Text size: increase text sizedecrease text size
From Orlando Sentinel

NBA

Orlando Magic start strong, finish off victory against Clippers

By Tim Povtak | Sentinel Staff Writer
2:23 AM EST, January 10, 2008

LOS ANGELES - Orlando Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy finally got the start he wanted. He got the finish, too.

And all the bad from Tuesday turned to good Wednesday.

The Magic scored first and never trailed, beating the Los Angeles Clippers 113-106 at the Staples Center.

Everything that went wrong in Tuesday's loss in Sacramento seemed to go right against the Clippers. That's what a good start can do.

"It's a lot easier to play from the lead than to play from behind,'' Magic guard Jameer Nelson said. "Everything seems to go smoother that way.''

The shots fell. The defense stiffened. The intensity stayed high.

This was the way it was supposed to be -- but wasn't -- against the Kings.

The Magic (23-14) snapped a three-game losing streak, moving on to Denver and Salt Lake City for the next two games of this Western swing.

"This was a big win, a very important win for us,'' said Magic forward Rashard Lewis. "We should have won in Sacramento, but we didn't. We sure didn't want to be going to Denver and Utah with two losses on this trip.''

Dwight Howard scored less, but he did more, getting only 17 points but also 17 rebounds, and he became more of a defensive presence, something he didn't do on Tuesday.

Hedo Turkoglu led the Magic with 28 points, hitting a pair of free throws with 12 seconds remaining to clinch the victory. Lewis had 20 points.

The Magic almost unraveled in the closing minutes, but they regained their composure. Howard was called for a technical foul with 4:15 remaining when he didn't get the foul call he wanted, protesting too strongly to the nearby official.

The Clippers came into the game having lost eight of their previous nine games, but they confidently charged back into the game late after allowing the Magic to build big leads in the first and third periods.

. The Clippers closed to within 99-98, but Lewis and Nelson hit 3-point shots to widen the lead again. The Clippers got a big 3 from Cuttino Mobley.

On Tuesday, the Magic started slowly, trailed by 19 points early in the fourth and fell short with a late rally that never got closer than three points. The Clippers made their rally Wednesday, too, but it was too little, too late.

The Magic led 88-79 to begin the fourth quarter, starting the third much like they started the first. They led by as many as 17 points, repeatedly driving the lane without worrying about shot-blocking center Chris Kaman, who was on the bench in foul trouble.

The Magic had five players in double figures by midway in the third period.

The Magic led 59-54 at halftime, riding a great start and a well-balanced attack. Lewis and Keyon Dooling each had 10 points by intermission, while three others had nine.

Van Gundy, trying to find more intensity at the beginning of games, used yet another backcourt combination to start, returning Nelson to the opening lineup alongside Maurice Evans.

Things clicked.

Related topic galleries: Kaman Corporation, Jameer Nelson, Stan Van Gundy, Dwight Howard, Vehicles, Hedo Turkoglu, Orlando Magic

Get breaking news | Most popular stories | Dining and Travel deals all via e-mail!

Copyright © 2008, Orlando Sentinel

U.S. Open: Aug. 25-Sept. 7


Roger Federer aced his way past Novak Djokovic Saturday.
Photos: U.S. Open | Celebs at the Open
Scores: Men's draw | Women's draw
Blog: News, updates and fun from Flushing
Guide: How to get there, where to eat & more
More: Complete U.S. Open coverage

Beat Newsday's Bob Glauber, win prizes!

Latest scores

Buy tickets

The NY Yankees

My Long Island

Jets photos
Your sports photos

Yanks. Mets. Jets. Giants. Knicks. High schools. Upload your photos now.