ORLANDO, Fla. – Dwight Howard had 22 points and 20 rebounds and Jameer Nelson added 17 points, including going 4 for 5 from 3-point range, as Orlando used a second-half surge to get past the Los Angeles Clippers 101-85 Tuesday night.
It was the Magic's ninth straight win over the Clippers and second of the season. The Clippers lost for the fourth straight time overall and seventh consecutive time on the road.
Howard recorded his fifth 20-20 game this season.
Baron Davis led the Clippers with a season-high 25 points, Ike Diogu added 18 and Blake Griffin had 10 points and 12 rebounds.
The Magic shot poorly in the first half (37 percent overall and 18 from the 3-point line), but found their touch during a fourth-quarter spurt that included all five of their seven second-half 3s.
After playing from behind for most of the night, Orlando took a 66-65 advantage into the fourth quarter with a 21-16 spurt.
The Clippers tied it at 70-all with 9:23 to play in fourth, before the Magic used a 12-0 run — including back-to-back 3's by J.J. Redick and Gilbert Arenas — to build an 82-70 cushion at the 7:01 mark and force a Los Angeles timeout.
The Magic's lead then grew to 94-80 with 2:55 left on a three-point play by Arenas to put the game out of reach.
Ryan Anderson added 13 points in his fourth straight start, Redick had 12 and Jason Richardson and Earl Clark each had 10.
Magic coach Stan Van Gundy promised to shake things up with some new offensive looks against the Clippers to try to energize his team's recently sluggish offense.
But other than a few post isolations early for Arenas, it wasn't present much in the first half as the Clippers rode Davis and to a 46-42 halftime lead.
Davis had 12 points in the opening 24 minutes, but was just 3 for 7 from the field. It was indicative of the shooting on both sides in the half. The Clippers shot 40 percent, while the Magic came in at just 38 percent.
The majority of the Clippers' first-half points came via Magic miscues, as they scored 23 points off 12 Orlando turnovers.
Griffin was held five points in the half, but the Magic were unable to capitalize with Anderson picking up his third foul midway through the second quarter.
NOTES: Clippers G Eric Gordon missed his 10th straight game Tuesday night with a sprained right wrist. He left the team on Monday and flew back to L.A. to have it examined, but doctors reported no change in his status... Griffin posted his 43rd double-double of the season and 10th straight ... Anderson reached double figures in scoring for the 23rd time this season.
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