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Turkoglu, Battie lead Magic past Bucks

Feb 1, 2007 - 4:38 AM ORLANDO, Florida (Ticker) -- Hedo Turkoglu and Tony Battie sensed the Milwaukee Bucks were wounded and they pounced.

Turkoglu scored 17 points and Battie added a season-high 15 as the Orlando Magic won for just the second time in 10 games with a 98-73 victory over the Bucks.

The Magic snapped a three-game losing skid and finished January with a 6-8 mark by defeating the Bucks, who lost for the 11th time in 13 contests since leading scorer Michael Redd was sidelined with a strained patellar tendon.

"Obviously, a much-needed win and I was really happy with the energy we came with," Magic coach Brian Hill said. "The defensive energy and pushing the basketball and attacking the basket, I thought we got a good all-around contribution from everybody. I thought our big guys set the tone for the game."

Orlando hit 12-of-18 shots in the first quarter and closed with a 22-4 run to take a 31-13 lead. Battie scored 10 points, including a pair of dunks, and Keith Bogans buried a pair of 3-pointers in the burst.

"We played aggressive from the beginning of the game," Orlando center Dwight Howard said. "It started on the defensive side. The last couple of games, other teams have come out and got into that rhythm. We stopped them from getting into that rhythm and played our game."

The Magic continued to pour it on in the second quarter. Late in the period, Bo Outlaw scored seven consecutive points, including a three-point play, Bogans hit another basket from the arc and Howard made a bucket for a 56-29 halftime advantage.

"That's what veterans and captains are for," Hill said. "To step up in situations and show their leadership abilities. The coach can't be the voice all the time. Sometimes, the veteran players have to be the voice."

Mo Williams hit a 3-pointer, Andrew Bogut hit a runner and Charlie Bell scored eight consecutive points, including two 3-pointers, in a 15-0 run to bring Milwaukee within 61-47 with 4:58 left in the third quarter.

However, Darko Milicic opened the fourth quarter with a three-point play and added a dunk and a basket to help the Magic widen the margin to 81-60 with 6:28 to play.

"We started the season pretty well," Milicic said of Orlando's 13-4 start. "We thought things would come easy for us. It doesn't work that way. We kind of come into the games kind of easy and felt like we can get this game in the fourth quarter. But we can't do that."

Turkoglu buried three straight 3-pointers down the stretch as the Magic won for just the 11th time in 29 contests.

Bogans scored 14 points and Milicic 14 with a career high-tying 10 rebounds and four blocked shots for Orlando.

Williams scored 23 points and Bogut added 12 for the Bucks, who lost their last six road games and finished the month 2-13.

"Players are frustrated," Milwaukee coach Terry Stotts said. "It will be good when we get Michael (Redd) back, but we've got enough players to win games. It looks like we are a little tentative at the offensive end."

"I have never been through a stretch during my whole career where we lost so many games and played this badly," Bell said. "It is difficult but we are just trying to stay together and realize there is still a lot of season left to be played. We can make up for it."