ORLANDO- Paul Milsap scored a game-high 23 points as the Atlanta Hawks fought off a poor shooting night en route to a 87-81 victory over the visiting Orlando Magic.
Al Horford added 17 points and 7 rebounds for the Southeast division leaders. The Hawks just shot 29-78 from the field but it was their defense carried them though Friday night at the Phillips Arena in downtown Altanta.
The Hawks limited the Magic to just 39 percent from the field and scored 18 points off Orlando's 18 turnovers.
"Give the guys credit for finding a way to win a tough game," Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer told the Associated Press after the game "We weren't very good offensively. We weren't very efficient."
After a tied matchup in the first half at 40-all, Orlando came out firing in the third and was ahead by as much as 12 points with 6:31 to go in the third on a Kyle O'Quinn three-point play but Atlanta went on a 20-7 run to wrestle the lead from the visitors on an Elton Brand free throw 65-64 early in the fourth quarter.
The Magic bench just made 3 out of 21 field goals for the night as it failed to supplement the 27 shots already made by its starters. Victor Oladipo led Orlando with 21 markers and Evan Fournier scored 18 points for the Magic who have now dropped 7 of their last 10 games.
"Seems like we just lose every way possible," Oladipo spoke with Orlando Sun Sentinel. "They just did a good job of pressuring the ball. We've just got to do a better job of finishing games. Luckily it's a long season and luckily we play them again tomorrow night."
The Magic (9-16) will have their chance for a revenge Saturday night against the Hawks (16-6) at home in Orlando.
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