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Hill leads Magic past Clippers 99-94
Grant Hill was the star and Steve Francis, as usual, was the closer in the Orlando Magic's 99-94 victory Tuesday night over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Hill scored a season-high 39 points, but it was two clutch jump shots by Francis in the final minute that closed out the slumping Clippers.
Francis finished with 16 points and seven assists for Orlando, which won for the third time in four games.
The Clippers, who have lost six straight, got 21 points and 10 rebounds from Elton Brand. Bobby Simmons added 20 points and Corey Maggette had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Los Angeles played catch up most of the night. The Clippers chipped away at a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter, getting within 91-89 on two free throws by Simmons with 59 seconds left.
Francis responded with back-to-back jump shots from just beyond the free throw line, the last with 17 seconds left to give Orlando a 95-90 lead. Hill and Francis added two free throws apiece to close out the Magic scoring.
Neither team established control in a first half dominated by Hill and Brand. Hill had 19 points for the Magic, whose biggest advantage was seven. Brand had 15 points on 6-for-7 shooting to help keep the Clippers close. Orlando led 54-53 at the half.
A driving layup by Hill gave Orlando its biggest lead, 82-73, with 9:30 left in the game, but the Magic couldn't put away the game until the final seconds.
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