Pacers edge skidding Bucks in jumbled East standings

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MILWAUKEE -- Victor Oladipo had 21 points, and the Indiana Pacers nearly blew a 17-point lead in the middle of a mistake-laden fourth quarter before holding off the Milwaukee Bucks for a 103-96 win Friday night.

With his team trailing by five, Milwaukee's Khris Middleton missed a corner 3-pointer off an inbounds play with 8.9 seconds left. Bojan Bogdanovic hit two foul shots at the other end to seal it and hand the Bucks their fourth straight loss.

The Bucks nearly stormed back from a 93-76 deficit with 6:34 left. Indiana committed four turnovers during a 12-0 Milwaukee run that tightened what looked to be a blowout.

But the Pacers held on for a key road victory against a fellow Eastern Conference playoff hopeful, erasing the bitter taste of back-to-back losses to 40-loss teams Atlanta and Dallas during the first two stops of a four-game road trip.

Oladipo hit a runner in the lane with 1:13 left for a 98-92 lead to slow Milwaukee's momentum. He also scored six straight Indiana points during a 14-1 spurt in the third that helped the Pacers build a double-digit edge in the fourth.

Lance Stephenson added 16 points for Indiana, and Bogdanovic had 14 after going 12 of 13 from the foul line.

Middleton led all scorers with 30 points, and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Bucks. Milwaukee looked out of sorts at times offensively and alternated near-misses with out-of-control possessions until the near-comeback in the fourth quarter (see full recap).

DeRozan, Miles lead surging Raptors to victory
WASHINGTON -- DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points, reserve CJ Miles added 20 and the Toronto Raptors beat the Washington Wizards 102-95 on Friday night.

The Raptors have won 10 of their last 11 games, including a season-high four straight on the road.

Miles scored 11 points in the second half and was 6 of 9 from 3-point range in the game as the Raptors' bench outscored the Wizards' reserves 50-15.

Jonas Valenciunas and Fred VanFleet added 12 points apiece for Toronto.

Otto Porter Jr. led Washington with 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting and Bradley Beal rebounded from an eight-point effort Wednesday against Golden State to finish with 23.

Eighteen Washington turnovers led to 27 Toronto points.

Neither team led by more than four points in the fourth quarter until Miles' 3-pointer from the corner made it 94-88 with 3:06 left.

Beal's free throws cut the lead to four, but DeRozan scored four straight points and his layup gave the Raptors a 98-90 lead with 56 seconds remaining. The Wizards got no closer than five points in the final minute (see full recap).

Magic beat free-falling Pistons in OT to snap 7-game skid
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Aaron Gordon had 27 points and 13 rebounds to help the Orlando Magic stop a seven-game losing streak with a 115-106 victory against the Detroit Pistons in overtime Friday night.

Nikola Vucevic added 22 points and 12 rebounds, and D.J. Augustin had 20 points and nine assists for the Magic. Evan Fournier scored 17, including seven in the extra period.

James Ennis and Reggie Bullock led Detroit with 21 points apiece. Blake Griffin, Dwight Buycks and Anthony Tolliver had 12 each for the slumping Pistons, who have lost seven of nine.

Fournier scored the first six points in overtime, giving Orlando a 110-104 lead going into the final two minutes.

Detroit, which had only one field goal in the final 5:57 of regulation, missed all eight shots from the field and its first three free throws in overtime. Tolliver's two free throws with 32 seconds left were the only points the Pistons scored in the extra period.

The Magic could have won it in regulation. Fournier drilled a 3-pointer that gave Orlando a 104-102 lead with 47 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

The Pistons tied it when Griffin got a long rebound and found Ennis for a breakaway dunk that tied the game at 104 with seven seconds left.

The Magic muffed their chance for a game-winner. Vucevic lost his balance when driving the lane and turned the ball over, leading to overtime (see full recap).

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