Magic 96, Hawks 94
ORLANDO - Center Nikola Vucevic scored 22 points, including a game-winning fallaway jumper from 15 feet as time expired, to lead the Orlando Magic to a 96-94 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday afternoon.
Guard Evan Fournier scored 21 points and Victor Oladipo had 19 points to help the Magic (22-28) snap a three-game losing streak.
The Hawks (30-23) were led by guard Jeff Teague with 24 points and five assists. He made 10 of his 17 shots. Kent Bazemore, who tied the game at 94 with 48 seconds remaining, had 23 points and eight rebounds.
Hawks All-Star forward Paul Millsap had 14 points and nine rebounds. Center Al Horford had 11 points, six rebounds and six assists.
Orlando guard Elfrid Payton had 12 points and a game-high 12 assists. Forward Aaron Gordon had 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
Payton played well midway in the fourth, scoring or assisting on five consecutive baskets by the Magic when they built a 94-86 lead with 3:41 remaining. The Hawks, though, scored the next eight points and tied the game on Bazemore's 3-pointer. The Magic had four turnovers and three missed shots during Atlanta's late run.
Horford, who had only four points in the first three periods, scored seven points in the first three minutes of the fourth, pulling the Hawks within four points.
The Magic took a 71-60 lead into the final period, despite a 3-pointer from beyond halfcourt by Atlanta's Thabo Sefolosha as time expired. The Magic led by as many as 14 points in the third.
Fournier scored 16 points in the first half when he led the Magic to a 48-41 lead. Fournier hit a pair of 3-pointers, made six of 10 shots and converted both free throws before intermission.
The Hawks started slowly with seven turnovers in the first 10 minutes. They had 12 by halftime. Teague was their only starter who played well in the first two periods. He hit six of eight shot for 14 points. Millsap and Bazemore made a combined three of 12 shots.
The Magic led by as many as 14 points in the first period. Vucevic had 11 points and five rebounds in his first 17 minutes.
NOTES: Magic F Tobias Harris, the team's third-leading scorer, missed the game with an ankle sprain, sustained Friday night when he collided with teammate Nikola Vucevic. ... Hawks backup C Tiago Splitter missed his fourth consecutive game with a sore right hip. Splitter will be held out until after the All-Star break. ... The two teams will play again in Atlanta on Monday night. Both teams planned to leave the Amway Center quicker than usual Sunday in an effort to land in Atlanta before the Super Bowl kicked off Sunday evening. ... Magic coach Scott Skiles scoffed when asked if the 1 p.m. ET start time Sunday would have any effect on his team. "It's an unusual start time, but we just need to play a good solid game, whether it's 1 o'clock, or 3 in the morning," Skiles said. ... The Hawks had beaten the Magic in 17 of their last 20 regular-season meetings prior to Sunday's loss. ... The Magic came into Sunday having had 11 games this season decided by three points or fewer, tied for the most in the NBA. The two-point margin upped that count to 12. ... The Hawks are 8-0 this season when C Al Horford scores 20 or more points.