Wizards and Magic deliver impressive weekend upsets

Jordan Poole (YouTube)

Most of the time when NBA oddsmakers develop a betting line of 10 points or more, the favourite may not always cover the spread, but they will normally prevail and win their respective game outright. However, on occasion they are completely wrong when predicting a heavy favourite as we saw this past weekend. On Saturday, the Washington Wizards beat the Denver Nuggets 126-123 as a 13 point underdog. Then on Sunday, the Cleveland Cavaliers saw their 16 game winning streak snapped as they were beaten 108-103 by the Orlando Magic. Orlando was a 10.5 point underdog.

This was the second time this week that the Wizards won as a double digit underdog. On Thursday, Washington was a 13 point underdog against the Portland Trail Blazers, but found a way to win by a score of 129-125.

In the Wizards win over the Nuggets, Washington received a game-winning three-point jump shot from guard Jordan Poole of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who broke a 123-123 tie from 35 feet with two seconds remaining in the contest. Poole finished the game with 19 points, and was second on the Wizards in scoring. He was only behind Alex Sarr of Bordeaux, France, who scored 34 points. Sarr also led Washington in their upset win over Portland. as he scored 19 points.

The Wizards are still last in the East at 15 wins and 51 losses. The Nuggets fall to 43 wins and 25 losses and are tied for second in the West with the Houston Rockets.

On Sunday, Cleveland lost its first game since February 4 when they were beaten 1112-105 by the Boston Celtics. Magic forward Paolo Banchero led Orlando with 24 points, and had a double-double as he added 11 rebounds. Cleveland falls to 56-11, but are still the best in the NBA. Orlando is eighth in the East at 32 wins and 37 losses.