Franz Wagner dazzled with a game-high 29 points, while Wendell Carter Jr. provided a powerful double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds to help the Orlando Magic defeat the Portland Trail Blazers 109-106 in a thrilling Tuesday night encounter.
Damian Lillard had 30 points for the Blazers, who lost their fourth straight.
The Magic led 19 points in the first half, but the Blazers closed the gap in the second quarter to tie it at 50 at halftime.
After trailing 82-73 to start the final quarter, Portland pulled to 89-84 on Anfernee Simons' layup. Orlando stayed in front, going up 104-94 on Wagner's 3-pointer with 3:35 left.
Lillard's layup with 1:32 left got Portland as close as 105-101. Gary Harris fouled Lillard on a 3-point attempt – and Lillard made all three free throws to pull the Blazers closer at 107-106 with 25.1 seconds to go.
Markelle Fultz made free throws for Orlando and Portland missed a flurry of 3-point attempts in the final moments.
Paulo Banchero added 19 points for the Magic. They were coming off a 115-101 loss at Sacramento the night before.
Jerami Grant made a pair of layups to cap a 16-1 run that erased Orlando's first-half lead and got the Blazers within 40-36. Jusuf Nurkic's layup and free throw tied the game at 47 and the teams went into halftime knotted at 50.
After the Blazers scored a season-low 20 points in the opening quarter, they outscored the Magic 30-17 in the second. Nukic started despite battling a non-COVID illness and led all scorers in the first half with 18 points, along with eight rebounds and a pair of blocks.
The Magic opened the second half with a 15-0 run. Simons ended the scoring drought with a 3-pointer 4:40 into the half. Lillard's emphatic dunk pulled Portland to 79-70 late in the third quarter.
