Streaking Magic Defeat the Spurs

Doc Rivers shook hands with fans lining a corridor outside the Orlando locker room, then pumped his arms and let out a yelp.

“Yes!” the excited coach shouted after Tuesday night’s 107-97 win over the San Antonio Spurs at Orlando, Fla. “Yes!”

The victory was the season-high seventh straight for the surprising Magic, which shot 54% against one of the NBA’s top field-goal defenses and outrebounded the defending NBA champions, 46-38.

John Amaechi scored 24 points and Darrell Armstrong had 23, while rookie Chucky Atkins led a fourth-quarter surge by reserves who helped Orlando pull away for good.

“You never know who it’s going to be,” Rivers said of the latest heroes in the Magic’s push for a playoff berth. “But you better believe every night it is going to be somebody.”

Atkins, who had 16 points, scored five and added three assists in a 13-4 run that put the Magic up, 93-78, with just under six minutes to go.

Dallas 105, Sacramento 102--The Mavericks’ Michael Finley scored 38 points and converted two key free throws with 15.4 seconds left at Dallas.

The Kings were without leading scorer and rebounder Chris Webber, held out as he rested a strained left hamstring.

Corliss Williamson’s 20 points paced the Kings, who had won six of their previous nine. Vlade Divac added 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Seattle 106, Denver 93--Horace Grant scored a season-high 26 points and Gary Payton added 21 as the SuperSonics beat the Nuggets for the 14th consecutive time at Seattle.

Grant also pulled down 12 rebounds as Seattle pulled within a half-game of Sacramento in the battle for seventh place in the Western Conference standings.

Minnesota 86, Atlanta 76--Rookie Will Avery filled in for point guard Terrell Brandon and guided the Timberwolves to an overtime victory at Minneapolis.

Bobby Jackson started in place of the flu-ridden Brandon but was largely ineffective. Not so Avery, whose three-point basket with 1:56 left in overtime gave Minnestoa its biggest lead of the night, 82-73.

Avery finished with a season-best 13 points and seven assists.

Charlotte 112, Boston 105--Anthony Mason scored 27 points at Charlotte as the Hornets shot a season-high 57%.

Mason added 11 rebounds while Derrick Coleman had 25 points and 14 rebounds as the Hornets won their seventh in a row.

Charlotte, vying for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, moved into a fourth-place tie in the Eastern Conference with Philadelphia.

Milwaukee 92, Chicago 73--Despite a poor start from Glenn Robinson and Ray Allen, the Bucks got enough help from Tim Thomas and Ervin Johnson to win at Milwaukee.

Thomas scored 11 first-quarter points and Johnson added six to help pick up the slack as Robinson missed his first five shots and Allen his first four.

Detroit 104, Toronto 88--Grant Hill had 32 points and Jerry Stackhouse added 28 as the Raptors were booed in their own building.

Toronto, which held a three-hour team meeting Monday, lost its fourth in a row. The Raptors were booed for the second straight game by a sold-out crowd at the Air Canada Center.

Miami 111, Cleveland 85--Tim Hardaway had 14 points and 10 assists at Miami as the Heat won its fourth in a row.

Jamal Mashburn scored 17 points and Alonzo Mourning added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Heat, which used a 40-12 run in the second and third quarters to pull away.

Washington 102, New Jersey 93--Chris Whitney scored 18 points at Washington, including eight in the fourth quarter, as the Wizards handed the Nets their third straight loss.

Keith Van Horn had 24 points and seven rebounds for the Nets, who led by as many as 12 in the first half.

Vancouver 102, Houston 100--Mike Bibby made a layup at the buzzer and scored 15 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter as the Grizzlies erased an 18-point second-half deficit at Vancouver.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim added 21 for Vancouver, which won only its second game since Feb. 26--a span of 18 contests.