NBA: Desmond Bane, Magic outlast Suns with strong start, finish

Desmond Bane scored 21 points and Jalen Suggs added 20 to lead the Orlando Magic to a 115-111 victory over the visiting Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.

Paolo Banchero contributed 19 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists, while Wendell Carter Jr. recorded a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds for Orlando (40-35), who snapped a seven-loss stretch in eight games. Jamal Cain and Jett Howard each added 15 points, helping the Magic secure the win despite committing 25 turnovers.

Devin Booker led Phoenix (42-34) with 34 points. Royce O’Neale added 14, Collin Gillespie and Rasheer Fleming scored 11 apiece, and Grayson Allen finished with 10 points. Oso Ighodaro chipped in five points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Suns dropped their seventh game in 10 outings.

After trailing by 14 at halftime, Phoenix opened the third quarter on an 11-2 run, cutting the deficit to 72-67 on a dunk by Jalen Green. With just over a minute left in the quarter, Cain’s three-pointer gave Orlando an eight-point lead before Jordan Goodwin’s buzzer-beating triple capped an 8-0 run to tie the game for the first time since the opening minutes.

Fleming’s dunk early in the fourth quarter gave Phoenix its first lead of the game. After Brooks’ pull-up jumper put the Suns ahead 107-105 with 5:26 remaining, Banchero and Bane scored layups to put the Magic back in front for good. With Orlando leading 111-108, Bane made a floater with six seconds left to extend the margin to five. Booker answered with a 3-pointer with 3.6 seconds remaining, but Tristan da Silva sealed the victory with two free throws.

Orlando jumped to a 22-10 lead on Suggs’ floater with 5:15 left in the first quarter and stretched it to 16 before Allen’s three-pointer cut the deficit to 28-21 entering the second. Phoenix narrowed the gap with an 8-0 run, during which Mo Wagner and Banchero each received technical fouls, pulling within three points. Orlando responded with nine straight points, and Bane’s buzzer-beating floater gave the Magic a 70-56 halftime lead.

—Field Level Media/Reuters