Orlando Magic upset Detroit Pistons in NBA, while San Antonio Spurs suffer Victor Wembanyama scare
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Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic shooting over the Detroit Pistons' Paul Reed during the Magic's 123-107 NBA home win at on April 6.
PHOTO: REUTERS
LOS ANGELES – The hosts Orlando Magic kept up their bid for an automatic play-off berth with a 123-107 National Basketball Association (NBA) upset win over the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons on April 6.
Paolo Banchero scored 31 points and Desmond Bane added 25 as six Orlando players finished in double figures to overpower a Detroit side still missing the injured Cade Cunningham.
Jalen Duren and Daniss Jenkins led the Pistons scoring with 18 points apiece but the visitors, who have already clinched the top seed in the East, were shut down by the Orlando defence.
“Everything with our team starts on the defensive end,” Bane said. “When we get stops, we get out in transition.
“The way we’ve been sharing the ball – a lot of different guys contributing up and down the roster.”
Orlando’s victory left them tied with the Charlotte Hornets and Philadelphia 76ers – all three teams are on 43-36 with three games of the regular season remaining.
The Magic, Sixers and Hornets are all half a game behind the Toronto Raptors, who occupy the sixth and final automatic play-off berth in the East.
Philadelphia missed the chance to move level with the Raptors on April 6 after suffering a 115-102 defeat on the road by the San Antonio Spurs in Texas.
Star centre Victor Wembanyama suffered an injury scare for San Antonio, leaving the game early in the second quarter to undergo treatment for what the team said was a left-rib bruise.
The Frenchman, who is in the running for the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award, checked back in to play a few more minutes at the end of the first half but sat out the second half.
“I think it would be a positive that he felt like he could come back and he played the last four or five minutes of the half,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said of Wembanyama.
The Sixers’ Joel Embiid scored a game-high 34 points, but San Antonio bagged their 60th win of the campaign with another trademark all-round offensive effort that saw six players post double-digit points totals.
Elsewhere, Jalen Brunson scored 30 points with 13 assists as the New York Knicks rallied to secure a wild 108-105 road win over the Atlanta Hawks.
Brunson’s tally included 17 points in the fourth quarter to steer the Knicks to a win which edges them closer to securing the third seed in the East.
The game ended in dramatic fashion with Atlanta’s C.J. McCollum sinking a three-pointer from inside his own half on the buzzer which would have forced overtime at 108-108.
But replays soon after showed that the Hawks guard had failed to get the ball out of his hands just before time expired and the basket did not stand.
In the late game, the Denver Nuggets edged ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers in the race for the Western Conference third seed with a come-from-behind 137-132 win over the Portland Trail Blazers in overtime.
Nikola Jokic finished with 35 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists as Denver fought back from a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit to secure a victory which saw them improve to 51-28, just ahead of the fourth-placed Lakers who have a 50-28 record.
Meanwhile, NBA great Shaquille O’Neal said on April 6 that he is launching a professional dunk league with its inaugural season set to debut in 2026.
The league, which also has the backing of TNT Sports and Authentic Brands Group, builds on the Dunkman TV series launched in 2025 and aims to turn dunk contests from one-off showcase events into a structured professional competition.
Featuring 24 athletes from around the world, the league’s first season will include five live group-stage events, with competitors vying for places in the Dunkman world championship.
The winner of the final will receive a US$500,000 (S$642,000) grand prize.
“These athletes are innovators and Dunkman is going to give them a global stage, real stakes and a chance to build careers doing what they love,” O’Neal, who will serve as league commissioner, said in a statement.
The events will air across TV networks TNT, TBS, truTV and HBO Max, with additional content distributed through social media channels and other digital brands. AFP, REUTERS
