The San Antonio Spurs rallied from a 14 point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Orlando Magic 98-96. Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard lead all scorers with 29 points and forward LaMarcus Aldridge added 21 points while Guard Patty Mills added 17 points and seven assists.
For Orlando, Evan Fournier scored 28 points and Nikola Vucevic added 20 points and 13 rebounds while Elfrid Payton had 13 points and seven assists.
Eight of the Magic’s 29 losses this season have been by three points or less. Orlando Head Coach Scott Skiles says the team needs to figure out how to win close games, some things can be simulated, but the guys need to figure the rest out on their own.
The Magic went into halftime with a 50-51 lead and went up by 14 in the fourth quarter. The Spurs were down 81-67 in the fourth quarter when the Magic began to fade. Leonard, Mills and Green put up 21 points early in the fourth quarter to begin to cut the lead. The Spurs eventually gained a 94-93 lead with a jump shot from Aldridge, and Leonard made two free throws in the last minute putting the Magic down by three.
Fournier tied the game with 13 seconds left with a three-pointer from the corner. But that wasn’t enough for the Magic, in the last seconds Kawhi Leonard scored the game winner for the Spurs.
The Magic are headed into the All-Star break with just four wins out of their last 19 games.
Orlando will host the Dallas Mavericks on February 19 at 7:00 p.m.