NBA

Backcourt-depleted Magic tops Wizards

ORLANDO - No Steve Francis, no Grant Hill and very little Dwight Howard.

Still, the Magic found a way to win.

Hedo Turkoglu had a season-high 23 points and seven rebounds, leading the injury-depleted Magic to a 91-83 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.

"As long as I'm aggressive, I know I'm going to get my shots. But tonight I had to be more aggressive to help the team scoring-wise," Turkoglu said. "When we get our leaders back, I'll be back in my role again."

The Wizards lost their fifth straight after a 5-1 start and got a rare off night from leading scorer Gilbert Arenas, who finished with 19 points and nine assists but shot 6-of-19. He was averaging 27.5 points and had five 30-point games this season.

Already playing without Hill, Orlando also was missing Francis, its leading scorer, who injured a rib in a car accident after Saturday's 98-95 loss to New Orleans. DeShawn Stevenson played with floating cartilage in his left knee sustained in practice Monday, but managed 15 points.

Stevenson said he definitely will need offseason surgery - sooner if Orlando falls out of playoff contention.

Perhaps most surprising is that the Magic won with little help from Howard, who came into the game with seven consecutive double-doubles. He spent most of the game in foul trouble and finished with five points and seven rebounds.

Antawn Jamison led Washington with 25 points and 16 rebounds, and brought the Wizards within four points with a 3-pointer from the corner with 50 seconds left.

But Jameer Nelson answered with a driving layup, putting the Magic up 89-83 with 31 seconds left. He finished with a season-high 15 points.

"If you had told me going into the game, with everybody that was out, that Dwight would get five points and seven rebounds ... I wouldn't like our chances. But our guys really stepped up," Magic coach Brian Hill said.

[Last modified November 24, 2005, 00:19:08]