ATLANTA - The Orlando Magic are hardly championship contenders. They're not even a .500 team.
No wonder they're relishing the chance to be part of the NBA postseason hunt
Evan Fournier scored 28 points - half of them in the fourth quarter - Aaron Gordon added 25 and the Magic pulled away in the final period for a 130-120 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.
Orlando improved to 26-32 with its second straight road victory, maintaining a 4 1/2-game lead for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and closing within a half-game of the Brooklyn Nets for the No. 7 seed.
"It's a lot of fun," said James Ennis III, who hit a key 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter after the Hawks had closed to 111-107.
Ennis' lone 3 of the night sparked a 17-7 spurt that put the Hawks away. Fournier did most of the heavy lifting, scoring nine points in the game-clinching run before Gordon finished it with a 3-pointer.
"My teammates were finding me," said Gordon, who also had 10 rebounds, six assists and three blocks. "We're playing more together. We're playing smarter, more disciplined."
AP photo by John Amis / Orlando Magic guard Evan Fournier reacts after official Lauren Holtkamp calls a foul on the Atlanta Hawks during the second half of Wednesday night's game in Atlanta. Orlando won 130-120.The Hawks lost despite a 37-point performance by Young, the second-year pro who was a first-time All-Star this month. John Collins added 26 points but was blocked twice in the fourth quarter - first by Gordon, then by Nikola Vucevic - to stymie any hopes of an Atlanta comeback.
Battling flu-like symptoms and held to six points in the opening quarter, Young ripped off 20 points in the second - including a 3-pointer from inside the edge of the Hawks logo at center court.
Gordon countered with an 18-point third quarter, highlighted by a 360-degree dunk off a sloppy Atlanta turnover, that sent the Magic to the final period with a 103-95 lead.
"We let the foot off the pedal a little bit," Collins said. "We didn't play with the same intensity in the third quarter."
The Hawks were leading 75-68 early in the third when Orlando suddenly seized control with a 29-9 outburst.
"The third quarter was brutal," Atlanta coach Lloyd Pierce said. "The first timeout is called, and we just kind of fell apart the rest of that third quarter. It's really our defensive end. We just couldn't get stops."
The ailing Young shot just 2-for-14 in the second half and looked exhausted by the end.
"I'm not feeling too well right now," he said. "Hopefully, I'll get over this soon."
Young, who was 4-for-12 from 3-point range, did have something to smile about after the game. Late in the first quarter, as 7-footer Mo Bamba was going up for an apparent dunk, the 6-foot-1 Young came in from behind to swat the ball away.
Talk about an unlikely block.
"Mo's my guy," Young said with a sly grin. "I'm talking trash with him all the time, really since high school. I'll definitely be talking about this one for a long, long time."
AP photo by John Amis / Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon drives to the basket during the first half of Wednesday's game against the host Atlanta Hawks.Vucevic had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Magic, who finished 2-2 in their season series with the Hawks after winning all four meetings a year ago.
Orlando finished with nine blocks, including three by Gordon and four from Mo Bamba, and came to life on offense in the second quarter, scoring more points (25) in the first six minutes of the period than it did in the entire opening stanza (23).
Atlanta, which lost for only the second time in its past eight home games, was without center Dewayne Dedmon (sore right elbow), a late scratch.
"We didn't know about it until right before the game," Collins said. "We definitely missed his defensive presence."
Bruno Fernando took Dedmon's place in the starting lineup, with the rookie scoring 10 points and grabbing nine rebounds.