Magic Trick: Nelson, Howard power Orlando past Lakers

Basketball Betting Lines

01/17/2009 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jameer Nelson poured in 15 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, including a trio of three-pointers, as the Orlando Magic pulled off an unprecedented season sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers behind a 109-103 victory at Staples Center.

The Magic, which also defeated LA, 106-103, in Orlando back on December 20, had never in franchise history taken the home-and-home season series against the Lakers.

Nelson also doled out eight assists, while Dwight Howard was nothing short of spectacular with 25 points and 20 rebounds for the Magic, who improved to an NBA-best 16-5 on the road and 3-0 on their current four-game road trip.

Rashard Lewis' 16 points helped Orlando to its sixth straight win overall.

Rookie Courtney Lee added 12 points and did a terrific defensive job on Kobe Bryant, who shot just 3-for-12 in an abnormally poor shooting effort in the fourth quarter.

Bryant did finish with solid numbers, totaling his 15th career triple-double with 28 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists for the Lakers, who have dropped back-to-back games for just the second time this season.

Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol each grabbed nine rebounds and added 17 and 13 points, respectively, as Los Angeles fell to 20-3 at home.

Things don't get easier for the Lakers, with the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers coming to town on Monday.

The entire game was a back-and-forth battle that featured 20 ties and 28 lead changes.

With the clubs coming into the came with near identical records, it came as no surprise that the outcome came down to the wire.

Nelson's second trifecta of the frame gave the Magic a 100-98 lead with 1:26 to go. Bryant came down and missed a pair of shots, but Odom's putback on the reigning MVP's missed three tied the game.

Odom missed his free throw after he was fouled on the layup, but Gasol tipped the miss back to the shooter before another foul put Odom back on the line.

The forward hit 1-of-2 for a one-point lead, and Howard followed with a make of his own from the stripe with 1:04 to play.

Gasol then cleaned up Bryant's forced runner with an easy layup, but it proved to be the last points the Lakers would put on the board. Nelson nailed a quick three with 35 seconds remaining for a 104-103 lead and followed Bryant's missed field goals with four consecutive makes at the free throw line. The last came with 7.9 ticks remaining for a 108-103 lead to seal the hard-fought win.

Orlando trailed for most of the first half. LA led, 23-20, after the first quarter and extended that advantage to 52-44 at the break.

A 9-0 run early in the fourth brought the Magic within striking distance, and it was a one-point Lakers lead, 75-74, leading up to a back-and-forth final stanza.

Game Notes

The Magic finish their four-game road trip in Denver on Saturday...The Lakers also dropped two in a row to Miami and Orlando back in December...Hedo Turkoglu had 13 points for the Magic, who hit 12-for-28 from three-point range...Vladimir Radmanovic and Andrew Bynum finished with 15 and 14 points, respectively, for LA, which made 39.8 percent of its shots and was outrebounded 54-40.

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