Cole Anthony scored 19 points and Terrence Ross had 12 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter as the visiting Orlando Magic held off the New Orleans Pelicans 108-102 on Wednesday night.
Gary Harris added 16 points, Franz Wagner scored 15 and Wendell Carter Jr. had 13 for the Magic, who gained a split of the two-game season series. Orlando ended a two-game losing streak.
CJ McCollum scored 32 points, Jonas Valanciunas had 30 points and 15 rebounds and Herbert Jones scored 15 to lead the Pelicans, who started a four-game homestand with their third straight loss after a four-game winning streak.
New Orleans played its second straight game without leading scorer Brandon Ingram, who has a hamstring strain. He will be re-evaluated in seven to 10 days.
Valanciunas scored four points as the Pelicans began the third quarter with an 11-1 run to get within 57-52.
Anthony’s basket ended the run and he added a 3-pointer to push the lead back to 10 points.
McCollum scored seven straight New Orleans points to tie the score at 73, but Orlando scored the next eight points to take an 81-73 lead at the end of the third quarter.
The Magic scored the first two points of the fourth quarter before Jose Alvarado’s jumper ended the Pelicans’ scoring drought of 4:41. Jaxson Hayes followed with a dunk to get New Orleans within six, but the Magic scored the next five points.
Valanciunas converted a three-point play and McCollum hit a jumper, but Ross scored 10 points to give Orlando a 98-84 lead with five minutes remaining.
The Pelicans scrambled to get within three points twice in the final 13 seconds but couldn’t get any closer.
McCollum scored eight points during the first 7 1/2 minutes, but his teammates contributed just two as the Magic opened a 23-10 lead.
Orlando pushed the lead to 14 before finishing the first quarter with a 30-17 advantage.
–Field Level Media
