ORLANDO — Reinforcements arrived for the Magic on Monday night.
But even the return of Dwight Howard, Mickael Pietrus and J.J. Redick from a vicious stomach virus couldn't make up for the desertion of Orlando's shooting touch.
Burdened by a disjointed offense that suffered from the absence of point guard Jameer Nelson, the Magic lost to the Hawks 80-74 at Amway Center.
The Magic shot 37.8 percent from the field, committed 17 turnovers and dished out nine assists as a team. There wasn't much for Orlando coaches to like, and even Stan Van Gundy said he didn't coach well.
"I really don't know what to say about that one," Van Gundy said. "On both sides, I thought it was an extremely low-energy game. Neither team shot the ball well. The difference was we turned it over three more times than they did and they made one more 3 than we did.
"I don't know. It was just a bad basketball game, and we played worse than they did."
Even with all its problems on offense, the Magic cut the Hawks' lead to 73-70 on a three-point play by Vince Carter with 40.2 seconds remaining.
But Atlanta point guard Mike Bibby responded with a 3 from the top of the arc that gave Atlanta a 76-70 lead with 26.1 seconds left.
The Magic now has lost to the Hawks just twice in the teams' past 13 regular-season and postseason games.
More importantly, the defeat deprived Orlando of some momentum before its upcoming four-game West Coast trip.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS: Amare Stoudemire had 34 points to lead the host Knicks to their fifth straight win and 10th in 11 games, 121-114 over the Timberwolves. … Dwyane Wade had 25 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, and the visiting Heat weathered a 4½-minute scoreless stretch in the fourth quarter to hold off the Bucks 88-78.
NBA TO RUN HORNETS: Commissioner David Stern confirmed that the league is proceeding with its plan to buy the Hornets from majority owner George Shinn and minority owner Gary Chouest. Shinn has been trying since last spring to sell the team to Chouest, but those negotiations stalled.
AROUND THE LEAGUE: Lakers center Andrew Bynum participated in his first full practice since offseason knee surgery but still isn't sure when he'll return to the starting lineup. … The NBA suspended Clippers forward Brian Cook for two games and Trail Blazers guard Andre Miller for one after a rough conclusion to Portland's 100-91 victory Sunday. … Forward Anthony Tolliver will miss six to eight weeks with a sprained right knee ligament.
Hawks 80, Magic 74
ATLANTA (80): Smith 9-17 0-0 19, Horford 7-14 2-2 16, Collins 2-5 0-0 4, Bibby 4-11 2-3 13, M.Williams 1-6 0-1 2, Ja.Crawford 6-17 2-2 15, Evans 0-3 0-0 0, Pachulia 0-1 0-0 0, Wilkins 1-3 0-0 2, Powell 3-8 2-2 8, Thomas 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 33-85 9-12 80.
ORLANDO (74): Richardson 0-4 0-0 0, Lewis 3-11 2-2 10, Howard 5-11 4-8 14, Duhon 3-6 0-0 7, Carter 8-16 2-3 18, Bass 4-11 2-2 10, Redick 3-6 4-6 11, Gortat 1-1 0-0 2, J.Williams 1-5 0-0 2, Pietrus 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 28-74 14-21 74.
Atlanta 19 17 18 26— 80
Orlando 19 15 19 21— 74
3-Point Goals—Atlanta 5-14 (Bibby 3-4, Ja.Crawford 1-2, Smith 1-4, M.Williams 0-2, Evans 0-2), Orlando 4-22 (Lewis 2-7, Redick 1-2, Duhon 1-4, Carter 0-1, Richardson 0-2, J.Williams 0-3, Pietrus 0-3). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Atlanta 53 (Smith 13), Orlando 55 (Howard 13). Assists—Atlanta 17 (Bibby 7), Orlando 9 (Carter 3). Total Fouls—Atlanta 21, Orlando 19. Technicals—Atlanta defensive three second. A—18,846 (18,500).
Knicks 121, Wolves 114
MINNESOTA (114): Beasley 10-18 4-4 25, Love 10-18 10-10 33, Milicic 4-4 2-2 10, Ridnour 6-9 1-1 16, Johnson 2-6 0-0 5, Brewer 3-7 0-0 7, Pekovic 0-3 1-2 1, Telfair 3-6 4-8 11, Ellington 3-7 0-0 6. Totals 41-78 22-27 114.
NEW YORK (121): Chandler 7-12 5-6 21, Gallinari 6-11 3-4 17, Stoudemire 15-23 4-5 34, Fields 1-7 0-0 2, Felton 6-13 1-2 18, Turiaf 1-2 2-2 4, Douglas 4-7 2-2 11, Williams 5-9 0-0 13, Mozgov 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 45-85 18-23 121.
Minnesota 36 32 18 28— 114
New York 32 29 31 29— 121
3-Point Goals—Minnesota 10-21 (Ridnour 3-4, Love 3-5, Brewer 1-2, Beasley 1-2, Telfair 1-3, Johnson 1-4, Ellington 0-1), New York 13-30 (Felton 5-8, Williams 3-4, Gallinari 2-5, Chandler 2-6, Douglas 1-3, Fields 0-4). Fouled Out—Beasley. Rebounds—Minnesota 49 (Love 15), New York 38 (Fields 10). Assists—Minnesota 16 (Ridnour 4), New York 25 (Felton 11). Total Fouls—Minnesota 24, New York 22. Technicals—Felton. A—19,763 (19,763).
Pacers 124, Raptors 100
TORONTO (100): Weems 3-10 2-2 8, Johnson 7-13 1-3 15, Bargnani 5-11 2-3 12, Calderon 8-12 3-4 21, DeRozan 3-9 1-2 7, Davis 3-8 0-0 6, Barbosa 5-14 0-0 12, Bayless 2-10 0-0 5, Kleiza 5-12 1-1 12, Wright 1-1 0-0 2, Dorsey 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 42-100 10-15 100.
INDIANA (124): Granger 9-16 1-2 21, McRoberts 4-11 3-4 12, Hibbert 6-9 1-1 13, Collison 6-7 5-5 17, Dunleavy 5-7 0-0 11, Rush 10-18 0-0 26, Posey 4-8 0-0 11, Ford 1-3 2-2 4, S.Jones 2-5 1-2 5, Hansbrough 0-0 4-4 4, D.Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Price 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 47-85 17-20 124.
Toronto 18 26 23 33— 100
Indiana 31 37 21 35— 124
3-Point Goals—Toronto 6-18 (Calderon 2-2, Barbosa 2-5, Bayless 1-3, Kleiza 1-4, Bargnani 0-4), Indiana 13-26 (Rush 6-8, Posey 3-7, Granger 2-5, Dunleavy 1-1, McRoberts 1-4, Ford 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Toronto 53 (Johnson 9), Indiana 51 (Granger 9). Assists—Toronto 16 (Calderon 4), Indiana 33 (Hibbert, McRoberts, Ford 6). Total Fouls—Toronto 23, Indiana 15. A—11,930 (18,165).
Heat 88, Bucks 78
MIAMI (88): James 7-16 2-4 17, Bosh 8-17 0-0 16, Ilgauskas 0-3 0-0 0, Arroyo 6-6 4-4 18, Wade 9-20 7-10 25, Howard 1-1 0-0 2, Dampier 1-2 0-0 2, Jones 2-3 0-0 6, Chalmers 1-3 0-0 2, Anthony 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 35-72 13-18 88.
MILWAUKEE (78): Mbah a Moute 2-4 0-0 4, Sanders 5-12 0-0 10, Bogut 4-12 3-4 11, Jennings 5-16 1-2 13, Salmons 2-11 3-4 7, Ilyasova 1-5 2-2 4, Maggette 6-12 7-9 20, Dooling 0-4 2-2 2, Douglas-Roberts 2-2 2-2 7, Boykins 0-0 0-0 0, Brockman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-78 20-25 78.
Miami 25 21 23 19— 88
Milwaukee 21 14 24 19— 78
3-Point Goals—Miami 5-8 (Arroyo 2-2, Jones 2-3, James 1-3), Milwaukee 4-15 (Jennings 2-6, Maggette 1-1, Douglas-Roberts 1-1, Dooling 0-1, Ilyasova 0-2, Salmons 0-4). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Miami 52 (Wade 14), Milwaukee 46 (Bogut 13). Assists—Miami 20 (James 6), Milwaukee 17 (Salmons 4). Total Fouls—Miami 26, Milwaukee 20. A—17,167 (18,717).
Bulls 99, Thunder 90
OKLAHOMA CITY (90): Durant 7-18 14-14 29, Green 1-9 5-5 7, Krstic 8-12 2-2 18, Westbrook 7-18 1-1 15, Sefolosha 1-6 0-0 3, Ibaka 1-2 0-0 2, Harden 3-12 6-9 13, Collison 0-1 0-0 0, Maynor 1-4 0-0 3, Mullens 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-82 28-31 90.
CHICAGO (99): Deng 9-16 0-2 19, Boozer 13-21 3-4 29, Noah 3-8 0-0 6, Rose 3-13 4-4 11, Bogans 4-7 0-0 9, Asik 1-1 0-2 2, Brewer 2-3 2-2 6, Gibson 2-5 0-2 4, Watson 0-2 0-0 0, Korver 5-11 1-1 13. Totals 42-87 10-17 99.
Oklahoma City 22 26 18 24— 90
Chicago 24 29 29 17— 99
3-Point Goals—Oklahoma City 4-19 (Maynor 1-2, Sefolosha 1-3, Harden 1-4, Durant 1-5, Westbrook 0-1, Green 0-4), Chicago 5-11 (Korver 2-4, Rose 1-2, Bogans 1-2, Deng 1-2, Gibson 0-1). Fouled Out—Noah. Rebounds—Oklahoma City 50 (Sefolosha 8), Chicago 58 (Boozer, Noah 12). Assists—Oklahoma City 13 (Westbrook 7), Chicago 25 (Rose 9). Total Fouls—Oklahoma City 19, Chicago 24. Technicals—Sefolosha, Boozer, Chicago defensive three second 2. A—21,184 (20,917).
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