TORONTO (AP) — Jamal Shead scored 19 points, Brandon Ingram added 17 and the Toronto Raptors overcame a 21-point, second-quarter deficit to beat the Orlando Magic 107-106 on Monday night.
Gradey Dick scored 15 points and Scottie Barnes had 13 points and 11 rebounds as the Raptors rallied for the second straight day. Toronto beat Golden State in overtime on Sunday.
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Toronto Raptors centre Mo Bamba makes a face as he watches from the bench during first half NBA action against the Orlando Magic in Toronto on Monday December 29, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram (3) drives against Orlando Magic guard Anthony Black (left) during first half of an NBA game in Toronto on Monday Dec. 29, 2025. THE (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (4) drives against Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr., right, during first-half NBA basketball game action in Toronto, Monday Dec. 29, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley (5) works upcourt against Orlando Magic forward Tristan da Silva (23) during first-half NBA basketball game action in Toronto, Monday Dec. 29, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Raptors center Mo Bamba (11) and forward Scottie Barnes, right, defend against Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) as he shoots during first half NBA action in Toronto on Monday Dec. 29, 2025. THE (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Orlando’s Anthony Black scored 16 of his 27 points in the third quarter. Paolo Banchero had 23 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists for his fourth career triple-double but the Magic couldn’t win back-to-back games for the first time in almost a month.
Toronto fell behind by 21 points in the second and trailed by 10 after three before battling back in the fourth. The Raptors used 13-0 run to take a 105-102 lead with 3:26 remaining.
Banchero had a chance to win it for Orlando but couldn’t connect on a step-back 3-point attempt at the buzzer.
Sandro Mamukelashvili scored 13 points, and Ochai Agbaji and Ja’Kobe Walter each had 10 for Toronto.
Banchero made nine of 19 shot attempts in his second triple-double of the season, including three of four from 3-point range.
Desmond Bane scored 18 points and Tyus Jones had 10 for Orlando. The Magic, who beat Denver on Saturday, haven’t won consecutive games since a three-game winning streak from Nov. 25 to Dec. 1.
Center Mo Bamba made his Raptors debut after signing with the team earlier Monday. He had one block but did not score.
Toronto center Jakob Poeltl (lower back) sat for the sixth time in seven games. Before the game, the Raptors said Poeltl will not play for at least the next week.
Raptors forward RJ Barrett was rested on the second night of a back-to-back. Barrett (right knee) returned from a 15-game absence Sunday.
Magic: At Indiana on Wednesday night.
Raptors: Host Denver on Wednesday night.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Toronto Raptors centre Mo Bamba makes a face as he watches from the bench during first half NBA action against the Orlando Magic in Toronto on Monday December 29, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram (3) drives against Orlando Magic guard Anthony Black (left) during first half of an NBA game in Toronto on Monday Dec. 29, 2025. THE (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (4) drives against Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr., right, during first-half NBA basketball game action in Toronto, Monday Dec. 29, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley (5) works upcourt against Orlando Magic forward Tristan da Silva (23) during first-half NBA basketball game action in Toronto, Monday Dec. 29, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Raptors center Mo Bamba (11) and forward Scottie Barnes, right, defend against Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) as he shoots during first half NBA action in Toronto on Monday Dec. 29, 2025. THE (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
President Donald Trump said Thursday Pam Bondi is out as his attorney general.
Trump in a social media post named Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as the acting attorney general, though three people familiar with the matter have said he has privately discussed Lee Zeldin, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, as a permanent pick.
It marks the end of a contentious tenure of a loyalist who upended the Justice Department’s culture of independence from the White House, oversaw large-scale firings of career employees and moved aggressively to investigate the Republican president’s perceived enemies.
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The Republican had only nice things to say about Bondi in an emailed statement, noting a drop in violent crime during her tenure and her Justice Department’s responsiveness to congressional oversight requests.
“The Judiciary Committee stands ready to advance President Trump’s next Attorney General nominee,” Grassley said.
The attorney general was facing a subpoena to appear before the House Oversight Committee on April 14 as lawmakers look into how the Department of Justice handled the release of the case files on Jeffrey Epstein.
The chair of the committee, Rep. James Comer, said in a statement that he would survey Republicans on the committee on whether they still wanted to enforce the subpoena.
Democrats quickly called on the committee to follow through on the subpoena. Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee, said in a statement that Bondi “will not escape accountability and remains legally obligated to appear before our Committee under oath.”
Bondi was subpoenaed last month to appear before the Republican-led Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and face questions over the Justice Department’s sex trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and release of the related files.
Mace, who sits on the committee, said in a statement Thursday that Bondi “will be appearing” in two weeks because the “DOJ still hasn’t complied with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.”
Past attorney generals generally took pains to maintain an arm’s-length distance from the White House to protect the impartiality of investigations and prosecutions.
But Bondi postured herself as Trump’s chief supporter and protector, praising and defending him in congressional hearings and placing a banner with his face on the exterior of Justice Department headquarters.
She called for an end to the “weaponization” of law enforcement that she said occurred under the Biden administration, though her critics said she was the one who had politicized the agency to do the president’s bidding.
The Justice Department’s review and release of Epstein files frustrated members of Congress, who accused the department of hiding certain documents, over-redacting files and, in other cases, failing to redact sensitive information about the victims.
The department denied that it redacted documents in order to protect people and that it improperly withheld certain material. Still, it caused a series of headaches for the Trump administration.
“Thank you to President Trump for the trust and the opportunity to serve as Acting Attorney General,” Blanche wrote in a post on X, after saying that Bondi led the department with “strength and conviction.”
“We will continue backing the blue, enforcing the law, and doing everything in our power to keep America safe,” Blanche said.
Blanche is a former federal prosecutor who worked as Trump’s criminal defense attorney in two cases brought by the department under President Joe Biden’s administration.
He was also a key figure on the president’s defense team in the hush money case against Trump in New York.
Blanche became second in command behind Bondi at the Justice Department last year.
“We love Pam, and she will be transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, after saying she’s been a “loyal friend.”
Trump said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche will serve as acting attorney general.
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, in response to earlier reports that President Donald Trump was considering ousting Attorney General Pam Bondi, said in a statement Thursday: “I welcome it.”
“Bondi handled the Epstein Files in a terrible manner and seriously undermined President Trump,” said Mace in the statement, whose long been critical of the justice department over the release and review of the Jefferey Epstein files.
President Donald Trump said Thursday that Pam Bondi is out as his attorney general, ending the contentious tenure of a loyalist who upended the Justice Department’s culture of independence from the White House, oversaw large-scale firings of career employees and moved aggressively to investigate the Republican president’s perceived enemies.
The announcement follows months of scrutiny over the Justice Department’s handling of files related to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking investigation that made Bondi the target of angry conservatives even with her close relationship with Trump. She also struggled to satisfy Trump’s demands to prosecute his political rivals, with multiple investigations rejected by judges or grand juries.
The former Florida attorney general came into office last year pledging that she would not play politics with the Justice Department, but she quickly started investigations of Trump foes, sparking an outcry that the law enforcement agency was being wielded as a tool of revenge to advance the president’s political and personal agenda.
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FILE - Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks with reporters during a news conference at the Department of Justice, Nov. 19, 2025, in Washington, as Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, listens. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, file)
FILE - Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche meets with reporters in Washington, Jan. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, file)
FILE - Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 11, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
