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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | F | |
| MAGIC | 24 | 27 | 22 | 33 | - | 106 |
| TIMBERWOLVES | 26 | 19 | 26 | 23 | - | 94 |
Recap:
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Rashard Lewis scored 21 points, and Matt Barnes added 17 to help the Orlando Magic snap a three-game road losing streak with a 106-94 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.
Jonny Flynn led Minnesota with 23 points, Kevin Love added 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Al Jefferson had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The Magic, who have won five of six overall, won despite below-average scoring nights from Vince Carter and Dwight Howard. The two entered the game averaging a combined 36.5 points, but Carter was held to 12 points and Howard had nine.
With Orlando's two leading scorers limited, the Magic relied on Barnes' energy plays and Ryan Anderson's 3-point shooting.
Magic coach Stan Van Gundy inserted Barnes into the starting lineup Wednesday against Milwaukee because he wanted to add more energy to the starting unit.
Barnes responded by leading Orlando in scoring for the first three quarters against a Minnesota team that hung around against a Magic team that trails only Cleveland in the Eastern Conference.
In the fourth, Anderson's long-range shooting helped put the Timberwolves away.
The Magic led by only two points after three quarters, 73-71, and Minnesota briefly took a 77-75 lead when Wayne Ellington hit a 3-pointer with 10:06 to play.
But Orlando responded by making threes on its next four offensive possessions, three by Anderson. The final 3-pointer in the stretch gave Orlando an 87-81 lead with 7:56 to play.
Anderson, who entered the game averaging 9.3 points, made four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points.
Orlando, which leads the NBA with 10 made 3-pointers per game, finished with 15 long-range jumpers against Minnesota. When Jameer Nelson (16 points) made a 3-pointer with less than 5 minutes to play, the Magic lead was 95-88.
NOTES: Flynn, a Minnesota rookie, set a career high with five 3-pointers. That is the best long-range shooting performance for a Minnesota player this season. ... When Orlando plays Saturday night at Chicago, it will attempt to fare better in the second half of back-to-back games. This season the Magic are only 3-3 in those games and have lost its last two. ... Love has 11 consecutive double-doubles and has 14 in 16 games this season since coming back from a broken left hand. ... Alando Tucker, who the Timberwolves acquired from Phoenix earlier in the week, was inactive for his second consecutive game. Minnesota coach Kurt Rambis said that practice time in the upcoming week, in which the Wolves have four days between games, should help Tucker get a better grasp of the triangle offense.
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GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
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Preview:
STATS -- Thanks to a successful run at home, the Orlando Magic moved back into the Southeast Division lead. To remain in first, they'll likely need to solve their recent road woes.
Fortunately for the Magic, they'll face some lighter competition during a three-game trip that begins Friday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Orlando (23-8) moved two games ahead of Atlanta in the Southeast by winning four times on its season-high five-game homestand, which concluded with Wednesday night's 117-92 victory over Milwaukee.
The Magic now play eight of their next 10 on the road, where they've dropped a season-high three in a row. In those games, Orlando faced three winning teams and fell to 7-7 against opponents currently above .500.
The Magic, though, are 16-1 against sub-.500 opponents, and they'll get plenty of chances to add to that mark as they face five straight teams who currently own losing records.
Orlando had few problems with Minnesota while sweeping last season's two-game series. The Magic won by an average of 17.5 points while shooting 55.2 percent and won 118-94 for their third straight victory at the Target Center.
Jameer Nelson was one of three Orlando players to score at least 20 in that win, but he's averaged 7.3 points since returning Dec. 21 from left knee surgery.
The point guard has been limited in practice and was also dealing with a "family issue" before Wednesday's victory in which he finished 1 of 7 with four points. Backup Jason Williams had a season-high five 3-pointers en route to 16 points and could begin to take away some of Nelson's minutes.
"I wasn't happy with the way Jameer played tonight, but there were some other things going on," coach Stan Van Gundy said. "I do think we're going to have to evaluate where we are at with Jameer. ... It's going to take him some time."
Vince Carter bounced back after taking a shoulder to the face in the third quarter, igniting a pivotal 17-2 run and finishing with 25 points after scoring 27 in an 86-77 loss to Boston on Christmas.
Carter has averaged 29.2 points in his last five trips to Minnesota (7-26) and scored 36 in his only game there last season with New Jersey.
He'll face a team that's dropped two straight after winning consecutive games for the first time. Minnesota, which is 4-13 at the Target Center, failed to win back-to-back home games for the first time with Wednesday night's 107-103 loss to Utah.
The Timberwolves trailed by 17 with 5:15 left before launching a furious rally that fell short.
"Any game like that is an opportunity missed," forward Kevin Love said. "That first three and a half quarters were bad to say the least."
Love finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds for his 10th straight double-double, and Al Jefferson scored at least 20 for the fourth time in six games, finishing with 21 on 10-of-15 shooting.
Jefferson has shot 37.9 percent in the past three meetings with Orlando while averaging 17.7 points.
The Magic, who have never won four straight in Minnesota, haven't dropped four in a row on the road since a five-game skid from Feb. 28-March 12, 2007.
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Game Notes:
Jan. 1 @ Minnesota: Orlando is 24-16 all-time vs. Minnesota (14-6 at home, 10-10 on the road) during regular season action…The Magic went 2-0 last season against Minnesota…The Magic have won 12 the last 22 outings with the Timberwolves overall…Orlando has won 14 of the 20 outings at home, and four of the last five games at Minnesota…The Timberwolves and Magic both entered the NBA as expansion teams in 1989-90…Trainer Tom Smith began his career as a student trainer for the Timberwolves back in 1990-91, went to Northwestern College (MN) and is a Minnesota native.
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. WOLVES: 53 pts., Shaquille O’Neal (@ Orlando, 4-20-94)
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAGIC: 36 pts., Ricky Davis (@ Orlando, 4-1-07); Tyrone Corbin (@ Minnesota, 4-13-90)
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