NBA Game Summary - Orlando at New Jersey

04.2.2005

East Rutherford, NJ (Basketball News) - Steve Francis had 14 of his game-high 33 points in the fourth quarter and the Orlando Magic held on for a 103-102 victory over the New Jersey Nets in a game between two teams fighting for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Francis added seven rebounds and five assists for Orlando, which pulled within one-half game of the 76ers for the eighth spot in the East.

"We are a good free throw shooting team," said Orlando coach Chris Jent. "I looked up to the clock and we had eight minutes left and we were in the bonus, and we said attack, attack, attack."

Nenad Krstic had a career-high 28 points along with 11 rebounds to pace the Nets, who had a three-game win streak halted. New Jersey, which also got 20 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists from Jason Kidd, fell a full game out of the eighth spot.

Kidd nailed a jumper and hit one-of-two free throws on two straight New Jersey possessions to pull the Nets within 100-99 with 1:11 remaining.

Francis then hit 1-of-2 free throws to up the Orlando lead to 101-99, but Vince Carter nailed a three-ball on the other end to put the Nets back in front with 56 seconds left.

Two more Francis free throws pushed Orlando back ahead with 25 seconds left.

Travis Best missed a three-pointer that would have given the Nets the lead, but Kidd deflected the ball off of Dwight Howard’s leg, giving them another chance. Kidd could not take advantage, however, as he missed a wide-open jumper as time expired to preserve Orlando’s victory.

"I had a great look," said Kidd. "Vince (Carter) was rasing up and I was stepping in. Unfortunately I couldn’t knock it down. I wish I could have it back."

The Nets grabbed an 18-12 lead at 4:31 of the first quarter on a Best driving layup. However, Orlando rattled off a 7-1 spurt to knot the game at 19 apiece with 2:11 left. The first quarter ended in a 25-25 tie. Dwight Howard and Francis each had eight points to pace the Magic, while Kidd had seven to lead the Nets.

New Jersey controlled most of the second quarter. A Brian Scalabrine three- pointer with 2:32 left in the first half pushed the Nets’ lead to 50-37. But DeShawn Stevenson had five points during a 13-2 Magic run to end the second quarter and Orlando headed to the locker room down 52-50.

The third quarter went much like the second did, with the Nets building a big lead and the Magic scratching back. A Kidd jumper with 2:34 left in the third gave the Nets a 77-64 advantage.

But Stevenson had four points as the Magic ended the frame by scoring eight straight to pull within 77-72 entering the final 12 minutes. Krstic had 12 of his points in the third quarter.

Orlando extended its run in the early going of the fourth quarter to an 18-4 burst to grab the lead. A Francis jumper capped the spurt, which put Orlando up 82-81 with 8:19 left.

The Magic went up 100-96 with 2:44 left in the game as Andre Barrett capped a 7-0 run with a jumper.

The game was delayed in the first quarter when the power went out at Continental Airlines Arena. The contest was stopped a 7:19 mark in first quarter...Nets coach Lawrence Frank was whistled for a technical foul with 4:06 left in the fourth quarter for racing out onto the floor. After the Magic shot the free throw to take a 94-93 lead, referee Derrick Stafford overturned the technical call after Frank argued that he had run onto the floor to tend to Krstic, who had absorbed a flagrant foul from Stacey Augmon on the play. Krstic would get tagged with a technical foul just a minute later as he retaliated with an elbow to Augmon...Orlando won for just the third time in 33 games in which it trailed after three quarters...The Magic improved to 12-25 on the road...The Nets fell to 2-20 when allowing 100 points...Nets guard Jacque Vaughn suffered a broken finger in the first half. Vaughn will have screws inserted in the beginning of the week. He is done for the season...Best had a season-high five steals...The Magic took the season series, 3-1.

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