Magic end 4-game losing streak with 83-77 win in Brooklyn
NEW YORK (AP) -- The Orlando Magic were just good enough to extend Brooklyn's bad stretch at home.
Victor Oladipo and Nikola Vucevic each scored 20 points Friday night to lead the Magic to an 83-77 victory over the Nets, who have lost nine straight home games.
Aaron Gordon added 14 points and Evan Fournier had 13 for the Magic, who recovered from an 11-point second quarter to snap a four-game losing streak.
"Our whole emphasis was finding any way possible to win the game," Orlando's Tobias Harris said. "It wasn't pretty, but I thought we had some pretty good stretches."
Brook Lopez led the Nets with 17 points. Joe Johnson finished with 13.
Gordon's layup with 6:20 left snapped a 68-all tie and gave the Magic the lead for good. Orlando extended its lead to 81-72 on Oladipo's 3-pointer with 2:42 left and the Nets never got closer than six the rest of the way.
Oladipo made a career-best six 3-pointers.
"They were doubling Vucevic," Oladipo said. "When Vucevic does a great job of drawing them into him and then kicking it out, we've just got to shoot it with confidence and that's all I did today."
Brooklyn hasn't won at home since a 100-91 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Dec. 10. The Nets' team record is 14 straight home losses set in 2009-10, when they finished 12-70 while playing in New Jersey.
"I'm starting to sound like a broken record here at home," Nets coach Lionel Hollins said. "Turnovers were rearing their head. And, in the last quarter we couldn't make a play, couldn't make a shot and again we come away with a loss."
Vucevic also had 10 rebounds, while Harris contributed nine points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
Shane Larkin had 12 points for Brooklyn. Thaddeus Young finished with 11 points and nine rebounds.
"We're playing well enough on the defensive end to win games," Larkin said. "It's frustrating. You should win an NBA game if you're allowing 83 points."
The Magic used a 23-9 run to take a 26-13 lead on Oladipo's 3-pointer with 3:09 left in the first quarter.
The Nets then held the Magic to 4-of-15 shooting in the second quarter, Orlando's lowest-scoring period of the season, and took a 38-37 advantage at halftime.
"We came out of the gate pretty sharp," Magic coach Scott Skiles said. "We were really moving the ball again and then our bench came in and kind of buzz-killed it a bit."
Brooklyn scored the final six points of the third, including Wayne Ellington's long 3-pointer at the buzzer, to take a 62-60 edge.
TIP-INS:
Magic: The Magic have already clinched the season series, having won the first three meetings. Last year, Brooklyn swept the series 3-0. Orlando hadn't won the season series since 2011-12, when it won all three games. The teams face each other one more time this season on March 29. . After starting the team's first 34 games, point guard Elfrid Payton missed his third straight with a left ankle contusion. . Victor Oladipo received the NBA Cares December Community Assist Award.
Nets: Johnson made three 3-pointers and now has 1,759 in his career. He is one away from tying Peja Stojakovic for 11th place in NBA history.
MAGIC MOMENTS
Orlando's 20-17 record represents the first time it has been over .500 after 37 games since the 2011-12 season, when the Magic started 23-14. Orlando finished the lockout-shortened season 37-29 and lost to the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the playoffs, the last time the Magic qualified for the postseason.
NEW YEAR'S OPTIMISM
While the Nets are only 1-3 since the calendar turned, there's reason to hope things will get better. Since moving to Brooklyn, the team has a 91-66 (.580) record beginning Jan. 1, while only going 50-75 (.400) in October, November and December.
UP NEXT
Magic: Host Washington on Saturday.
Nets: Visit Detroit on Saturday.
