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Scored 22 points and seven rebounds: Moritz Wagner

Photo: Sue Ogrocki / dpa

In the first game after the week-long break due to the all-star game, basketball world champions Franz and Moritz Wagner led the Orlando Magic to a respectable success.

On Thursday (local time), the NBA team from Florida beat the favored Cleveland Cavaliers 116:109 (54:50).

With 22 points, Moritz Wagner was the Magic's best scorer, followed by his younger brother Franz with 14 points.

In the final period alone, Moritz Wagner scored twelve points and grabbed a total of seven rebounds.

»It's a great group.

You can see how much fun we are having," said the 26-year-old after the game.

»When you play for each other, good things happen.«

The Cavaliers are currently the second-best team in the Eastern Conference.

Before the game against Orlando, they had only lost two of their last 20 games.

Despite the win, the Magic remain seventh in the East.

Sixth place – and thus direct playoff participation – is still within striking distance.

Schröder has no chance with the Nets

Dennis Schröder has less hope of making it into the playoffs.

With the Brooklyn Nets he had to admit defeat to his former club 93:121 (48:59).

The team from New York had no chance against the Toronto Raptors.

Schröder remained pale, only hit one of his seven throws from the field and didn't get past four points.

Two weeks ago, the playmaker was transferred from Toronto to Brooklyn.

The Nets are currently in eleventh place.

Maxi Kleber and the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Phoenix Suns 123:113 (60:63) and achieved their seventh win in a row.

Superstar Luka Doncic excelled with 41 points, eleven assists and nine rebounds, while Kleber had seven points.

Isaiah Hartenstein also won with the New York Knicks 110:96 (69:46) against the Philadelphia 76ers.

However, the center was only used for eleven minutes and did not score any points.

Daniel Theis was not used at all in the Los Angeles Clippers' 107:129 (59:61) away defeat against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

With 21 points, 19 rebounds and 15 assists, Nikola Jokic excelled in the Denver Nuggets' 130:110 (72:49) home win over the Washington Wizards.

This makes the Serbian superstar the fourth player in NBA history to record a triple-double - i.e. double-digit scores in three important statistical categories - against every team in the NBA.

Against Washington, Jokic hit each of his ten throws from the field.

mlb/dpa/sid