|
|
 |
 |
|
| |
Tuesday, Apr. 4 7:30pm ET
Reserves help Magic pull away | |||||
|
| ||||||
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
 GAME FLOW
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Doc Rivers shook hands with fans lining a corridor outside the Orlando locker room, then pumped his arms and let out a yelp. "Yes!" the excited coach shouted after Tuesday night's 107-97 win over the San Antonio Spurs. "Yes!"
The victory was the season-high seventh straight for the surprising Magic, who shot 54 percent against one of the NBA's top field goal defenses and outrebounded the defending NBA champions 46-38. John Amaechi scored 24 points and Darrell Armstrong had 23, while rookie Chucky Atkins led a fourth-quarter surge by reserves who helped Orlando pull away for good. "You never know who it's going to be," Rivers said of the latest heroes in the Magic's push for a playoff berth. "But you better believe every night it is going to be somebody." Atkins, who had 16 points, scored five and added three assists in a 13-4 run that put the Magic up 93-78 with just under six minutes to go. Bo Outlaw finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds, nearly twice his average in each category. Orlando's performance didn't surprise San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich. With their 11th straight home win, the Magic remained two games ahead of Milwaukee in the race for the eighth playoff position in the Eastern Conference. "The NBA is goofy. Most of us play better at home than on the road," Popovich said. "But they have done a great job here with the effort that they put in every night. The style they play suits them very well." The Spurs, who got 30 points from David Robinson, cut their deficit to 97-91 with 1:44 left. But Amaechi made a one-hand runner on the baseline and Atkins followed with a clutch jumper to put the Magic back in control. Robinson made his first 11 shots and finished 12-for-14. Antonio Daniels had 14 points and Tim Duncan and Jaren Jackson each scored 13 for the Spurs, who have lost two straight after a five-game win streak. Daniels had eight points in a 13-4 spurt San Antonio used to get back in the game in the fourth quarter. But the Spurs went scoreless from the field for more than three minutes before Duncan ended the drought with 39.3 seconds left. "We knew they were going to make a run sooner or later," Orlando's Ben Wallace said. "But what we were focused on was keeping our composure when they made that run ... When they made the run, everybody kept his head up, was talking to each other and kept playing. It was about staying focused." The Spurs made four 3-pointers during a 14-2 run that wiped out an 11-point deficit and gave San Antonio its first lead midway through the second quarter. Jackson made two of them, and Antonio Daniels and Terry Porter each delivered one. Robinson, meanwhile, was 5-for-5 from the field and Duncan hit the only two shots he took in the opening half as the Spurs made 57 percent of their attempts to lead 53-51 at the break. The game turned again in the third quarter when the Magic outscored the Spurs 27-17, making 12 of 19 shots (63 percent) to take a 78-70 lead into the fourth period.
Game notes | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard San Antonio Clubhouse Orlando Clubhouse RECAPS Washington 102 New Jersey 93
Orlando 107
  | |||||
