After Mo Bamba gave the Magic an 89-88 advantage on a 3-pointer with 52 seconds left, it’s Franz Wagner who took charge of finishing off the Warriors in Florida yesterday. The last 8th pick of the draft (Michigan) returned 3 free throws with 12.2 seconds remaining before finding a dunk following throw-in to clinch a 94-90 victory over Golden State.
This defeat of the Warriors guarantees the Suns (58-14) 1st place in the Pacific Division this season. Wendell Carter Jr. finished top scorer for the Magic with 19 points (7/12, 8 rebounds), ahead of Wagner (18 to 6/9, 3 assists). Jordan Poole sign 26 points (9/23, 6 assists) for the Warriors but the latter, at 40% on the match, lost 7 balls in the last quarter before suffering a 3rd defeat in a row. Klay Thompson finished at 15 points (6/15, 3 assists), Otto Porter Jr. 14 points and 15 rebounds. Without Steph Curry, the Warriors finish at 7/24 from a distance, and did not return a single winning shot in the 1st quarter. The team was 3/18 away before Poole, Porter and Thompson came in 5 in a row to take the lead 69-61 3’15 from the end of the 3rd.
Poole once more from afar gave his team a 12-point lead (77-65) to start the 4th but Orlando reacted with a 13-0 behind (including 2 baskets fromand Markelle Fultz) and Golden State was mute in scoring for nearly 5 minutes. In the last seconds, it was Thompson who received the foul having given 3 free throws to Wagner.
