Magic survive late rally to beat Blazers 107-104

By Anne M. Peterson

Associated Press

Published: Wednesday, Jan. 11 2012 10:45 p.m. MST

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Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy shouts to his team in the second quarter during an NBA basketball game with the Portland Trail Blazers, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012, in Portland, Ore.

Rick Bowmer, Associated Press

Summary

Dwight Howard had 13 points and 13 rebounds and the Orlando Magic survived a late rally to hand the Portland Trail Blazers their first loss at home, 107-104 on Wednesday night.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Dwight Howard had 13 points and 13 rebounds and the Orlando Magic survived a late rally to hand the Portland Trail Blazers their first loss at home, 107-104 on Wednesday night.

The Blazers closed in on the Magic when Nicolas Batum's layup and LaMarcus Aldridge's wide-open jumper made it 96-93 with 2:38 left. Hedo Turkoglu answered for Orlando with a layup and a 3-pointer that appeared to seal the victory.

But Portland narrowed it again when Jamal Crawford and Wesley Matthews hit consecutive layups to make it 102-99 with 32.1 seconds to go. After Jason Richardson made a free throw, Crawford's finger-roll layup kept it close, but J.J. Reddick made four foul shots down the stretch.

Aldridge made a 3-pointer with 2.9 seconds left as the rally fell short.

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