After delivering the first defeat of the season to the highly improved Boston Celtics, the Orlando Magic continued to improve their on-road winning record by beating the short-handed New Orleans Hornets 95-88 on Monday. Magic’s winning streak on the road now reached seven, a franchise record.

Dwight Howard was again one of the key factors and had 24 points and 15 rebounds, while Rashard Lewis scored 19 (five three pointer) to help Orlando win it despite blowing a 21-point second-quarter cushion.

"It was a hard fought win against Boston, but we dug down deep in our gut and found a way to pull out the win tonight," said Lewis. "We got tired, but our defense kept us in the game."

The Magic haven’t just reached a milestone victory, but at the same time interrupted the five-game winning streak of the Western Conference-leading Hornets, who played without their starting point guard Chris Paul. Paul missed the last two games due to an ankle sprain.

The Hornets also lost centre Tyson Chandler, who left the floor in the second quarter due to a hyper-extended right knee.

"I'm not trying to take credit away from our guys, but I try to be realistic," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "The way we played tonight probably wouldn't have been enough with Chris Paul and Tyson Chandler. So if you're looking for a reason why we won tonight, that's it."

For Orlando, Jameer Nelson helped with 16 points. Hedo Turkoglu and reserve Keyon Dooling added 15 scored 15 point each.

Peja Stojakovic led the Hornets with 21 points, Jannero Pargo replaced Paul and scored 18 and David West added 14.


Elsewhere in the NBA:
Memphis Grizzlies 125, Seattle Supersonics 108
Utah Jazz 102, New Jersey Nets 75.