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Magic beat Wizards for 8th straight time

Feb 2, 2012 - 4:41 AM Orlando, FL (Sports Network) - Dwight Howard had 23 points and 18 rebounds and the Orlando Magic held on for a 109-103 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.

Ryan Anderson also scored 23 while J.J. Redick dropped in 21 points on 5-of-7 shooting for the Magic, who snapped their season-high four-game losing streak.

"We just wanted to come in and focus on getting a win," said Anderson. "It was a frustrating stretch of games, but we knew we had it in us to come back and get wins and tonight is a streak we want to start."

Nick Young made 4-of-5 three-pointers en route to a game-high 24 points for the Wizards. Rashard Lewis contributed 20 points in Washington's eighth straight loss to the Magic.

Orlando held a slim 69-68 lead entering the fourth quarter after a back-and- forth third that saw three ties and two lead changes.

After Washington knotted the game at 71 early in the fourth, Orlando reeled off an 8-1 run to take a 79-72 advantage.

The lead stretched to 89-77 with a little over five minutes left in the game, but Young's four-point play sparked a 13-5 run by the Wizards that closed the gap to four, 94-90, on Lewis' three-pointer.

Howard was then fouled and made 1-of-2 free throws, and after Jordan Crawford missed a long jumper, Hedo Turkoglu was sent to the line.

He made the first before missing the last, but Anderson grabbed the board and kicked it out to Turkoglu at the top of the key, where he nailed a trey for a 99-90 lead.

John Wall missed a layup at the other end, leading to two Turkoglu foul shots and it looked like the Magic would cruise to the win.

"It hurts. To play that hard and for it to turn out like it did, it feels like they stole one," Crawford said.

But Young dropped in a three from the corner before a Larry Hughes turnover on Orlando's inbounds pass led to a Booker layup, moving the Wizards within 101-97 with 47.7 seconds left.

Back-to-back three pointers by Anderson and Young kept it a four-point game, but the Magic made 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to hang on for the win.

Orlando never trailed in the first quarter and led by as much as 11 on three separate occasions en route to a 25-20 lead after one.

Orlando's Glen Davis opened the second with a short field goal before the Wizards ripped off a 16-3 spurt to jump out to their largest lead of the contest, 36-30.

After Washington took a 38-33 lead in the second, Orlando reeled off 15 straight points, including three consecutive three-pointers by Redick and Anderson, to go ahead, 45-38, with 2:13 left in the half.

However, Washington closed out the second quarter on a 5-2 spurt to make it a 47-43 game at the break.

Game Notes

Magic guard Jameer Nelson missed his third straight game with a head injury...Howard now has 17 double-doubles through 22 games...The Magic waived Hughes after the game...The Wizards held a 45-37 advantage on the glass and outscored Orlando 44-30 in the paint.