ORLANDO, Fla. — Predicting which Orlando Magic team shows up from night to night has been a guessing game.

A recent season-high four-game losing streak was plagued with turnovers, inconsistent play on defense and stale offense.

Since then, the Magic have played better, earning their second consecutive victory Friday, 102-94 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Dwight Howard scored 19 points, had 16 rebounds, blocked eight shots and hit some key late free-throws to help ward off a late Cavs’ charge.

Jason Richardson also added 19 points in his first action in two games after resting a sore knee. Hedo Turkoglu finished with 18 points and Ryan Anderson 17.

“We did good job of spacing the floor out, moving the ball and getting each other involved,” Richardson said. “It was really good for us tonight. Everybody was involved, did a good job on both ends and got the win.”

The Magic won their seventh straight against the Cavaliers, despite playing without injured starting point guard Jameer Nelson and suspended reserve big man Glen Davis.

Orlando continues a stretch of nine games in 13 days at Indiana today.

Alonzo Gee led Cleveland with 20 points, followed by Kyrie Irving with 18.

The Cavs have lost three of their past four and returns home to host Dallas today before going to Miami on Tuesday.

The Magic came in averaging 15.5 turnovers per game, but had just five against Cleveland and opened up a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter.

The Cavs got it down to 95-90 with 2:12 to play by fouling Howard intentionally and sending him to the free-throw line.

Howard missed four consecutive attempts from the line during one stretch before hitting a pair to give Orlando a seven-point lead. He finished 9 for 16 for the evening.

He said he never is surprised when teams resort to fouling him, especially with the career-low 47 percent he came in shooting from the line.

“No, that’s the game plan,” Howard said. “Until I get better at the line they’re gonna continue to do it. It is what it is. I shot them better. I just gotta continue to work on them. They’ll fall.”

Despite the missing and still healing bodies on their roster, the Magic managed to take a nine-point advantage into the break, building their cushion by hitting six first-half 3s. Richardson also hit five of his six field-goal attempts for 11 points.

Cleveland also helped out, making 29 percent of its field goals. Antawn Jamison kept the Cavs close with an 11-point, 10 rebound effort in the half.

Cleveland finished shooting 36 percent, ultimately undermining its fouling strategy.

“I think you can do it at any point in time,” Cavs coach Byron Scott said. “I don’t think you necessarily have to have to be down. Until he proves he can hit 75 percent on those free throws on a consistent basis.”

Cleveland scored 41 points in the fourth.

“I wish we could put the first three quarters together like we did the fourth,” he said. “We couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean for the first three quarters. It was tough.”

Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy had to make some pregame adjustments to his rotation after Davis was suspended for two games before tip-off Friday for conduct detrimental to the team. He’ll also miss the Indiana game.

Van Gundy said before the game he and Davis were involved in a verbal incident during the morning walkthrough, but said nothing physical took place. He didn’t elaborate further, but he said he didn’t expect the suspension to go beyond two games.

Nelson continues to deal with concussion symptoms. Without a true third point guard behind Chris Duhon, the team released Larry Hughes after Wednesday’s win against Washington and signed free agent Ish Smith Thursday.

Smith had two early assists, including one on a dunk by Earl Clark, but also had three fouls in just five minutes of action early. He finished with four assists in nine minutes of action.

Van Gundy said it was nice to have Richardson back, but he will reserve evaluation for a few more days.

“I don’t know if today is as big a test as tomorrow,” Van Gundy said. “I think when he gets up and gets moving on it tomorrow will be the bigger test.”

Notes: Van Gundy said Nelson, who sat out his fourth consecutive game with concussion symptoms, did do some limited, off-court physical activity Friday and has a chance of returning Monday against the L.A. Clippers. … The Cavs played without guard Daniel Gibson (soft tissue infection in neck), guard Anthony Parker (back strain) and forward Tristan Thompson (ankle sprain).

Predicting which Orlando Magic team shows up from night to night has been a daily guessing game.

A recent season-high four-game losing streak was plagued with turnovers, inconsistent play on defense and stale offense.

Since then, the Magic have dug out of the muck, earning their second straight victory, 102-94 over the Cleveland Cavaliers Friday night.

Dwight Howard scored 19 points, had 16 rebounds and blocked eight shots, and hit some key late free-throws to help ward off a late Cavs’ charge.

Jason Richardson also added 19 points in his first action in two games after resting a sore knee. Hedo Turkoglu finished with 18 points and Ryan Anderson chipped in 17.  

“We did good job of spacing the floor out, moving the ball and getting each other involved,” Richardson said. “It was really good for us tonight. Everybody was involved, did a good job on both ends and got the win.”

The Magic won their seventh straight over the Cavaliers, despite playing without injured starting point guard Jameer Nelson and suspended reserve big man Glen Davis.

Orlando continues a stretch of nine games in 13 days Saturday at Indiana.

Alonzo Gee led Cleveland with 20 points, followed by Kyrie Irving with 18.  

The Cavs have lost three of their last four and returns home to host Dallas on Saturday before going to Miami on Tuesday.

The Magic came in averaging 15.5 turnovers per game, but had just five against the Cavs and opened up a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter.

The Cavs got it down to 95-90 with 2:12 to play by fouling Howard intentionally and sending him to the free-throw line.

Howard missed four straight attempts from the line during one stretch before sinking a pair to give the Magic a seven-point cushion and help close it out. He finished 9 for 16 for the evening.

He said he is never surprised when teams resort to fouling him, especially with the career-low 47 percent he came in shooting from the stripe.

“No, that’s the game plan,” Howard said. “Until I get better at the line they’re gonna continue to do it. It is what it is. I shot them better. I just gotta continue to work on them. They’ll fall.”

Despite the missing and still healing bodies on their roster, the Magic managed to take a nine-point advantage into the break, building their cushion by hitting six first-half 3s. Richardson also hit five of his six field goal attempts for 11 points.

Cleveland also helped out, connecting on only 29 percent of its field goals (14 for 48). Antawn Jamison kept the Cavs close with an 11-point, 10 rebound effort in the half.

The Cavaliers finished shooting 36 percent, ultimately undermining their fouling strategy.

“I think you can do it at any point in time,” Scott said. “I don’t think you necessarily have to have to be down. Until he proves he can hit 75 percent on those free throws on a consistent basis.”

Cleveland scored 41 points in the fourth quarter.

“I wish we could put the first three quarters together like we did the fourth,” he said. “We couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean for the first three quarters. It was tough.”

Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy had to make some pregame adjustments to his rotation after Davis was suspended for two games prior to tip-off Friday for conduct detrimental to the team. He’ll also miss the Indiana game.

Van Gundy acknowledged before the game that he and Davis were involved in a verbal incident during the morning walkthrough, but said nothing physical took place. He didn’t elaborate further, though added he said he didn’t expect the suspension to go beyond two games.

Nelson continues to deal with concussion symptoms. Without a true third point guard behind Chris Duhon, the team released Larry Hughes following Wednesday’s win over Washington and signed free agent Ish Smith Thursday.

Smith had two early assists, including one on a dunk by Earl Clark, but also had three fouls in just five minutes of action early. He finished with four assists in nine minutes of action.

Van Gundy said it was nice to have Richardson back, but he will reserve evaluation for a few more days.

“I don’t know if today is as big a test as tomorrow,” Van Gundy said. “I think when he gets up and gets moving on it tomorrow will be the bigger test.”

NOTES: Van Gundy said Nelson, who sat out his fourth straight game with concussion symptoms, did do some limited, off-court physical activity Friday and has a chance of returning Monday against the L.A. Clippers. … The Cavs played without G Daniel Gibson (soft tissue infection in neck), G Anthony Parker (back strain) and F Tristan Thompson (ankle sprain).

Stan Van Gundy often says he doesn’t care anything about acrobatic dunks, but even Van Gundy had to love what he saw from his starting shooting guard midway through the first quarter Friday night.

Jason Richardson elevated into the air, caught an alley-oop pass from Chris Duhon and slammed home a dunk with his back to the hoop.

The Magic need more from Richardson this season — more points, more defense, more energy — for the team to reach its potential, and that explains why the dunk was such a welcome sight. After missing two games to rest an injured knee, Richardson scored 19 points to help the Magic beat the rebuilding Cleveland Cavaliers 102-94 at Amway Center.

“I don’t have too many of those left,” the 31-year-old Richardson said, referring to his dunk.

“I’ve got to save those.”

Richardson faded a bit in the second half, to be sure, but he received plenty of help.

Four teammates scored in double figures, including Dwight Howard, who overcame Cleveland’s late-game Hack-a-Howard strategy to finish with 19 points, 16 rebounds and a season-high eight blocks.

It might be a moot point to look too far ahead with the Magic. Howard still wants a trade, and if the front office sends him to another team, the roster will take a dramatically different look.

Still, if the Magic keep Howard, team officials know consistent second and third scoring options must emerge. Although Ryan Anderson has filled the void most nights, Van Gundy wants to involve both Richardson and Hedo Turkoglu more. Both Richardson and Turkoglu played poorly in last spring’s first round, and consistently strong performances by Howard in those playoff games weren’t enough to save the Magic from being eliminated by the Atlanta Hawks.

On Friday against the Cavaliers, Turkoglu scored 18 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists.

“Him and J-Rich did an excellent job of trying to get to the basket and just taking shots, and we need that from those guys,” Howard said.

“Those guys have got to continue to do that for our team to be successful.”

Tonight should be a little tougher for Richardson and the Magic (14-9) than Friday was against the Cavaliers (8-13).

The Magic will play the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis. The improved Pacers have become a tough opponent, but circumstances will make the game harder for the Magic.

With Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis, there are no hotel rooms available in the city, so the Magic were scheduled to spend the night in northern Kentucky, then fly during the day today to Indy.

That extra travel on a gameday, on the second day of a back-to-back, could cause extra problems for Richardson, who still is suffering from what team officials say is a bone bruise in his left knee.

No matter how he feels, the Magic will have to bring more sustained energy against the Pacers than against Cleveland.

On Friday, the Cavaliers piled up 19 second-chance shots and scored 19 fastbreak points.

“You simply can’t be a real good team if you can’t get back [on defense] and you can’t rebound the ball,” Van Gundy said.

The Cavs closed the gap late after they started to foul Howard down the stretch. Howard didn’t attempt his first free throw until 5:55 remained in regulation. He would go on to shoot 16 foul shots and make nine of them.

“Until I get better at the line, they’re going to continue to do it,” Howard said.

And that’s just one more reason why the Magic need more from Richardson.

jbrobbins@tribune.com. Read his blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/magicblog. Subscribe to our Orlando Magic newsletter at OrlandoSentinel.com/joinus.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The Orlando Magic have signed Ish Smith, a free agent point guard most recently of Golden State, as the team’s third point guard.

The 6-foot, 170-pound Smith was added to the roster Thursday, a day after Orlando released guard Larry Hughes.

The Magic were in need of a guard with starter Jameer Nelson still out with concussion symptoms.

Coach Stan Van Gundy says Nelson could return to the court as early as Monday, but the team has immediate needs with Chris Duhon logging minutes and the Magic having trouble getting the ball up the court.

Smith is expected to play Friday against Cleveland. He played six games this season with the Warriors. He was undrafted in 2010 and played college ball at Wake Forest, finishing second all-time in assists.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

The burden is off the Orlando Magic’s shoulders now.

They ended their four-game losing streak Wednesday night, beating the lowly Washington Wizards 109-103 at Amway Center.

“We’ve still got to get a lot better,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. “But I think what sort of breaking the ice does in getting a win is now it allows you to get your mind on getting better instead of your mind on, ‘God, we haven’t won a game in forever.’ “

Goodness knows, his team has a long ways to go these days.

The Magic will gladly take a win at this point. Any win.

But in the victory, the team still struggled to protect the basketball, to rebound the basketball and just bring the ball up the court.

Ryan Anderson scored a team-high 23 points, including a trey with 42.2 seconds left that put the Magic ahead 104-97.

“We didn’t want to focus too much on that streak, because that’s a week we’d all like to forget and those games we’d like to just forget about,” Anderson said. “We can move forward and get a win next game and then just start a little run. I think this started our confidence, but we need to follow through with it.”

Dwight Howard scored 21 points and collected 18 rebounds. And J.J. Redick added 21.

They received a huge boost when Chris Duhon and Von Wafer made 3-pointers a couple of possessions apart to put the Magic ahead 77-71 early in the fourth quarter.

In all, Orlando went 13-for-30 from beyond the arc.

Orlando also contained Washington’s super-fast second-year point guard, John Wall.

Wall went 1-for-12 from the field and didn’t make his basket until a driving layup with 3:08 left in regulation. He did have 10 assists and only three turnovers.

“You’re going to go through some periods shooting the ball, and you can’t just rely on that,” Wizards coach Randy Wittman said.

After Orlando had completed its shootaround Wednesday morning, Van Gundy told reporters that he expected his players to begin the game with plenty of energy.

And they did, jumping out to a 25-14 lead with 1:22 to go in the first quarter.

Then came adversity.

Washington went on a 22-5 run.

The Wizards ended that run when Kevin Seraphin followed Trevor Booker’s missed layup with an emphatic dunk. The slam put Washington ahead 36-30 with 7:01 remaining before halftime.

The Orlando Magic were on the verge of signing Ish Smith late Wednesday night to shore up their injury-depleted point guard spot.

To make room for Smith on their roster, the Magic waived Larry Hughes after Hughes played 14 minutes in the team’s 109-103 victory over the Washington Wizards.

Smith, 23, is a truer point guard than Hughes.

Team officials decided that they needed to make a move largely because the regular starter, Jameer Nelson, is recovering from a concussion and probably won’t return to playing until Monday at the earliest.

Smith was waived by the Golden State Warriors on Jan. 13 after he had appeared in six games.

Meanwhile, Nelson is making progress as he recovers from his latest concussion.

He visited Amway Center at midday and rode an exercise bike.

“I’m feeling a lot better,” Nelson said.

Dwight Howard broke into a huge grin when he saw Nelson walking into the arena around 12:30 p.m. “Heeey, maaan!” Howard yelled. “That’s my brother! How ya feeling, man?”

Coach Stan Van Gundy said Nelson still experienced some nausea Tuesday but improved Wednesday. Nelson’s return will be governed by the league’s new concussion protocol, which is overseen by neurologist Jeffrey Kutcher, an associate professor at the University of Michigan.

Van Gundy said the team is optimistic that Nelson will play Monday against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Out again

The Magic kept starting shooting guard Jason Richardson out of the lineup Wednesday for the second straight game because the left knee Richardson originally injured Jan. 12 remains weak.
Richardson’s knee does well at the beginning of games, but it tightens up after he sits for a while.
“We’re optimistic that we’ll get him back on Friday,” Van Gundy said. “It’s not a sure thing, but we’re pretty optimistic.”

Offensive adjustment

The Magic began their game Wednesday using a different method to call plays after an opponent’s made basket.

Van Gundy had made the calls for most of this season, which forced Orlando’s ball-handlers to look at him after made baskets. That slowed down the team’s pace and helped opposing defenses get set.

But they opened Wednesday using a process they have used at other times during Van Gundy’s tenure. The point guards have three or four options, and Van Gundy is allowing the ball-handlers to make the calls on the run.

“Hopefully, we can get into things a little quicker with them not looking to the bench and get into a little bit of a flow,” Van Gundy said. “But we’ll probably be going back and forth on this until we get it right, until we get what we want.”

In theory, the change should help Orlando’s wings and big men run up the court more quickly. It also should help the ball-handlers attack north to south more easily when opponents pick them up with fullcourt pressure.

Layups

• Van Gundy said he and his assistant coaches still are considering lineup changes and changes to the way players are rotated on and off the court. “The only thing we’re interested in is trying to hit the right balance in terms of energy and having offensive playmakers on the floor,” Van Gundy said. “And I’m not sure that we have a good balance with that.”

• Van Gundy added: “I do think we have to look at the combinations we’ve had on the floor.”

• Rashard Lewis played his second game at Amway Center since his trade to the Wizards on Dec. 18, 2010. He received some good cheers during the starters’ introductions.

• The Magic committed six turnovers in the first quarter. Van Gundy had said before the game it was critical for Orlando to protect the basketball, partly because Washington has super-fast point guard John Wall.

jbrobbins@tribune.com. Read his blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/magicblog. Subscribe to our Orlando Magic newsletter at OrlandoSentinel.com/joinus.

The burden is off the Orlando Magic’s shoulders now.

They ended their four-game losing streak Wednesday night, beating the lowly Washington Wizards 109-103 at Amway Center.

“We’ve still got to get a lot better,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. “But I think what sort of breaking the ice does in getting a win is now it allows you to get your mind on getting better instead of your mind on, ‘God, we haven’t won a game in forever.’ “

Goodness knows, his team has a long ways to go these days.

The Magic will gladly take a win at this point. Any win.

But in the victory, the team still struggled to protect the basketball, to rebound the basketball and just bring the ball up the court.

Ryan Anderson scored a team-high 23 points, including a trey with 42.2 seconds left that put the Magic ahead 104-97.

“We didn’t want to focus too much on that streak, because that’s a week we’d all like to forget and those games we’d like to just forget about,” Anderson said. “We can move forward and get a win next game and then just start a little run. I think this started our confidence, but we need to follow through with it.”

Dwight Howard scored 21 points and collected 18 rebounds. And J.J. Redick added 21.

They received a huge boost when Chris Duhon and Von Wafer made 3-pointers a couple of possessions apart to put the Magic ahead 77-71 early in the fourth quarter.

In all, Orlando went 13-for-30 from beyond the arc.

Orlando also contained Washington’s super-fast second-year point guard, John Wall.

Wall went 1-for-12 from the field and didn’t make his basket until a driving layup with 3:08 left in regulation. He did have 10 assists and only three turnovers.

“You’re going to go through some periods shooting the ball, and you can’t just rely on that,” Wizards coach Randy Wittman said.

After Orlando had completed its shootaround Wednesday morning, Van Gundy told reporters that he expected his players to begin the game with plenty of energy.

And they did, jumping out to a 25-14 lead with 1:22 to go in the first quarter.

Then came adversity.

Washington went on a 22-5 run.

The Wizards ended that run when Kevin Seraphin followed Trevor Booker’s missed layup with an emphatic dunk. The slam put Washington ahead 36-30 with 7:01 remaining before halftime.

Turnovers had given the Wizards (4-18) all the boost they needed.

The burden is off the Orlando Magic’s shoulders now.

They ended their four-game losing streak Wednesday night, beating the lowly Washington Wizards 109-103 at Amway Center.

“We’ve still got to get a lot better,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. “But I think what sort of breaking the ice does in getting a win is now it allows you to get your mind on getting better instead of your mind on, ‘God, we haven’t won a game in forever.’ “

Goodness knows, his team has a long ways to go these days.

The Magic will gladly take a win at this point. Any win.

But in the victory, the team still struggled to protect the basketball, to rebound the basketball and just bring the ball up the court.

Ryan Anderson scored a team-high 23 points, including a trey with 42.2 seconds left that put the Magic ahead 104-97.

“We didn’t want to focus too much on that streak, because that’s a week we’d all like to forget and those games we’d like to just forget about,” Anderson said. “We can move forward and get a win next game and then just start a little run. I think this started our confidence, but we need to follow through with it.”

Dwight Howard scored 21 points and collected 18 rebounds. And J.J. Redick added 21.

They received a huge boost when Chris Duhon and Von Wafer made 3-pointers a couple of possessions apart to put the Magic ahead 77-71 early in the fourth quarter.

In all, Orlando went 13-for-30 from beyond the arc.

Orlando also contained Washington’s super-fast second-year point guard, John Wall.

Wall went 1-for-12 from the field and didn’t make his basket until a driving layup with 3:08 left in regulation. He did have 10 assists and only three turnovers.

“You’re going to go through some periods shooting the ball, and you can’t just rely on that,” Wizards coach Randy Wittman said.

After Orlando had completed its shootaround Wednesday morning, Van Gundy told reporters that he expected his players to begin the game with plenty of energy.

And they did, jumping out to a 25-14 lead with 1:22 to go in the first quarter.

Then came adversity.

Washington went on a 22-5 run.

The Wizards ended that run when Kevin Seraphin followed Trevor Booker’s missed layup with an emphatic dunk. The slam put Washington ahead 36-30 with 7:01 remaining before halftime.

Turnovers had given the Wizards (4-18) all the boost they needed.

The burden is off the Orlando Magic’s shoulders now.

They ended their four-game losing streak Wednesday night, beating the lowly Washington Wizards 109-103 at Amway Center.

“We’ve still got to get a lot better,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. “But I think what sort of breaking the ice does in getting a win is now it allows you to get your mind on getting better instead of your mind on, ‘God, we haven’t won a game in forever.’ “

Goodness knows, his team has a long ways to go these days.

The Magic will gladly take a win at this point. Any win.

But in the victory, the team still struggled to protect the basketball, to rebound the basketball and just bring the ball up the court.

Ryan Anderson scored a team-high 23 points, including a trey with 42.2 seconds left that put the Magic ahead 104-97.

“We didn’t want to focus too much on that streak, because that’s a week we’d all like to forget and those games we’d like to just forget about,” Anderson said. “We can move forward and get a win next game and then just start a little run. I think this started our confidence, but we need to follow through with it.”

Dwight Howard scored 21 points and collected 18 rebounds. And J.J. Redick added 21.

They received a huge boost when Chris Duhon and Von Wafer made 3-pointers a couple of possessions apart to put the Magic ahead 77-71 early in the fourth quarter.

In all, Orlando went 13-for-30 from beyond the arc.

Orlando also contained Washington’s super-fast second-year point guard, John Wall.

Wall went 1-for-12 from the field and didn’t make his basket until a driving layup with 3:08 left in regulation. He did have 10 assists and only three turnovers.

“You’re going to go through some periods shooting the ball, and you can’t just rely on that,” Wizards coach Randy Wittman said.

After Orlando had completed its shootaround Wednesday morning, Van Gundy told reporters that he expected his players to begin the game with plenty of energy.

And they did, jumping out to a 25-14 lead with 1:22 to go in the first quarter.

Then came adversity.

Washington went on a 22-5 run.

The Wizards ended that run when Kevin Seraphin followed Trevor Booker’s missed layup with an emphatic dunk. The slam put Washington ahead 36-30 with 7:01 remaining before halftime.

The Philadelphia 76ers got the job done against the Orlando Magic. The 76ers defeated Orlando 74-69 to open up a crucial stretch with a win. The 76ers were able to take advantage of their opponent’s struggles and clamp down on defense. The game wasn’t a close as the final score indicated as Orlando closed the gap a little late in the game. Poor free throw shooting allowed Orlando to creep back into the mix. Still, this was a solid win for the 76ers and should help them build more and more confidence.

Despite the win, the 76ers didn’t shoot the ball very well. They were just 38 percent as a team. Andre Iguodala led the way with 14 points for the 76ers. He was the only starter to reach double figures. Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young also reached double figures. Three players in double digits is an unusually low number for this team. But that is what poor shooting will do to you. Jrue Holiday, Lou Williams, and Elton Brand all shot below 40 percent in the game. As a team, the 76ers scored more than 20 points in a quarter just once. That came when they outscored Orlando 21-9 in the third quarter.

Fortunately, the defense was excellent. Orlando shot just 33 percent and at times it looked worse than that. Had they not put up 27 points in the final frame it would have been a lot uglier. The 76ers were outrebounded 55-47 but that isn’t bad considering that two players on Orlando combined for 31 of those. The 76ers were also without Spencer Hawes and Nikola Vucevic once again. All things considered the team played pretty well off the glass.

This was a good win but it was far from perfect. The Magic are really struggling right now so it is hard to say the 76ers exposed them. Meanwhile, the free throw shooting was terrible. Andre Iguodala missed six of his nine free throw attempts. That is something that can’t happen. Eventually, it might make it difficult for the 76ers to close out games. The competition is only going to get better. That means this team needs to take care of the little things.

* – Mark Paul is a Philadelphia resident and 76ers fan. Follow him on Twitter here.

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