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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | F | |
| MAGIC | 24 | 25 | 20 | 23 | 14 | 106 |
| BOBCATS | 21 | 24 | 14 | 33 | 3 | 95 |
Recap:
CHARLOTTE, N.C.(AP) -- Jameer Nelson scored six of his 21 points in overtime and the Orlando Magic recovered after blowing a big lead to beat the Charlotte Bobcats 106-95 on Saturday night for their third straight victory.
While the Bobcats had won nine straight at home and entered 18-4 on their home floor, the Magic's experience showed late despite a recent streak of bad play.
After Stephen Jackson's layup with 1.2 seconds left in regulation completed Charlotte's comeback from a 16-point third-quarter deficit, Nelson hit a jumper, two free throws and a runner in an 11-0 run to start OT.
Vince Carter added 21 points and helped hold Gerald Wallace to nine points.
D.J. Augustin scored 22 points for Charlotte, which starts a six-game trip on a two-game losing streak.
Charlotte was the NBA's hottest team going into the weekend with nine wins in 10 games. After a loss to Atlanta on Friday night, the Bobcats struggled mightily until late in regulation.
Augustin led the surge, hitting three 3-pointers, the last tying it at 87 with 57.4 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Nelson answered with a fadeaway with 37 seconds left. After Charlotte's Boris Diaw missed a 3-pointer, Rashard Lewis hit two free throws with 21 seconds.
Raymond Felton, playing on a sore ankle, then buried a 3 with 7.8 seconds left before Carter was fouled. He hit only one free throw an left before Charlotte called timeout and moved the ball to the frontcourt with 6.9 seconds left.
Felton then drove to the basket and at the last moment handed off to Jackson, whose rushed, two-handed layup went straight in without hitting the glass.
Orlando didn't have any timeouts and couldn't get a good shot off at the buzzer.
But the Magic ended the suspense quickly.
The Bobcats missed their first six shots of overtime and soon Orlando was 2-0 on Charlotte's home floor, with memories of their seven losses in nine games earlier this month fading.
Dwight Howard added 10 points and 20 rebounds, and Lewis had 18 points after a slow start.
Jackson scored 15 points on 6 of 18 shooting, while Wallace shot 2 for 11 and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Bobcats.
After committing two turnovers in the first half, Charlotte had seven in the third quarter as the Magic went on a 20-6 run. Lewis, who started 1 for 8 from the field, hit consecutive 3-pointers as the Magic took a 69-53 lead.
It was NASCAR night, with several drivers helping the Bobcats collect money to help the Haiti earthquake relief efforts. Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson was honored at halftime, and the Bobcats wore their road blue uniforms with a checkered flag stripe down each side.
They quickly fell a lap down.
Orlando led by as many as nine points in the second quarter behind Carter's hot shooting and nifty drives. But his most impressive performance may have been on defense.
Using his long arms to disrupt Wallace from the outside and quick enough to prevent him from driving, Wallace was 0-for-6 from the field in the first half as Charlotte trailed 49-45.
NOTES: Jackson spent much of the night complaining and was hit with a technical foul by Brian Forte in the third quarter. ... Howard lifted teammate Jason Williams in the layup line before the game so he could dunk. ... Nationwide Series driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won a pregame skills competition that included dribbling, foul shooting, passing and layups. He beat a group that included the layup-challenged Michael Waltrip and Brad Keselowski, who kept air-balling free throws. ``I was pretty nervous,'' Stenhouse said.
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POSTGAME HIGHLIGHTS:
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Preview:
(STATS) -- A couple of easy home wins over inferior opponents have helped the Orlando Magic regain some confidence. Things likely won't be as simple over the next week.
The Magic look to win three straight for the first time in a month Saturday night against a Charlotte Bobcats team that tries to extend its franchise-record home winning streak to 10 games.
Orlando (28-15) endured a disappointing stretch earlier this month, losing seven of nine to drop out of first place in the Southeast Division, but it has bounced back with two strong performances.
After Wednesday's 109-98 win over Indiana helped snap a three-game skid, the Magic defeated Sacramento 100-84 on Friday. Neither of those games were as close as the scores indicated, as Orlando led by as much as 29 against the Pacers and had a 32-point lead over the Kings.
Dwight Howard had 19 points and 15 rebounds in 26 minutes Friday for the Magic, who haven't won three in a row since Dec. 19-23.
Coach Stan Van Gundy gave his starters plenty of rest down the stretch in those games against teams with a combined 29-55 record to get his players prepared for a significantly more demanding portion of the schedule.
"We took care of the teams we needed to take care of,'' Magic guard J.J. Redick said. "In both cases, we played great in the first half, got a lead and really clamped down defensively.''
After this game, Orlando plays Monday at Memphis, which has won a franchise-record 10 straight at home, before hosting Atlantic-leading Boston on Thursday and Southeast-best Atlanta next Saturday.
Before trying to break the Grizzlies' home winning streak, they'll take a crack at Charlotte's.
The Bobcats (21-20) are coming off Friday's 103-89 loss to the Hawks, snapping a franchise-tying six-game run. They allowed Atlanta to shoot 51.2 percent from the floor after yielding an average of 87.3 points on 40.3 percent shooting in their previous six.
"We just came out and played terrible ball," Gerald Wallace said. "Defensively, we didn't rotate, we didn't help out.''
All the victories during their streak came in a six-game homestand, which concluded with Wednesday's 104-65 win over Miami, the most lopsided victory in team history.
Overall, the Bobcats have won nine straight at home after falling to Utah on Dec. 19, and are 15-2 in Charlotte since Nov. 22.
Despite all of the Bobcats' success at home, they suffered a 93-81 loss there to the Magic on Nov. 10 - Orlando's third straight win in Charlotte.
The Magic also defeated the Bobcats 97-91 on Nov. 16 in Orlando and have won six straight and nine of 10 in the series.
Charlotte hopes to have Raymond Felton available for this game after he sprained his right ankle late in the first quarter Friday. Although X-rays were negative, Felton, who is third on the team with an average of 12.5 points per game, didn't return.
Wallace and Stephen Jackson picked up the scoring slack with 25 and 24 points, respectively.
Neither have had much success against the Magic this season, though. Wallace is averaging 12.0 points in two games, while Jackson scored 13 on 4 of 14 shooting in the loss at Orlando, his only appearance against the club this season.
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Game Notes:
Jan. 23 @ Charlotte: Orlando is 13-7 all-time vs. Charlotte (8-1 at home, 5-6 on the road), including 2-0 this season (see recaps below)…Orlando went 4-0 last season against Charlotte…The Magic have won 10 of the last 11 meetings overall…The Bobcats recorded their first win in franchise history over the Magic on Nov. 6, 2004 (111-100)...Vince Carter played collegiately at the University of North Carolina…J.J. Redick played collegiately at Duke University…For last season’s stats and Magic career numbers vs. Charlotte, see p. 240 of the media guide…Nov. 10 @ Charlotte – Magic 93, Bobcats 81: Dwight Howard and Vince Carter each scored 15 points, as Orlando defeated Charlotte, 93-81, at Time Warner Cable Arena. Howard also tallied 10 rebounds and a team-high six assists. Brandon Bass added 14 points for the Magic. Raymond Felton led the Bobcats and all scorers with 18 points. Orlando held Charlotte to 44.2 percent shooting from the floor and forced 17 turnovers. The Magic put the game out of reach by opening the fourth quarter with an 11-4 run and holding the Bobcats to just 10 points in the final frame…Nov. 16 vs. Charlotte – Magic 97, Bobcats 91: Seven Magic players scored in double figures, led by Jameer Nelson’s 16 points, as Orlando defeated Charlotte, 97-91, at a sold-out Amway Arena. Vince Carter netted 15 points for the Magic, while Dwight Howard tallied 14 points and 11 rebounds. Flip Murray led the Bobcats with a career-high-tying 31 points. Charlotte led 52-50 at halftime after shooting 59 percent from the floor. The Magic tightened things up during the third quarter and outscored the Bobcats, 26-16, to take a 76-68 lead heading into the final stanza. Leading 90-87, Carter drained a long three-pointer from the left wing with 53.1 seconds left to seal the victory for the Magic.
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. BOBCATS: 45 pts., Dwight Howard (@ Orlando, 2-17-09)
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAGIC: 36 pts., Gerald Wallace (@ Charlotte, 1-16-08)
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