeles Lakers once in their first 29 seasons in the NBA.

In a span of eight days, the Magic did it for the second time.

Nikola Vucevic had 31 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists and Terrence Ross made a go-ahead lay-up with 34 seconds left to help the Magic beat the Lakers 108-104 on Sunday.

Ross scored 16 points for the Magic, who won 130-117 at home on Nov. 17.

“We’re trying to build something, and wins like these can really help you build some momentum,” Vucevic said.

Ross got to the rim to break the 104-104 deadlock after LeBron James missed a step-back 3-pointer. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope missed another 3 on the ensuing Lakers possession, and Aaron Gordon got a dunk on the runout to cap off the win.

Orlando was able to overcome poor starts in both games, but had to outlast a late charge to hold off Los Angeles this time after a 14-4 run tied the game with 2:24 to play.

Gordon had 17 points and D.J. Augustin added 12 points and nine assists for the Magic.

James had 24 points and seven assists for the Lakers, who had won three straight games and six of their past seven. Kyle Kuzma scored 21 points and Brandon Ingram added 17.

After falling behind by many as 12 points in the first quarter, the Magic would outscore the Lakers 67-42 during the second and third quarter. Orlando made 51 percent of its shots in that stretch, including 9 of 19 3-pointers.

“It just took time, but we stuck with it and put ourselves in position to win,” Ross said.

Lakers players blamed their inability to protect their lead on a lack of effort.

“Defensively, we kind of broke down and the energy level was a little lower than our expectations, and they took advantage of that,” James said.

Philadelphia 127, Brooklyn 125: Jimmy Butler made a 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds remaining to give the Philadelphia 76ers a 127-125 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

Butler’s winner, similar to the one that beat Charlotte in overtime on Nov. 17, capped Philadelphia’s rally from 20 points down in a game the Nets led nearly all the way.

Atlanta 124, Charlotte 123: John Collins had 23 points and 11 rebounds and blocked Kemba Walker’s runner as time expired, helping the Atlanta Hawks snap a 10-game losing streak with a 124-123 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

Walker, the NBA’s second-leading scorer, hit a jumper to put Charlotte up by one with 47.5 seconds remaining, but committed a shot-clock turnover on the next possession and finished 7 for 23 from the field for 22 points.

Toronto 125, Miami 115: Kawhi Leonard had 29 points and 10 rebounds, Kyle Lowry had 12 points and 10 assists, and the Toronto Raptors won their fifth straight game, beating the Miami heat 125-115.

Jonas Valanciunas had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Pascal Siakam scored 21 points, two shy of his career-high, points as the Raptors improved their NBA-leading record to 17-4. Dwyane Wade scored a season-high 35 points, the most ever by a Miami bench player, but the Heat lost for the seventh time in nine games.

Detroit 118, Phoenix 107: Andre Drummond had 19 points and 16 rebounds, and the Detroit Pistons pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat the Phoenix Suns 118-107.

Devin Booker scored 37 points for Phoenix, and Detroit had a hard time shaking free of the Suns until a 15-3 run in the fourth. Blake Griffin had 16 points and 11 assists for the Pistons.