Magic stop skid with NBA win over Clippers

LOS ANGELES (AFP) –

Arron Afflalo of the Orlando Magic reacts during an NBA game in Phoenix, Arizona on December 9, 2012. He scored 30 points on January 12, 2013 to lift Orlando to a 104-101 NBA victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Arron Afflalo scored 30 points and JJ Redick added 21, including the go-ahead three-pointer with 42 seconds left, to lift Orlando to a 104-101 NBA victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

“Our team deserved this one, we cut down the turnovers and played for 48 minutes,” said Orlando coach Jacque Vaughn, whose team snapped a 10-game losing streak on Saturday.

“Today we put it together and things went our way.”

Afflalo scored 23 points in the second half on the way to matching his season-high points total, and also delivered seven rebounds and seven assists.

Nikola Vucevic scored 18 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in the Magic’s first victory since December 19.

Blake Griffin scored 30 points with eight rebounds and seven assists for the Clippers, who nevertheless saw their 13-game home winning streak end.

Chris Paul contributed 10 points, 16 assists and four steals for Los Angeles, while Jamal Crawford scored 13 points off the bench in a defeat that Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro called “embarrassing” after Los Angeles squandered a 57-49 half-time lead.

Redick’s three-pointer with 42 seconds left gave the Magic their first lead of the game, 102-99, and Orlando didn’t relinquish the advantage.

Crawford had a chance to tie the game as time expired but was off-target from three-point range.

“Embarrassing performance, we got beat in every aspect,” Del Negro said. “We let them hang around and we got what we deserved. Very disappointed in our effort.”