Wizards Shut Down Magic

In a record defensive performance by the Washington Wizards, Terry Davis didn't take charge. He took charges.

He took four of them -- plus made all six of his shots to match his season high with 12 points -- as the Wizards allowed the fewest points in franchise history in Wednesday night's 84-73 victory over the Orlando Magic.

"He was physical," coach Bernie Bickerstaff said of Davis, who has taken a team-high 19 charges on the season. "He was sacrificing his body, and this is a team that needs that."

Coming home from a five-game road trip in which they blew three fourth-quarter leads, the erratic Wizards took an early lead thanks to Davis and didn't collapse for a change. The Magic cut a 10-point deficit to four in the final period, but Washington showed a resiliency indicative of a team that has alternated wins with losses over the last seven games.

"It was good for us in the fourth quarter to show we can pull it out when it's tight," said Mitch Richmond, whose 16 points was second on the team to Juwan Howard's 20. "It was a gutty effort on our part. We should have won all our games on that road trip."

The Wizards' previous record for points allowed was 74, by Cleveland in 1982 and Miami in 1997. This time, it helped that Orlando played most of the game without Nick Anderson and all of the fourth quarter without Penny Hardaway.

Nick Anderson writhes in pain after injuring his hamstring. (AP)

The Magic, ending a two-game winning streak, lost leading scorer Anderson with 6:37 left in the first half when he fell on Richmond and strained his left hamstring. Anderson, averaging 16.5 points, is listed as day-to-day.

"If he's out long, it's going to hurt," coach Chuck Daly said. "When you don't have any shooting and you lose your top scorer, it's going to be painful. We shot poorly again, and that's been the story all year."

The Magic shot 37 percent and were led by 15 points from Darrell Armstrong, who was subbing for Anderson. In the game's key run, they missed seven consecutive shots and committed seven turnovers, including four offensive fouls, in the first five minutes of the third quarter.

The drought let the Wizards pull from a 43-40 halftime lead to 54-41. After that, the Magic couldn't get closer than six until B.J. Armstrong's jumper cut the deficit to 74-70 with 2:53 remaining. Richmond then responded with two free throws and a driving layup to get the lead back to eight and seal the victory.

Daly didn't use Hardaway during the fourth-quarter rally, much to Hardaway's displeasure. Daly said he wanted to stay with the players who had made the game close, even if it meant both his starting guards were not in the game.

"I don't know what coach Daly was thinking," Hardaway said. "How do you leave your top guy on the bench with the game on the line? It doesn't surprise me what he does. You have to go with the flow to survive."

Davis scored six points during an 8-0 first-quarter run that gave the Wizards the lead for good. The lead twice grew to 10 in the first half until the Magic closed to three at the break.

The Wizards had a strong game from the free-throw line, going 14-for-14 in the second half and 17-for-19 for the game.

Notes

• Richmond's 3-pointer 15 seconds into the game gave him 18,001 career points, making him the 41st NBA player to pass the 18,000 barrier.
• Wizards swingman Tracy Murray injured his right big toe in the third quarter and did not return.
• The Wizards, now 8-7 at home, haven't won or lost more than two in a row since March 1.
• The Magic are 16-2 at home, but just 6-8 on the road.

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