Hill, Magic hold off Hornets

Dwight Howard poured in 16 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks while Trevor Ariza donated 14 points for the Magic, who have won two in a row after losing their previous three games. Travis Diener finished with 13 points in the contest.

Chris Paul chipped in 19 points, 10 assists and five boards and Jannero Pargo added 16 points for the Hornets, who have lost six of their last seven and 11 of their last 13 games. Rasual Butler ended with 15 points and Desmond Mason netted 11 in the loss.

Marc Jackson’s jumper gave the Hornets a 72-67 advantage, but the Magic took the lead for good with a 17-3 surge, which began with Howard’s hook shot. Diener’s layup moments later evened the score at 73 with nearly eight minutes left, and the guard followed that with a trey and a technical free throw. Diener’s second three capped the burst for an 84-75 lead with 5:01 on the clock.

The Hornets closed the game with an 8-2 streak, with five points coming from Paul, but Butler missed a three-pointer that would’ve tied the contest.

The Magic jumped out to a 23-3 lead, including 10 points from Ariza, as the Hornets missed their first 14 shots from the field. After Mason’s free throw gave the Hornets a 1-0 lead, the Magic scored 13 straight points, ending with Ariza’s tip-in,

Paul finally broke the string with a three-point play at the 2:42 mark of the opening period, making the score 23-7.

New Orleans/Oklahoma City connected on just 3-of-19 shot from the field (15.8 percent) and trailed 26-13 after the first 12 minutes of play.

The Hornets fought back with a 20-6 rally, highlighted by 12 straight points from Pargo, including a pair of treys to take a 33-32 lead. Orlando hit just one of its first 12 field goals to add fuel to the run. The Magic went 5:45 between field goals before Howard broke the spurt with a layup.

A pair of Jackson free throws with three seconds left in the second evened the score at 41 heading into the half.

Tied 59-59, the Hornets tallied nine of the last 14 points of the third quarter for a 68-64 margin heading into the fourth quarter.

Game Notes

The Hornets first quarter futility was the not an NBA low. Memphis shot 2- of-22 from the field in the third quarter of a 96-87 loss at Phoenix on November 11...The Magic shot 45.2 percent from the field, while the Hornets shot a paltry 36.9 percent from the floor...Jackson ended with 11 points...The Hornets connected on 29-of-38 from the line, compared to 17-of-25 for the Magic.