Jeff Teague and Josh Smith’s 16 points apiece led the Atlanta Hawks to an 86-80 victory Wednesday night over the Orlando Magic.
Atlanta extended its regular-season win streak against Orlando to eight straight games and earned its second win over its division foe this season.
Arron Afflalo scored 16 points for the Magic, who played their first home game since November 30th.
Orlando turned the ball over 16 times and shot 38% from the field, a hole they couldn’t dig themselves out of.
“Orlando made us fight for it,” Horford said. “Even when you thought they were out of the game, they just kept coming.”
Atlanta held the Magic to only 35 first-half points, forcing them to take difficult outside shots.
“We missed a lot of shots, but that’s not the only reason we lost,” Magic’s Afflalo said. “We didn’t show any energy on defense.”
During its eight game losing streak to the Hawks, the Magic are averaging just 79.4 points and shooting a mere 39 percent from the field.
It doesn’t get any easier for the Orlando Magic. They will host the Golden State Warriors, who just came off an impressive win with Miami, on Friday night. Tip off set for 7pm.
