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Magic win fourth straight

Published: Monday, January 8, 2007 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, January 8, 2007 at 12:00 a.m.

ORLANDO — Grant Hill scored 21 points and Dwight Howard had 18 points and 12 rebounds as the Orlando Magic beat the Boston Celtics 87-79 on Sunday night for their fourth straight victory.

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The Associated Press

Tony Allen led the Celtics with 21 points and a season-high nine rebounds, while Delonte West added 13 points and Al Jefferson had 12 points and seven rebounds.

The teams combined for an awful night of ball-handling and even worse shooting. They had 40 total turnovers (23 for Orlando, 17 for Boston), while the Magic shot 37.5 percent from the field compared with Boston's 31.5 percent.

Carlos Arroyo fouled West on a 3-point attempt with 5:46 left, then got a technical arguing the call. West made three of the four shots, but the Celtics were still down 76-67.

Five players scored during an 8-2 Magic run over a 2:17 span in the fourth quarter that gave them a 75-62 lead with 6:51 left. Boston never led in the game.

Orlando starts a four-game road trip Wednesday at Golden State.

The Celtics played their eighth straight game without Paul Pierce, who is resting a sore left foot, and have won just two of their last 10.

SUNS 128, WARRIORS 105

James Jones scored 25 points, two shy of his career high, and host Phoenix cruised to its sixth win in a row.

Fellow reserve Leandro Barbosa scored 26 and Shawn Marion had 24 points and 17 rebounds. Steve Nash had 14 points and 10 assists, then didn't play in the fourth quarter.

It was the Suns' 22nd win in their last 24 games.

TIMBERWOLVES 103, ROCKETS 99 (OT)

Kevin Garnett had 26 points and 13 rebounds to help host Minnesota beat Houston in overtime.

Mark Blount continued his recent strong play for Minnesota, adding 21 points and 10 rebounds.

The Timberwolves have won four straight, including the last three in overtime. They have won seven of nine overall.

Tracy McGrady scored 31 points for Houston, his fourth straight game with 30 or more, but Houston's four-game winning streak was snapped.

SPURS 110, GRIZZLIES 96

Manu Ginobili scored a season-high 34 points as visiting San Antonio snapped its first three-game losing streak of the season.

Ginobili, who averaged 25.5 points in the previous two games, was 10-of-15 from the field, including 6-of-8 from 3-point range. The Spurs played without guard Tony Parker.

RAPTORS 116, WIZARDS 111

Chris Bosh had 24 points and 15 rebounds to lead host Toronto.

T.J. Ford added 20 points for the Raptors, who had six players score in double figures in improving their home record to 10-5.

Gilbert Arenas had 33 points, but went 7-for-19 from the field for the Wizards, whose three-game winning streak ended.

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