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Magic pull away from struggling Pelicans

Feb 21, 2015 - 4:03 AM Orlando, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Victor Oladipo racked up 22 points to lead the Orlando Magic to a 95-84 triumph over the slumping New Orleans Pelicans at Amway Center.

The Magic also received strong efforts from two other starters in winning their second straight and improving to 3-2 under interim head coach James Borrego. Nikola Vucevic tallied 18 points and 13 rebounds, while Evan Fournier finished with 16 points.

Orlando has won consecutive games for the first time since Jan. 12-14.

The Pelicans were dealt a season-high fourth straight defeat despite the returns of All-Star Anthony Davis and Ryan Anderson, both of whom sat out the team's final two tests prior to the break with injuries. Each scored 13 points, with Davis grabbing 11 rebounds but going just 5-of-15 from the field.

Orlando prevailed behind a strong fourth quarter that was highlighted by an early 16-2 run that snapped a 73-73 tie and changed the game's momentum for good.

Willie Green helped spark the surge with seven quick points, and Fournier drained a key triple later on before Oladipo finished off the flurry with a run-out slam that staked the Magic to an 89-75 lead with five minutes left.

"In the second half we got back to what we do," said Magic point guard Elfrid Payton, who contributed 11 assists on the night. "Guys were helping each other and we did a good job on the boards and the big guys are protecting the paint."

The Pelicans, who mustered a mere 13 points on a woeful 3-of-16 shooting rate over the final frame, never got the deficit under nine thereafter.

"We just stopped making shots," Davis said. "We were not making free throws. Nothing was falling. They were making shots and they were hustling, so they came out with the win."

New Orleans did begin the game on a 10-2 spurt but were up just 20-19 after one quarter. Anderson and Quincy Pondexter each buried triples to spark an 8-0 stretch early in the second that gave the Pelicans a 34-26 advantage.

Orlando trailed by nine later in the period before drawing even via an 11-2 sequence, in which Fournier deposited six points, that knotted the score at 43-43. Davis answered with a successful jumper, however, and Tyreke Evans followed with two free throws that sent the Pelicans into the break holding a four-point edge.

The Magic moved ahead in the third quarter behind Oladipo, who dropped in 12 points during the frame and helped lead a 10-0 tear that put his team up 65-58 with under 4 1/2 minutes to go in the stanza. New Orleans countered with a 9-2 swing, however, to tie the game just moments later.

Game Notes

Orlando finished with a commanding 64-36 advantage in points in the paint ... Magic forward Tobias Harris missed a third straight game with a right knee injury ... Evans paced the Pelicans with 14 points and Pondexter added 13 off the bench ... Norris Cole, Shawne Williams and Justin Hamilton, the three players acquired by New Orleans from Miami in Thursday's three-team deadline deal that sent guard Goran Dragic to the Heat from Phoenix, were all inactive for the game.