Magic 109, Hawks 102
ORLANDO, Fla. - Guard Arron Afflalo had 20 points and all five Orlando Magic starters reached double figures in scoring as the Magic outlasted the Atlanta Hawks 109-102 on Sunday.
Nik Vucevic contributed 16 points and 14 rebounds and Tobias Harris had 17 as Orlando won consecutive games for the first time in more than a month. Glen Davis added 16 points, Victor Oladipo had 13 points and eight assists and Jameer Nelson had 10 points and eight assists.
Atlanta, playing without All-Star center Al Horford, who is out for the season with a pectoral muscle pull, got 22 points and eight assists from guard Jeff Teague and 18 points from backcourt mate Lou Williams.
Atlanta made 15-of-39 three-pointers, but could not match up inside. Forward Paul Millsap had 17 points for the Hawks and led the team with seven rebounds.
Atlanta was playing catch-up the entire game, but when Dennis Schroder opened the final period with a conventional three-point play on Atlanta's next possession, the Hawks finally went ahead 80-79 with 10:23 left in the game.
The Magic did not regain control until three Atlanta turnovers fueled a 9-0 run for the Magic that was capped by Nelson's 3-pointer and a tip-in by Vucevic that made it 93-85 with 5:08 left in the game.
Atlanta ran out of 3-point magic from there, getting only two more treys and never getting the deficit under seven points.
The Magic got off to a great start offensively, but had trouble chasing down Atlanta's perimeter shooters and had to settle for a 56-49 halftime advantage.
Orlando was 11-of-20 in the first quarter (55 percent) and limited the Hawks to 31.6 percent shooting (7-of-22), but four of those field goals were 3-pointers and Atlanta trailed just 26-20 at the end of the quarter.
Maurice Harkless came on in the second period and helped the Magic pick up the pace at both ends of the floor. Harkless scored seven straight points in one stretch and had 11 in the quarter as Orlando took advantage of long rebounds to run up 14 fast-break points and pull away to a 50-36 lead with three minutes left in the half.
Unfazed, Atlanta kept firing from behind the 3-point line, finishing the half with three straight bombs to cut the deficit to seven by halftime. The Hawks were 9-of-19 from 3-point territory for the half.
It was more of the same in the third quarter with the Magic trying to slip away by using its size advantage to get easy baskets inside. But the Hawks kept reeling them back in with bombs from the perimeter.
The Hawks scored the first two baskets of the third period to cut the deficit to 56-53, then withstood a steady parade of layups and free throws by the Magic before Sheldon Mack nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to close the period and pull Atlanta within 79-76.
NOTES: Atlanta has been red-hot offensively the last seven games, averaging 118 points, while shooting 50.7 percent (309 of 610) from the field. The Hawks also are averaging 31 assists a game during that stretch. ... The Magic had lost 11 straight to Atlanta before beating the Hawks 109-92 on Nov. 26. ... Atlanta played three straight overtime games before meeting Orlando. The Hawks were 2-1, including a double OT win over Cleveland. ... The Magic clearly would like rookie Victor Oladipo to be a point guard, but have limited his time there the last month because of turnovers. Oladipo has 93 giveaways this season, 25 more than anyone else on the team. He could see more time out front if he has more nights like he did Friday against Detroit when he scored 16 points, had 11 assists and only one turnover in 37 minutes. "There is no time frame for it," Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said about committing Oladipo to point guard full-time. "We're trying to get him better in a lot areas. Part of that is shot recognition and how defenses are going to play him."
