Reserves lead Magic to win over Wizards

Reserves lead Magic to win over Wizards

Published Dec. 19, 2012 8:43 p.m. ET

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Much of the Orlando Magic's excitement over a fourth straight win was crushed in the final minute when Glen Davis crashed hard to the floor.

Davis, the team's leading scorer and second-leading rebounder, fell after being fouled by Emeka Okafor with 47.8 seconds left in the Magic's 90-83 win over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night. Davis lay on the court for several minutes before leaving the game, holding his left shoulder.

"He's huge for us, especially down the stretch of games," teammate Nikola Vucevic said. "He plays with a lot of energy and really gets us going."

Davis, who had 12 points and nine rebounds, will be examined Thursday to find out the extent of the injury.

J.J. Redick, who talked to Davis as he left the locker room after the game, said: "He appeared as a player who was worried."

Magic coach Jacque Vaughn was more positive.

"I'm not ready to write his obituary yet," Vaughn said. "I'm a more positive than negative guy so until I get the diagnosis, I'm planning on having him in the lineup."

Washington has been without its best player, point guard John Wall, all season. The Wizards were also missing rookie Bradley Beal, their second-leading scorer, who sat out with a sore back. They could have used both of them in the fourth quarter when they had an opportunity to steal a win.

Redick scored 17 points and E'Twaun Moore and Arron Afflalo had 15 apiece as the Magic overcame horrendous fourth quarter shooting.

Washington was down 76-63 after three then held the Magic to 21.1 percent shooting for the quarter, but couldn't take advantage. The Wizards got a season-high 20 points from Nene and 19 from Jordan Crawford, but neither could carry them in the final minutes.

"We don't have the guy you're just going to give the ball to and say carry the load for us," Washington Coach Randy Wittman said. "Did we fight back and get back in it? Yes, but we're not good enough to overcome those things. We're looking for solutions, we're trying."

"It hurts, but the moral of the story is you can't give up," said Martell Webster, who had 11 points. "I think if we can keep our heads up and stay confident in our system, things will change."

The win over the Wizards was a season-high fourth straight for Orlando and moved the Magic within one game of .500. That is a big deal for a team that is rebuilding after trading away four of its five starters from last season, including All-Star center Dwight Howard.

"Our level of play and effort has been consistent all season," Redick said. "We still have a lot to clean up, but we're improving. That's the biggest thing right now."

Washington's Cartier Martin, who had 11 points, hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Okafor scored on a layup to pull Washington to 85-81 with 4:02 left. The Wizards had three more possessions to cut the lead further, but Okafor missed two shots from five feet and Crawford turned the ball over to stop the rally.

Redick was 3 for 3 from beyond the 3-point line in the first half, but those were the only shots he got as the Magic spread the offense around. Nine Magic players scored at least three or more points and the team shot 51.3 percent for the half but it only earned them a 52-50 lead.

Orlando was up 48-35 with 4:34 left in the second quarter when the shots stopped falling and the defense faltered. Washington scored 11 straight points, the last three coming off a long-range jumper by Cartier Martin that cut the Wizards deficit to 48-46 with 2:03 left in the half.

Crawford and Nene had carried the Wizards offense to the point. Crawford had three 3-pointers and 15 points while Nene came off the bench and hit five of six for 10 points. The Wizards bench nearly outscored the starters with Nene, Martin, Chris Singleton and Kevin Seraphin accounting for 23 of the 50 points.

The Magic bench was just as effective, particularly at the end of the third period. Moore had a pair of 3-pointers and Redick made his fourth 3 of the game as Orlando opened up a 76-63 lead. Redick, Moore and fellow sub Josh McRoberts were a combined 8 for 11 from behind the 3-point line in the first three quarters.

NOTES: Redick is averaging career-highs in points (14.1) and assists (5.0). . The Wizards are 1-11 on the road this season. .Washington had 20 assists to 18 for the Magic. It was the first time this season, the Magic won a game where the opponent had more assists.

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