Nets 98, Magic 86: Brooklyn's 31-21 third quarter sends Orlando to third straight loss

The Orlando Magic fell to 2-3 on their five-game homestand Friday, losing to the Brooklyn Nets by a 98-86 final.

The Magic could blame their Friday night loss on Nets forward Gerald Wallace, as he sank four of his career-high-tying five three-pointers in the decisive third quarter. The onslaught seemed to disgust Amway Center public address announcer Paul Porter. Of course, Wallace had help from shooting guard Joe Johnson who contributed a game-high 22 points, and three other players, besides Wallace and Johnson, scored in double-digits.

But the Magic kept it a tight game in the first half, and were only down by one point, 45-44, at halftime. Orlando maneuvered its way into the paint without center Brook Lopez standing in the middle for the Nets, outscoring Brooklyn, 28-18,inside.

E'Twaun Moore filled in for an injured Jameer Nelson, who sat out of Friday's game due to ankle tendinitis.

Moore averaged five turnovers in his previous outings against the Nets, but he did not commit a single turnover on Friday and finished with 13 points.

Some highlights for the Magic in tonight's game:

• Before the Magic played the Nets tonight, the Magic averaged 16.1 turnovers per game and brought that down tonight to nine.
• Orlando got to the free-throw line in the first quarter tonight; reflecting back to their last game, the San Antonio Spurs prevented the Magic from making a trip to the free-throw line until the end of the third quarter.
• Two of Orlando's rookies were efficient tonight: Small forward Maurice Harkless who played a season-high 28 minutes, shot four-of-eight from the field and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Though power forward Andrew Nicholson burned only 17 minutes of playing time, he got his way offensively at a much faster rate pouring in 12 points on five-of-eight shooting.

Apart from the highlights: