NBA Cup: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard lead Bucks in thriller past shorthanded Magic to semifinals

The shorthanded Magic were game Tuesday night.

But ultimately, the firepower of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard proved too much to overcome. The All-Star Bucks duo rallied Milwaukee from an early deficit then held off the Magic late for a 114-109 victory over Orlando in the first game of the NBA Cup quarterfinals.

Milwaukee overcame an 18-point fourth quarter from Jalen Suggs that helped rally Orlando to a 107-106 lead with 40.1 seconds remaining. But Lillard scored nine points in the final 52 seconds to help thwart the Orlando upset bid.

With the win, the Bucks advance to the semifinal round in Las Vegas, where they’ll take on the winner between the New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks on Saturday. A Magic team playing without its two best players is eliminated from NBA Cup play.

Magic put up fight without stars

The Magic earned their place in the NBA Cup knockout round despite playing 21 of their 26 previous games without All-Star forward Paolo Banchero, who’s been sidelined since Oct. 30 with a torn oblique. Then when they got got to Tuesday’s knockout round, they played without breakout forward Franz Wagner, who suffered his own torn oblique in Friday’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

For the Magic, that meant a starting lineup of Jalen Suggs, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Goga Bitadze, Wendell Carter Jr. and Tristan da Silva. With strong bench support from Moritz Wagner and Anthony Black, the Magic opened a 33-25 lead and kept Orlando competitive throughout.

But the best two players on the court suited up for the Bucks and ultimately powered Milwaukee to victory. Antetokounmpo and Lillard combined to score 29 straight Bucks points during a span that stretched from midway through the second quarter through the last two minutes of the third. Milwaukee’s defense clamped down in a third quarter that the Bucks won, 20-13, to take an 80-72 advantage into the fourth.

Dame outduels Suggs in back-and-forth 4th quarter

But the Magic weren’t done. They tied the game on multiple occasions in the fourth quarter before taking a 102-101 lead in the final three minutes on a shot by Suggs. Wendell Carter Jr.’s free throws then put Orlando up 106-103 with 1:13 remaining.

But Lillard countered with a 3-pointer to tie the game at 106.

He then answered a Black free throw with a layup to retake the lead at 108-107.

Lillard added four free throws in the final nine seconds to ice the game for the Bucks.

Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 37 points, seven rebounds, two steals and four blocks. Lillard added 28 points and nine assists while hitting all 10 of his free throws. He scored 13 in the back-and-forth fourth quarter, including 11 of Milwaukee’s last 13 points.

Bobby Portis Jr. was big off the bench, with 22 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. The Bucks overcame a sloppy night of ball-handling as they turned the ball over 16 times.

Suggs paced the Magic with 32 points, nine rebounds and four steals. Black scored 17 and Wagner added 13 points and three rebounds off the bench.