Orlando claims fifth straight win

Garrity, Turkoglu propel Magic in overtime

? With key three-pointers early and late, Pat Garrity enjoyed his best game of the season. No one on Orlando is hitting shots like Hedo Turkoglu.

Together, the duo has the Magic on a roll they don’t want to end.

“We hit really big shots, I did, Pat did, everybody did,” Turkoglu said. “We have to take the winning streak further. It’s really big for us to have a team effort like we did tonight.”

Garrity opened overtime with consecutive three-pointers and scored a season-high 24 points, Turkoglu had 25, and the Magic beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 119-115, Thursday night for their season-high fifth straight victory.

Keyon Dooling sank the go-ahead free throws with 1:08 left in overtime and had 18 points. Dwight Howard had 22 to help Orlando run off its longest winning streak since it won six straight in 2002. The Magic won their second straight road game after losing their previous eight.

Orlando seems to have put aside the distraction of Steve Francis’ two-game suspension for refusing to re-enter a blowout game and will try to extend its streak today at New York.

Turkoglu has sparked the turnaround for the Magic, scoring 104 points on 35-for-64 shooting (55 percent) in the last four games.

“I think the key to the win streak is people going through a lot of drama like we were and then just finally saying, ‘Let’s just push that all aside,'” Garrity said. “Sometimes a little adversity brings people closer together and maybe that’s the case here.”

Mavericks 104, SuperSonics 97

Seattle – Dirk Nowitzki scored 29, and reserve Jerry Stackhouse added 21 as Dallas defeated Seattle. Nowitzki added 12 rebounds and was 10-for-11 at the free-throw line, making up for an 8-for-22 shooting performance.

Dallas won its seventh straight overall and finished a 5-0 trip. The Mavs had never won five games in any of their 34 road trips of five games or more.

Dallas has not lost since a 117-115 overtime defeat Jan. 11 at New York.

Suns 107, Heat 98

Miami – Raja Bell scored 22, Steve Nash had 21 points and 14 assists, and Phoenix blew most of a 21-point second-half lead before beating Miami.

The Suns saw their once-dominant margin whittled to five with 4:15 left after Dwyane Wade hit a pair of free throws to get Miami within 98-93. But Nash hit a three-pointer on Phoenix’s next possession, then added a three-point play about a minute later to ensure the Suns would snap a two-game losing streak.