ORLANDO, Fla. — Reserve guard Jerryd Bayless scored 19 points in 20 minutes Thursday night, leading the well-balanced Milwaukee Bucks to an easy, 115-100 victory over the Orlando Magic at the Amway Center.
The Bucks (24-22) had seven players score in double figures while snapping a 17-game losing streak in Orlando. The Magic (15-34) lost their seventh consecutive game.
Bucks forward Jared Dudley and guard Khris Middleton had 17 points apiece. Guard Brandon Knight had 16 points and nine assists, and guard O.J. Mayo scored 13. Center John Henson, in his first start of the season, finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Forward Giannis Antetokounmpo contributed 10 points.
Magic guard Victor Oladipo had 21 points and five rebounds, and center Nikola Vucevic added 17 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Reserve guard Willie Green scored 16 points, point guard Elfrid Payton added 15 and guard Evan Fournier had 11.
The Bucks, who were without three key frontcourt players, never trailed. The Magic never got closer than 11 points in the second half and never seriously challenged after intermission.
The Magic committed 24 turnovers, including 19 in the first three periods when they fell hopelessly behind by 29 points. Orlando’s opponent scored at least 100 points for the 11th consecutive game. The Bucks cracked triple digits with 8:54 remaining on a Mayo layup.
The Bucks, who led by 15 points at halftime, increased the margin in a hot-shooting third quarter when they went 16-for-23 from the floor. Knight had 14 points in the quarter, hitting six of eight shots.
Milwaukee led 96-71 following three quarters after holding a 59-44 edge at intermission.
NOTES: The Bucks were without C Zaza Pachulia and F Ersan Ilyasova, weakening their front line considerably. Both were hurt Tuesday in a win at Miami. Pachulia injured his calf and Ilyasova left in the first quarter after aggravating a previous groin injury. “We have enough bodies to compete,” Bucks coach Jason Kidd said earlier in the day. … The Bucks already were without C Larry Sanders, who started 26 games this season before being suspended Jan. 16 by the NBA for violating its anti-drug program. … The injuries made it an easier decision Wednesday for the Bucks to sign 37-year-old veteran F Kenyon Martin for the rest of the season. Martin had finished his second 10-day contract. He and Kidd had played together with both the Nets and the Knicks. … Magic C Nikola Vucevic and Bucks G Brandon Knight previously expressed faint hopes of making the Eastern Conference All-Star team that was announced Thursday, but neither was selected.