ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Tobias Harris got a leaning, 13-foot jumper to rattle in at the buzzer, giving the Orlando Magic a 100-99 victory last night that snapped the Atlanta Hawks’ nine-game NBA basketball winning streak.
Harris finished with 20 points, Evan Fournier added 19 and Nik Vucevic 18. Orlando took the second game of the back-to-back after Atlanta’s victory at home on Friday.
The game was tight throughout, featuring ten ties and 15 lead changes. The Magic had ten first-quarter turnovers, but just five the rest of the game.
Kyle Korver’s three-pointer with 3.4 seconds left had given Atlanta a one-point lead.
Jeff Teague had 24 points, leading six Hawks players in double figures. Al Horford added 18 and Korver 11.
The 13th lead change of the night, on a layup by Fournier, put the Magic up 95-94 with just over a minute to play. Victor Oladipo was fouled and stretched it out to three points with a pair of free throws.
Teague was fouled and connected on two free throws of his own on the other end to get it back to a point.
The Hawks had Fournier trapped in the backcourt, but he was able to get it ahead to Harris, who was fouled. But he only got one of two, giving the ball back to Atlanta.
Out of timeout, Korver connected on a deep three-pointer to put Atlanta back on top at 99-98, setting up Harris’ final shot.
Vucevic returned to action for the Magic after missing six games with a strained lower back. He didn’t show any residual effects from the injury and made an immediate impact, scoring 12 points and grabbing six rebounds in the first half.
The Magic trailed just 48-47 at the half, but the problem early was five turnovers in the quarter.
The Hawks shot just 42 per cent (19 for 45) in the first half, but spread out their scoring with four different players scoring at least eight points by half-time.
