Luwawu-Cabarrot scores 24 as Nets dump Magic

Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Jeremiah Martin each scored 24 points and the Brooklyn Nets took control early in a 108-96 victory against the Orlando Magic on Tuesday afternoon near Orlando. Luwawu-Cabarrot scored 17 points and the Nets ended the opening quarter on a 21-5 burst over the final five-plus minutes to take a 34-22 lead.

Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Jeremiah Martin each scored 24 points and the Brooklyn Nets took control early in a 108-96 victory against the Orlando Magic on Tuesday afternoon near Orlando. Luwawu-Cabarrot continued to excel since the restart and finished with his seventh career 20-point game and third since the restart on July 31. A week after scoring a career-high 26 in Brooklyn's stunning win over the Milwaukee Bucks, he played only in the first and third quarters and tallied four 3-pointers and seven rebounds.

Martin, who signed a two-way contract with Brooklyn in January, scored half of his points in the fourth quarter. He added six assists. Dzanan Musa added a career-best 17 points as the Nets (35-36) shot 42.7 percent and improved to 5-2 in the seeding games. Tyler Johnson contributed 14 and Lance Thomas chipped in 12 for Brooklyn, who led by double digits for the final 38-plus minutes.

The Nets locked up the seventh seed and a first-round meeting with the Toronto Raptors in the postseason when they beat the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday, enabling them to rest their top players. Caris LeVert (left thigh contusion), Joe Harris (left groin contusion) and Jarrett Allen (sprained left ankle) were held out with minor injuries while Garrett Temple was rested. Orlando (32-40) played without Evan Fournier (non-COVID-19 illness), Aaron Gordon (strained left hamstring) and Terrence Ross, who is in quarantine after leaving the bubble.

Markelle Fultz and Wes Iwundu paced Orlando with 18 points apiece but the Magic shot 29.5 percent in the first half and 38.6 percent overall. Nik Vucevic was held to 12 points and 10 rebounds and shot 5 of 15 from the floor. Luwawu-Cabarrot scored 17 points and the Nets ended the opening quarter on a 21-5 burst over the final five-plus minutes to take a 34-22 lead. Martin scored 12 points in the second as the Nets continued to dominate and opened a 60-43 halftime lead.

Orlando made a slight dent, using a 9-0 run to get within 65-53 on a putback by Vucevic with 6:24 left in the third. The Nets countered with a 12-4 spurt and went up 77-57 on a layup by Johnson nearly three minutes later and held an 85-72 edge entering the fourth. 

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)