US sports compact: Wagner leads Orlando to victory, Schröder loses

An outstanding Franz Wagner led the Orlando Magic to an arduous must-win victory against the NBA's problem child. The German basketball world champion contributed 38 points in a 111:99 win over the Detroit Pistons, setting his career best from December 2021. Orlando remains in the race for the direct play-off places, but the performance against the league's weakest team was only confident at times.

Magic are seventh in the Eastern Conference with 27 wins and 23 defeats, just behind the Indiana Pacers in sixth place, which would still entitle them to participate directly in the championship round. Moritz Wagner came off the bench as usual, but made a valuable contribution with 10 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

Daniel Theis was also able to be happy about at least one success, but the center was not used in the Los Angeles Clippers' 103:95 defeat by the Miami Heat. The Clippers are third in the Western Conference and are clearly on course for the playoffs.

Completely different than the Toronto Raptors. The team led by national team captain Dennis Schröder lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder 127:135 after double overtime, despite a 23-point lead. Schröder, who collected 19 points, and the Raptors are already five wins behind tenth place in the East, which is enough to qualify for the play-in tournament.

The German-American professional football player Amon-Ra St. Brown also showed a strong performance in the NFL's Pro Bowl. In the All-Star Game, in which St. Brown was promoted again, the 24-year-old caught ten passes for 173 yards and scored a touchdown for the NFC team. The team around the Detroit Lions wide receiver won the flag football game against the AFC 64:59.

The outstanding player at the show event in Orlando, Florida was receiver Keenan Allen from the Los Angeles Chargers on the AFC side. He excelled with three catches and one thrown touchdown.

St. Brown was nominated after the loss in the play-off semifinals against the San Francisco 49ers (31:34). As in the previous season, he came in for the injured AJ Brown from the Philadelphia Eagles in the game, which traditionally takes place a week before the Super Bowl. Next Sunday (local time) defending champions Kansas City Chiefs and the 49ers will face each other in the final in Las Vegas.