• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Nelson's 3-pointer ends Magic 11-game skid vs. Kings

Dec 5, 2006 - 5:53 AM SACRAMENTO, California (Ticker) -- Jameer Nelson and the Orlando Magic finally got to enjoy a trip to Sacramento.

Nelson connected on the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter to lift the Magic to the first win here in 13 years with a 92-89 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

Orlando entered Monday's contest with 11 consecutive defeats at Arco Arena. The last time the Magic walked away with a victory here was on December 19, 1993.

"Thirteen years is a long time. Dwight Howard wasn't even born yet," Orlando coach Brian Hill joked. "It's nice to get a win. It's a tough place to play. They have great fans. I thought for the better part of the first half we kept the fans out of the game."

"We really needed this win," said the 20-year-old Howard. "We came out a little slow but we picked it up. We played as hard as we can and we had fun. I'm glad we got this win."

Grant Hill drained a turnaround jumper off the glass and Nelson added a basket to help Orlando take an 87-82 lead with just under three minutes remaining.

However, the Kings used a 6-0 surge and tied the game at 89-89 when Mike Bibby found Brad Miller in the lane for an easy layup with 25 seconds to go.

Following a timeout, Kenny Thomas failed to step out on Nelson after a pick-and-roll at the top of the key, leaving the 6-foot guard open for the game-winning shot.

"It was designed for a high pick-and-roll, but I didn't want to shoot the ball with six seconds left on the clock so I just took it right back off whoever set the pick for me and let it go," Nelson said. "I could have shot it coming off the first time, but I didn't want to give them the opportunity to have enough time for a set play. Like you saw, they had to throw a shot up."

"It was a high pick-and-roll, there are a lot of different options out of it," Brian Hill said. "That's what we were having the most success with in the second half. That's what our guys feel most comfortable with, the ball in Jameer's hands in that situation. He's either going to find the right guy or take a good shot and hopefully make it."

Sacramento had a chance to send the game into overtime, but Bibby misfired from mid-court as time expired.

Howard had 18 points and 16 rebounds and Nelson and Hedo Turkoglu finished with 14 apiece for the Magic, who shot 52 percent (37-of-70) from the floor.

Bibby scored 19 points and Kevin Martin netted 16 for the Sacramento, which dropped its third straight contest.

"The difference in the game was that (Orlando) had four three-point plays in the fourth quarter," Kings coach Eric Musselman said. "That's too much to overcome, and the fact that we shoot 39 percent. It's pretty hard to win a basketball game."