NBA: Harris leads Magic in upset of slumping Trail Blazers 

ORLANDO - Reserve forward Tobias Harris had 25 points and 11 rebounds to help the Orlando Magic snap a nine-game losing streak with a 95-85 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night (Wednesday, PHL time).

Magic center Nikola Vucevic had 22 points and 10 rebounds. Rookie point guard Victor Oladipo contributed 13 points and a game-high six assists.
 
Center Robin Lopez had 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who lost their third consecutive game. Portland (45-27) has won only four of their last 13 games, falling farther behind Houston for the No. 4 seed and home-court advantage in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

The Blazers, who lost Saturday (Sunday, PHL time) in Charlotte and Monday (Tuesday, PHL time) in Miami, trailed by as many as 19 points early in the fourth quarter. They made only 32 of 86 shots from the field (37.2 percent) and never led in the second half.

Trail Blazers guard Wesley Matthews had 18 points and guard Damian Lillard 17. Magic reserve guard Doron Lamb scored 11 points and guard Arron Afflalo had 10.

The Magic led 79-65 going into the fourth quarter. Harris sparked Orlando in the third quarter when he made all four of his shots from the field and scored 11 points.

The Magic led 50-42 at halftime, capitalizing on a 16-0 run in the second quarter that was led by reserve guard Deron Lamb, who hit two three-point shots. The Blazers led 38-32 before they went cold.

In the first quarter, Lopez hit all five of his shots from the field, leading Portland to a 26-23 advantage.

Vucevic finished the first half with 14 points and six rebounds.

Both teams were sloppy early. The Blazers had nine turnovers and the Magic eight in the first two quarters.

The Blazers were careless in the second half, too, when they fouled Magic shooters twice behind the three-point line. - Reuters


The scores:

MAGIC 95 - Harris 25, Vucevic 22, Oladipo 13, Lamb 11, Afflalo 10, O’Quinn 6, Harkless 5, Nicholson 2, Moore 1, Price 0

TRAIL BLAZERS 85 - Lopez 20, Matthews 18, Lillard 17, Wright 8, Barton 7, Batum 6, Williams 3, Robinson 2, Claver 2, Leonard 2, McCollum 0

Orlando    23-27-29-16
Portland    26-16-23-20