Damian Lillard scores 41, Blazers hold off Magic 122-119

ORLANDO, Fla.(AP) — Damian Lillard scored eight of his 41 points from the foulline in the final three minutes Sunday night to the lead thePortland Trail Blazers to a 122-119 win over the Orlando Magic.

Jerami Grantadded 20 points, six rebounds and seven assists for the Blazers,and broke a tie with a 3-pointer for the game’s final field goalwith 35 seconds left.

“We had tohave this one,” said Lillard, who also had a game-leading ninerebounds to help the Blazers break a three-game losing streak.“We’ve got 19 games left now. Everybody else is playing with asense of urgency because they know the race is tight. Lose one andyou can drop three spots. Win a couple and you can really make upsome ground.”

The Blazersare one game behind Utah and New Orleans for a spot in the WesternConference play-in tournament.

PaoloBanchero led Orlando with 26 points. Franz Wagner added 24, andMarkelle Fultz finished with 15 points, eight assists and foursteals.

Two3-pointers by Lillard and one by Shaedon Sharpe filled a run latein the third quarter that broke an 83-all tie and left Portlandwith a nine-point lead, the largest of the game.

The Magic didnot catch up until Fultz drove for a layup to tie it at 113 with 58seconds left.

Nassir Littleanswered with a 3-pointer, and the rest of the game was all freethrows.

“The ball wasswung to (Little) and he hit the biggest shot of the game,” Lillardsaid. “It showed a lot of growth on his part.”

“We knoweverybody’s going to do the best they can to take Dame away, andeverybody else has to be aggressive,” said Portland coach ChaunceyBillups. “That was a big-time shot.”

Portland led58-56 after a first half in which Banchero made all seven of hisshots and scored 16 points.

Lillardscored 14 points in the first half and missed all six of his3-point attempts. The second half was a different ball game,especially for Lillard.

“He shot 20free throws tonight. It just kind of makes it hard to guard him.You just want to put your hands behind your back,” said Magic guardJalen Suggs, who had 15 points and three steals. “When he shoots 20free throws by himself, it’s kind of hard to stop him from having ahuge night.”

TIP-INS

Blazers:Lillard (17 for 20) missed more than one free throw for the firsttime since Jan. 25. In the 16-game interim he shot 168 for 176(95.5%). ... G Anfernee Simons missed a second game with a sprainedright ankle. ... C Jusuf Nurkic missed a 13th game with a strainedleft calf. . . . Grant and Lillard had 4-point plays.

Magic: CWendell Carter Jr. (left hip pain) and G Gary Harris (hip) did notplay. ... The Magic played for the first time at home since losingF Jonathan Isaac to season-ending surgery on a torn adductormuscle. Isaac played 124 minutes in 11 games after missing 2 1/2seasons due to knee injuries.

BIGREVERSAL FOR BLAZERS

The gamehinged on a replay reversal.

With 2:07remaining and the Blazers up by one, Lillard tried to slide throughtwo Magic defenders and was called for a charge. But Billupschallenged the call, and a review determined that Suggs had not“established position” outside the arc before the contact. Lillardthen made two free throws.

“It was a bigmoment in the game,” Billups said. “A big play.”

UPNEXT

Blazers: Playat Detroit on Monday night.

Magic: Playat home against Milwaukee on Tuesday night.