ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Evan Fournier scored 22 points, D.J. Augustin added 16 points and nine assists, and the Orlando Magic held on to beat the Atlanta Hawks 100-98 on Thursday night.
Marreese Speights added 14 points and Jonathon Simmons had 13 for the Magic, who won their third straight. It’s only the second time this season the Magic have won three in a row.
Taurean Prince and Dennis Schroder led the Hawks with 19 points apiece. Tyler Dorsey and Malcolm Delaney each added 11.
The Hawks and Magic exchanged the lead seven times in the fourth quarter until Fournier scored eight straight points for Orlando to create the first separation of the second half. He started it 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 and Simmons combined to go 6 for 6 from the free throw line in the final 39 seconds to keep Atlanta at bay.
The Hawks made three 3-pointers in the final 36 seconds, but Dewayne Dedmon missed one with just over 20 seconds left that could have tied the game at 98.
Both teams were shooting under 40 percent and enduring long stretches without scoring until John Collins hit a 3-pointer and Delaney followed with a driving layup to give Atlanta its biggest lead of the game, 68-63 with 1:01 left in the third quarter.
Speights responded with back-to-back 3-pointers and just missed a third as the buzzer sounded with Atlanta holding a 70-69 lead.
TIP INS
HAWKS: Collins had nine points and 12 rebounds off the bench. . Atlanta shot only 28.3 percent in the first half, but still managed a 39-39 tie. . Schroder was the only player on either team to reach double figures in the first half. He had 12. . Atlanta is second in the NBA in forced turnovers with 16 per game.
MAGIC: F Aaron Gordon (hip flexor) and C Nikola Vucevic (hand) could return from injuries for Saturday’s game against Milwaukee. . Mario Hezonja had eight points and 10 rebounds.
UP NEXT
Hawks: Atlanta returns home Friday to play Cleveland.
Magic: Finishes a three-game homestand Saturday against Milwaukee.
