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Seraphin leads Wizards past shorthanded Magic

Apr 11, 2012 - 2:45 AM Washington, DC (Sports Network) - With Dwight Howard missing his second straight contest with back spasms, Kevin Seraphin took advantage, recording career-highs in points with 24 and rebounds with 13 as the Wizards defeated the Magic, 93-85, at Verizon Center on Tuesday.

Jordan Crawford poured in 21 points, John Wall added 15 and James Singleton and Cartier Martin added 12 points apiece to help the Wizards to their second consecutive victory.

"I thought defensively in the second half we covered the three-point line as well as we have against them," said Wizards head coach Randy Wittman. "We're making better and better decisions and I think our guys are learning how to play the game down the stretch."

Jameer Nelson paced the Magic with 19 points to go with seven assists, J.J. Redick netted 15 points and Quentin Richardson chipped in 14 points for the Magic, who had won two straight on the heels of a five-game skid.

Orlando now occupies the sixth position in the East and sits a 1/2 game behind the idle Atlanta Hawks, who the Magic will host in their next contest on Friday.

After Richardson tied the game at 55-55 on a triple with 4:28 left in the third, the Wizards 5-0 surge was trumped by a 6-0 swing from the Magic to close the frame as two free throws from Ryan Anderson gave Orlando a 61-60 edge heading into the fourth.

Jason Richardson tied the game at 69-69 with a three-pointer, but Martin quickly answered with a trey of his own to make it 72-69 with 7:29 left in the fourth.

Wall extended the Wizards lead to seven, 84-77, on a layup with just under four minutes left in the contest.

Orlando cut it to five on a putback from Glen Davis, but Crawford buried a triple from the right corner for the final dagger, extending the lead to 89-81 with 1:21 remaining in the fourth.

"We had some guys who were tired tonight," Jason Richardson admitted. "Not taking anything from D.C. because they played well, but we didn't have the same kind of energy we've had in those last two games."

Early on, Redick converted a four-point play late in the first quarter en route to 11 points in the frame to help the Magic take a 29-18 lead heading into the second quarter.

The Wizards battled back, opening the second on a 9-3 swing to pull within 32-27 four minutes into the frame, but Quentin Richardson quickly tallied five points, restoring the lead to double-digits just before the midpoint of the stanza.

Washington showed some resilience, this time reeling off 11 straight on the back end of a 14-2 surge that found the home team on top 41-39 before Davis quelled the run with a layup and sent the teams into the locker room locked at 41-41.

Game Notes

The Wizards will travel to New York to face the Knicks on Friday...Davis finished with 12 points and 10 boards for the Magic, while Anderson tallied seven points...The Wizards outscored the Magic 46-34 in the paint and won the rebounding battle 45-43.