Fournier Helps Magic Edge Hawks

By ESPN

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Orlando Magic hadn't won three games in a row since the second week of the season, so there was reason to celebrate even after an ugly victory.

Evan Fournier scored 22 points, including eight straight for the Magic late in the final period, and Orlando held on for a 100-98 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday night.

D.J. Augustin, who took over as the Magic's starting point guard after Elfrid Payton was traded earlier in the day, had 16 points and nine assists. Marreese Speights added 14 points and Jonathon Simmons had 13 for the Magic, who won despite shooting only 43 percent for the game.

"The players and coaches are starting to show some faith in each other and that's helping us get through some rough times like we had tonight," said Speights, who hit four 3-pointers off the bench. "Now, we've got to enjoy the feeling of winning and want that feeling all the time so we can push this streak further."

It didn't appear the Magic would get there for most of the game. They scored in very short spurts and played long shaky stretches, including the final 5:20 of the first half without scoring at all.

"We just never could find a rhythm the whole game, but we had some guys step up make plays down the stretch to get us a win," Fournier said.

Fournier and Augustin were those guys. The Hawks and Magic exchanged the lead seven times in the fourth quarter until Fournier started the decisive run with a three-point play, followed that with a 3-pointer, then drained a 15-foot jumper to make it 94-89 with 57 seconds left in the game.

Augustin, who started seven games this season when Payton was injured, added four free throws and Simmons hit two to provide enough of a cushion for Orlando to survive three 3-pointers from Atlanta in the final 37 seconds.

"I think I did my part to help the team get a win," Augustin said. "When you get opportunities to play more minutes, obviously you have a chance to do better."

Taurean Prince and Dennis Schroder led Atlanta with 19 points apiece. Tyler Dorsey and Malcolm Delaney each added 11 points for the Hawks, who were trying for their first three-game win streak of the season.

The Hawks had a chance to tie the game at 98 after a Magic turnover with 22 seconds to play, but Dewayne Dedmon, who hit two 3-pointers earlier, missed.

"We got a lot of stops and gave ourselves a chance to win," said Prince, who scored 14 of his 19 in the final period, including a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded. "These are the kind of games you want to be in. We just needed to make one more shot."

Thursday, February 8 Scoreboard

Orlando 100, Atlanta 98

Toronto 113, New York88

Boston 110,  Washington 104 (OT)

Portland 109, Charlotte 103 (OT)

Golden State 121, Dallas 103

Los Angeles Lakers 106, Oklahoma City 81

Friday, February 9 Schedule (All Times Central)

Los Angeles Clippers at Detroit, 6p.m.

New Orleans at Philadephia, 6 p.m.

Cleveland at Atlanta, 6:30 p.m.

Indiana at Boston, 6:30 p.m.

Milwaukee at Miami, 7 p.m.

Denver at Houston, 7 p.m.

Charlotte at Utah, 8 p.m.

Minnesota at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.

Portland at Sacramento, 9:30 p.m.

Saturday, February 10 Schedule (All Times Central)

New Orleans at Brooklyn, 5 p.m.

Milwaukee at Orlando, 6 p.m.

Los Angeles Clippers at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.

Washington at Chicago, 7 p.m.

Los Angeles Lakers at Dallas, 7:30 p.m.

San Antonio at Golden State, 7:30 p.m.

Denver at Phoenix, 8 p.m.

Sunday, February 11 Schedule (All Times Central)

Toronto at Charlotte, noon

Detroit at Atlanta, 2:30 p.m.

Cleveland at Boston, 2:30 p.m.

New York at Indiana, 4 p.m.

Dallas at Houston, 6 p.m.

Sacramento at Minnesota, 6 p.m.

Memphis at Oklahoma City, 6 p.m.

Utah at Portland, 8 p.m.