Fultz, Magic rally in 4th quarter, outlast Clippers 113-108

LOS ANGELES — Markelle Fultz scored 12 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, Wendell Carter Jr. had 27 points and 12 rebounds, and the Orlando Magic snapped their two-game skid with a 113-108 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday.

Franz Wagner scored 20 points and hit a gutsy 3-pointer with 40 seconds to play for the Magic, who had lost five of six before taking the lead in the fourth quarter and holding on for this tenacious win on the road.

Fultz put together another impressive game in his late-season surge, going 10 for 17 from the field and grabbing six rebounds.

Paul George scored 30 points for the Clippers, whose four-game winning streak ended on the last contest of a five-game homestand.

Kawhi Leonard skipped the game to rest his right knee, sitting out for the 29th time in the Clippers’ 71 contests this season. Los Angeles couldn't keep up its unbeaten surge since a five-game losing streak and missed a chance to move within a half-game of Phoenix in fourth place in the Western Conference standings.

Ivica Zubac had 16 points and 16 rebounds for LA on his 26th birthday, grabbing his 3,000th career rebound in the first half.

Orlando took the lead midway through the fourth quarter with an 11-2 run and nursed it down the stretch, going up 104-99 with 1:49 to play on Carter's difficult layup off an alley-oop pass from Fultz. Carter then dramatically blocked a layup attempt by Russell Westbrook, leading to a layup by Fultz.

George hit a 3-pointer with 1:03 left to trim Orlando's lead to 106-104, but Wagner answered with his own 3 moments later. Fultz made a tough layup in traffic to maintain Orlando's lead, and George finally missed a late 3-point attempt to seal the Magic's win.

Leonard averaged 31.5 points per game while hitting nearly 54% of his shots during the Clips' four-game winning streak, but the franchise is sticking to its plan not to play its star in back-to-back games, even in the home stretch of the regular season. Sixth man Norman Powell also missed his sixth straight game for LA with a shoulder injury.

TIP-INS

Magic: Jalen Suggs sat out with a possible concussion. Coach Jamahl Mosley said Suggs got elbowed in the head in the first quarter Thursday in Phoenix, and he felt apparent symptoms after the game. ... Rookie Paolo Banchero had 12 points on 4-for-11 shooting.

Clippers: Powell has been out since March 2 and still hasn't returned to practice. ... Westbrook had 14 points and nine assists with six turnovers. George also had six turnovers.

UP NEXT

Magic: At Lakers on Sunday.

Clippers: At Portland on Sunday.