Caron Butler scored five of his 14 points in overtime, including the go-ahead three-pointer with 1:49 remaining, helping the Los Angeles Clippers to a 107-102 win over the Orlando Magic Monday night at Amway Center in Orlando. The win snapped a nine-game losing streak by the Clippers against the Magic.
Chris Paul had 29 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds to lead the Clippers, whose last win against Orlando came on December 3, 2006. Blake Griffin had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Clippers, who shot 43.9% from the field.
In the last nine days, the Clippers have snapped a nine-game losing streak in Denver, a 16-game skid in Utah, and a nine-game overall losing streak to the Magic.
Dwight Howard had 33 points and 14 rebounds for Orlando in the loss. The Magic shot 46.5% on the night, but shot just 40.3% after a 13-for-19 first quarter during which they held a 30-15 lead over the Clippers.
Orlando led 47-42 at halftime after Howard had 21 points and seven rebounds in the first half, but the Clippers opened the second half on fire. Los Angeles went on an 11-2 run to open the third quarter thanks to three-pointers from Chauncey Billups, Paul, and Butler. The Clippers built a lead as big as nine points in the fourth quarter before Orlando came back to tie the game with 2:45 remaining.
After three ties and two lead changes late in the fourth quarter, Jameer Nelson missed a 16-foot jumper on right baseline with 0.9 seconds remaining that would have won the game for the Magic. After review, Mo Williams was shown to have grabbed the rebound with 0.5 seconds left, which gave Los Angeles a chance to win in regulation, but Williams missed a 19-footer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.
Billups, who scored 18 points on the night, injured his left achilles with 5:48 remaining in the fourth quarter and did not return.
The win was the fourth straight road win for the Clippers, their longest streak since a four-game streak from April to November 2007, spanning two seasons. The Clippers are one win shy of tying their franchise record road winning streak, set in November 1973 when the franchise was known as the Buffalo Braves.
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