ORLANDO, Florida (Ticker) -- Kerry Kittles made sure the Orlando Magic's only winning streak of the season ended at two.
Kittles made three 3-pointers in the final 3:45, including a go-ahead shot with just over a minute remaining, as the New Jersey Nets edged the Magic, 99-95, to extend their season-high winning streak to four games.
Kittles, who scored 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting, snapped an 89-89 tie with a 3-pointer with 62 seconds left that started an 8-0 run. Jason Kidd sank a pair of free throws with 23 seconds left to end the burst, and Orlando got no closer than the final score.
"I would like to see this on a day-to-day basis with Kerry," Nets coach Byron Scott said. "He's a shooting guard, and he caught the ball tonight and never really hesitated. He hit a bunch of big shots, especially in the final minutes of the game." "I think the Kittles threes hurt us down the stretch," Magic coach Johnny Davis said. "We talked about how we wanted to defend it and we just didn't get it done."
Richard Jefferson scored 19 points and Kenyon Martin added 16 and 15 rebounds for New Jersey, which handed Orlando a 20th defeat in 22 games.
"I think this was a very big game for us in a lot of different senses," said Jefferson, whose team climbed back to .500 (11-11). "We could have lost this game. We are making a concerted effort within the team that we want to get back to where we have been. This game gets us off to a good start."
Martin appeared to suffer a back strain after making a steal with 45 seconds left and sat out the remainder of the contest.
"I'm good. My body just cramped up," Martin said. "My back, quad ... nothing I can do about that."
Tracy McGrady and Juwan Howard scored 20 points apiece and Drew Gooden added 19 and 13 rebounds for the Magic, who have lost six of their last eight meetings with the Nets. McGrady sat out the last 3:17 of the second quarter after Jefferson fell on his ankle, but he returned for the second half.
"It was my own personal decision to come out and play," McGrady said. "The trainers and the doctors and everything looked at the X-rays and everything was fine, so it was up to me whether I could tolerate the pain. I felt like I could give it a shot and see how productive I could be on the basketball court, and if it didn't work out then I was going to sit, but I felt pretty good."
"He's hurting, but he did come back and did make pivotal shots for us down the stretch," Davis said. "But unfortunately, we just didn't get it done. He didn't have the mobility to chase guys around, so we had to try to protect him."
Orlando opened a 45-34 advantage before New Jersey scored the final three points of the half. The Nets turned up their intensity in the third quarter, however, and took a 66-62 edge into the final 12 minutes.
The Nets finished with 29 assists and just 12 turnovers.
"We are executing and not turning the ball over - that gives you a chance," said Kidd, who scored just eight points but had a season-high 15 assists and eight rebounds. "We took care of the ball down the stretch and Kerry hit some big shots. That is what we need from him."
