Magic Match Best Start In Franchise History
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 2 (AP) -- Hedo Turkoglu sparked a pivotal 9-0 run with a 3-pointer that put Orlando ahead to stay and added a layup with 55 seconds left to lead the Orlando Magic to a 104-97 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night.Rashard Lewis led the Magic with 18 points, and Dwight Howard had 17 points and eight rebounds. Backup point guard Carlos Arroyo wasn't with the club after returning to Orlando on Saturday night to be with his ill 3-year-old daughter, Gabriella. He also will miss the finale of the five-game road trip, which is at Golden State.
Orlando is off to a 15-4 start in its first season under coach Stan Van Gundy, matching the best start in the franchise's 19-year history. The Magic had the same record to begin the 1994-95 campaign and matched that the following season. Just four years ago, they opened 1-18.
Orlando is 11 games over .500 for the first time since finishing the strike-delayed 1998-99 season 33-17, and leads the NBA with a 10-2 road mark. The victory was the Magic's first road win over the Lakers after 10 straight losses, including their last two visits to the Forum. They have won only three of the last 18 meetings overall and nine of 30 since joining the NBA in 1990.
Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 28 points, 19 in the first quarter. Lamar Odom had 19 points and 19 rebounds.
Turkoglu finished with 14 points, and is the only Orlando player to reach double figures in every game this season. He also leads the team with 99 fourth-quarter points.
The Magic led by as many as 10 points early in the third quarter before the Lakers pulled ahead 73-70 with an 18-5 run, capped by Vladimir Radmanovic's layup with 3:36 left in the period. Neither team led by more than three points during an 11:06 span of the second half before J.J. Redick made a 3-pointer, two free throws and a 15-footer in a 63-second span to give Orlando an 85-80 lead with 8:23 to play.
The Magic missed 11 of their first 15 shots while Los Angeles pulled out to a 23-15 lead, their biggest of the game. Bryant scored the last 11 points of the Lakers' opening run, making three shots from 3-point range in a 59-second span and following that with a slam dunk off an alley-oop pass by Derek Fisher.
Howard had 39 points and 16 rebounds in a win at Seattle on Wednesday night, then had 30 points and 23 boards in Friday night's loss at Phoenix. But he got out of the blocks slowly against the Lakers, going to the bench after picking up his second foul with 6:11 left in the first quarter.
Orlando's Maurice Evans and Brian Cookfaced their former teammates for the first time since getting traded to Orlando on Nov. 20 for Trevor Ariza. Evans played 21 minutes and had nine points, while Cook had three points in 9 minutes. Ariza, who has had less than 16 minutes of playing time since becoming a Laker, spent the entire game on the bench.
Notes: Orlando is 14-0 when leading after three quarters (9-0 on the road), and 11-0 when holding an opponent under 100 points. ... The Magic have never won a season series from the Lakers, but have a chance to remedy that when the Lakers visit Orlando on Feb. 8. ... The Magic, 10-for-30 from behind the 3-point arc, are now 8-2 when making 10 or more 3-point baskets. The Lakers were 8-for-29 on 3-point attempts. ... Orlando had a 25-24 advantage in assists, and improved to 11-0 under those circumstances.
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