No Van Horn--Nets Fall To Magic
Magic coach Chuck Daly likes to see desperation in his players because it usually means a victory.
That was the case Tuesday night as Orlando fought from behind for a 100-98 victory against the New Jersey Nets.
The Magic fell behind by two until Nick Anderson tied the game at 98-98 and Horace Grant followed with his game-winner with 16.6 seconds remaining.
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"That's what usually happens with us," Daly said. "At home we get more desperate and the more desperate we get, the more they think we might lose a game. They get more competitive."
Orlando led 41-39 with 7:11 remaining in the second quarter, but the Magic didn't lead again until Anfernee Hardaway's layup at the 8:42 mark of the fourth quarter put them ahead, 86-85.
"We were fortunate to win," Daly said. "We struggled all night to get the lead. A lot of it was their ability to shoot 60 percent in the first half. They've lost a lot of games but they have a lot of awfully good shooters."
Orlando outrebounded the Nets, 52-38.
Anderson led the Magic with 28 points and added 10 rebounds while Hardaway had 16 points and 11 rebounds.
New Jersey was led by Kerry Kittles' 18 points, five assists and four steals. Stephon Marbury added 17 points and Jayson Williams had 16 points and 12 rebounds.
New Jersey coach Don Casey, who replaced the recently-fired John Calipari, saw some improvement in his struggling team.
"You see the improvement but they need a reward for it," Casey said. "It's not just closing the gap, they need a 'W' for their efforts."
New Jersey led 78-71 with 2:19 remaining in the third period but the Magic closed the Nets' lead to 81-79 at the end of the quarter with reserve Dominique Wilkins scoring four points in the final 1:39. Wilkins finished the game with 17 points and six rebounds.
New Jesey shot 60.5 percent in the first half to take a 56-49 lead at halftime. Williams paced New Jersey with 11 points and eight rebounds. Wilkins gave Orlando 11 points in 7 minutes off the bench in the first half. NOTES: New Jersey's Keith Van Horn missed his second consecutive game because of a right ankle sprain. ... The Nets' Jim McIlvaine underwent successful arthroscopic surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left shoulder on Tuesday. McIlvaine will have his arm in a sling for one month. He is expected to rehabilitate for 3½ months. ... Orlando is 6-2 when scoring 100-plus points.
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