Orlando Magic Team Report - April 3

(Basketball News) - The Orlando Magic’s miserable season continued on Friday with a 95-87 setback at the hands of the equally woeful Atlanta Hawks at the TD Waterhouse Centre.

Juwan Howard had a season-high 33 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Magic, who have dropped 10 straight contests. DeShawn Stevenson netted 18 points and Andrew DeClerq tied a career-best with 17 rebounds in the setback.

Orlando led by 19 points at halftime and appeared to be on the verge of a blow out.

However, the Hawks clawed back as they crept within nine points at 62-53 on Bob Sura’s three- pointer midway through the third. Atlanta got within six later in the period, but Orlando led 76-68 after three quarters.

The Hawks scored the first seven points of the fourth period to close within 76-75, but Orlando then reeled off five straight to grab a six-point edge. The Magic, though, widened their lead to 87-80 on Britton Johnsen’s hoop with 5:03 left.

Atlanta then put the contest out of reach as it used a 15-0 burst to end the game. During the game-clinching run, the Hawks were 11-of-11 from the foul line, while the Magic went the final 5:03 without a point.

The Magic return to the court on Tuesday when they kick off a brief two-game road trip against the Detroit Pistons.