Big deficit. Furious rally.
Pain at the buzzer.
Rinse. Repeat.
The [Portland Trail Blazers](https://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/) suffered another demoralizing defeat to the Orlando Magic, falling 110-106 Tuesday night before 17,073 at the Moda Center.
The game unfolded eerily similar to the teams’ meeting in Orlando last month, when the Blazers stormed back from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit only to fall on a Desmond Bane buzzer-beating three-pointer.
The Blazers’ rally started earlier Tuesday night. They trailed by as many as 17 points in the third, but caught fire near the end of the quarter and rode the momentum into the final period. When Shaedon Sharpe swished a 15-foot jumper with 8:30 left, the Blazers had reeled off a 17-2 run to snatch a surprising 92-91 led.
The teams exchanged blows from there, with Bane and Wendell Carter Jr. hitting clutch jump shots, Sharpe completing tough driving layups and Caleb Love swishing timely threes. And, much like last month’s meeting, the game went down to the wire.
But this time, the ending was defined by misses rather than a make.
When Sharpe missed a crucial free throw with 38.9 seconds left, the Blazers trailed 107-106. And when the Blazers followed with a defensive stand, Deni Avdija drove into the lane, drew a defender and dished a nifty pass to Donovan Clingan for what looked like an easy hoop. Instead, Bane skied from behind and blocked the shot.
Bane snared the rebound, was fouled, and made a pair of free throws with 11.0 seconds left, pushing the Magic’s lead to 109-106.
The Blazers called a timeout and set up a chance to tie the game. Avdija curled around a screen on the perimeter, collected an inbound pass and heaved three. But it never had a chance. Anthony Black corralled the rebound, made a dagger free throw, and that was a wrap on another Blazers (12-18) loss.
Top performers
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Avdija recorded 25 points, eight assists and six rebounds, Sharpe scored 22 points and Love finished with 17 points off the bench for the Blazers.
Bane had 23 points, five assists, four rebounds, three steals and three blocks and Black added 22 points, six assists and seven rebounds for the Magic (17-13).
Next up
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The Blazers host the [Los Angeles Clippers](https://www.oregonlive.com/topic/los-angeles-clippers/) on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Moda Center.