NBA: Franz Wagner's 31 points help Orlando Magic beat Washington Wizards; register eighth consecutive win

German forward Franz Wagner's 31-point performance sparked Orlando to an eighth consecutive victory on Wednesday, ripping Washington 139-120 to move one game behind NBA overall leader Boston. The Magic connected on 60.7% of their shots in improving to 13-5 and matching Milwaukee for second in the Eastern Conference behind the Celtics (14-4).

"We don't expect it but we believe we can win every day and we want to play up to our standards," Wagner said after achieving back-to-back 30-point games for the first time in his NBA career. "It's a lot of fun. We would like to keep that going."

Orlando can match the club's record win streak by beating the Wizards again on Friday. "It would be awesome," Wagner said. "But we've still got one to go so we've got to lock in on that."

Magic coach Jamahl Mosley agreed, saying: "I'm a 'one game at a time' guy. We'll enjoy this one but we've got to get to work tomorrow." Cole Anthony came off the bench to add 25 points and Jalen Suggs scored a season-high 22 points but forward Paolo Banchero, last season's NBA Rookie of the Year, suffered an ankle sprain and had only six points.

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The Philadelphia 76ers also could have reached 13-5 but, with NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid out due to illness, the Sixers lost 124-114 at New Orleans. Cameroonian 7-footer Embiid, the NBA's top scorer with 32.0 points a game, was dearly missed as Pelicans star forward Zion Williamson struck for 33 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals -- shooting 11-of-12 from the floor and the free throw line.

Pelicans guard C.J. McCollum scored 20 points in his return after missing more than three weeks with a collapsed lung and fractured rib. Tyrese Maxey scored 33 points for the 76ers in a losing cause.

The Phoenix Suns saw a seven-game win streak snapped while NBA-worst Detroit lost its 15th game in a row. Toronto got 23 points from Scottie Barnes and 22 from Pascal Siakam to beat visiting Phoenix 112-105.

Toronto led 108-105 when Devin Booker missed a tying 3-pointer with 50 seconds remaining. German Dennis Schroder hit a jumper for the Raptors and Kevin Durant -- who scored a game-high 30 points -- then missed a 3-pointer for Phoenix. Barnes added two final free throws to seal the Raptors' triumph.

At Detroit, D'Angelo Russell had game-highs of 35 points and nine assists to lead the Los Angeles Lakers over Detroit 133-107, dropping the Pistons to 2-16. Anthony Davis added 28 points and a game-high 16 rebounds for the Lakers while LeBron James, coming off the most lopsided loss of his 21-year career at Philadelphia on Monday, added 25 points and eight rebounds. In later games, defending NBA champion Denver played host to Houston and the Los Angeles Clippers were at Sacramento.