The Orlando Magic finally ran out of steam on Wednesday and saw their run of nine consecutive victories come to an end with a 92-89 overtime defeat to the New Orleans Hornets.
Dwight Howard had a game-high 29 points and 20 rebounds, but missed two free throws with 11 seconds left in overtime with his team trailing by a point.
The Magic (25-13) fell one win short of setting a new franchise record for consecutive victories.
“There’s not a real sense of urgency. They’re kind of just putting it in cruise control and playing,” Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said. “It’s not good enough.”
Orlando drained three consecutive three-pointers in the final minute of regulation, including one from Hedo Turkoglu with six seconds to play that forced overtime.
However, New Orleans reserve Marcus Thornton boosted the Hornets in overtime with seven points, including a pair of free throws in the final seconds that capped the scoring.
Thornton finished with a team-high 22 points, and Emeka Okafor added 18 points and 14 rebounds to help the Hornets (23-16) win their second in a row.
“The last two or three weeks has been kind of rough,” said Thornton, who had been struggling with his shooting. “I’ve been in the gym every morning before everybody to get a couple of shots up.”
Richardson scored 21 for the Magic and made two of the three three-pointers in the final minute to bring his team back.
Chris Paul had 12 points and 13 assists for New Orleans.
JAZZ 131, KNICKS 125
In Salt Lake City, seven Utah players reached double figures in a battle of three-pointers against New York.
Deron Williams and reserve C.J. Miles scored 24 points apiece for the Jazz, who hit 10 of 22 long shots while New York made 14 of 29.
Reserve Shawne Williams was 7 of 8 from behind the arc and scored 25 points for the Knicks, who made it close after trailing by as many as 16.
New York still haven’t won in Salt Lake City since 2005.
SPURS 91, BUCKS 84
In Milwaukee, reserve Matt Bonner scored all 17 of his points in the second half to lift San Antonio over Milwaukee and to their fourth straight win.
Trailing by two, Bonner sparked an 11-2 run after hitting two 3-pointers and a floater that gave San Antonio a 79-72 lead with 8:32 left. When Milwaukee cut it to three late, Bonner answered with a 15-footer with 57 seconds to play that halted the Bucks’ rally.
Manu Ginobili added 23 as the Spurs improved the NBA’s best record to 33-6.
LAKERS 115, WARRIORS 110
In Oakland, sluggish Los Angeles rallied late to beat Golden State for their sixth straight victory.
Kobe Bryant scored 17 of his 39 points in the final 5:49 and also assisted on Ron Artest’s crucial 3-pointer with 1:55 to play.
Pau Gasol added 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who looked uncharacteristically out of sync for much of the game before turning it on when it mattered for their 12th consecutive win over the Warriors and sixth straight in Oakland.
Golden State’s Lamar Odom did his part to fuel the comeback, scoring 10 straight points during a key fourth-quarter stretch on the way to 20 points and nine rebounds.
THUNDER 118, ROCKETS 112
In Houston, Oklahoma City won the franchise’s first game in Houston in 12 attempts.
Kevin Durant scored 30 points and Russell Westbrook added 23 points and 13 assists for the Thunder. The franchise won in Houston for the first time since 2004-05 when it was still the Seattle SuperSonics.
Luis Scola scored 31 points, but none in the fourth quarter, for Houston. The Rockets again played without leading scorer Kevin Martin and backup center Brad Miller due to injury.
Houston scored a season-high 70 points in the paint, but went 5 for 18 from 3-point range.
In other league action, it was:
‧ Clippers 111, Heat 105
‧ Pacers 102, Mavericks 89
‧ Bobcats 96, Bulls 91
‧ Hawks 104, Raptors 101
‧ Celtics 119, Kings 95
‧ Grizzlies 107, Pistons 99
‧ Suns 118, Nets 109, OT
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