ORLANDO, Florida (Ticker) -- After a strong start, the Orlando Magic endured another disappointing finish.
Baron Davis scored 21 points to lead a balanced attack as the New Orleans Hornets posted a 100-91 victory over the hapless Magic, whose losing streak reached 16 games.
Facing one of the Eastern Conference's better teams in the first half of a home-and-home series, the Magic came out energized and built an early 15-point lead. But things slowly fell apart.
The Magic's losing streak is one shy of the franchise record, set from December 4-January 7, 1992.
"It's getting to the point we're going into games feeling like you're going to lose, and that's a bad feeling to have, so frustrating," Magic guard Tracy McGrady said. "The only thing that's going to change out of this is a win."
Behind Davis, who also had 11 assists, the Hornets erased the early deficit and grabbed a 48-46 halftime lead. New Orleans built its own 15-point lead early in the fourth quarter, only to see the Magic fight back.
"The third-quarter blues got us again where we didn't come up and sustain anything," Magic coach Johnny Davis said. "I thought it was a pretty good opening quarter for us, pretty good second quarter."
But after Orlando pulled within 81-78, the Hornets put away the game with a 9-2 run, capped by Davis' fast-break layup with 3:27 remaining.
"The game is about runs, and we knew they were going to make a run at home, especially at home with their new style of offense," Davis said. "We knew they were going to come out hyped."
David Wesley added 17 points and rookie David West had 14 off the bench for New Orleans, which began Orlando's losing streak on October 28 with a 100-98 victory.
With Jamaal Magloire, P.J. Brown and West dominating inside, the Hornets held a 52-24 advantage in points in the paint. They also converted 21 turnovers into 22 points.
"I thought we played well inside and out," Hornets coach Tim Floyd said. "We had a presence inside throughout the game, which is something we needed drastically."
Gordan Giricek scored 25 points and Tracy McGrady and Juwan Howard each added 16 for the Magic, who shot just 38 percent (34-of-90) in their latest defeat.
