Kings host Magic in a back-and-forth affair

James Johnson scored a career-high 41 points, Derrick Williams had 30 and the Kings beat the Magic 142-130 on Friday night.

Playing on the West Coast for the second time in three days, the Kings shot 53 percent overall and were 39 for 69 from the free throw line.

In this back-and-forth game, the Kings led by 10 points early in the fourth quarter. But the Magic used a 12-0 run, powered by big baskets from Aaron Gordon and back-to-back 3-pointers from Evan Fournier, to put themselves back in the game.

Magic coach Steve Clifford was ejected with 9:34 left in the fourth quarter for arguing a call.

The Kings had six players with at least 20 points and Sacramento handed the Magic their eighth loss in the last 10 games.

Fournier led Orlando with 27 points.

The Kings, playing at home for the first time in more than a week, jumped out to a 16-5 lead. But the Magic were close the rest of the way and went ahead 16-15 when Aaron Gordon hit a 3-pointer with 6:50 left in the first quarter.

The Magic extended their lead to 37-29 on two free throws by Evan Fournier with 0.8 seconds left. In the ensuing seconds, the Kings had a final shot but Jimmer Fredette’s long 3-pointer wasn’t close.

Gordon, who had 22 points, began to heat up in the second quarter. He scored seven points in the first two minutes of the second quarter, capped by a dunk off a lob pass from Aaron Gordon.

The Kings took their first lead at 43-42 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Jordan McLaughlin. The teams then traded buckets over the next three minutes until Sacramento’s Vince Carter hit two free throws with a minute left in the second quarter to give Sacramento a 52-50 halftime lead.

Johnson made a 3-pointer to give the Kings a 16-point lead in the third quarter. But the Magic used a 7-2 run to pull within six points at 86-77, sparked by back-to-back 3-pointers from Evan Fournier.

Williams went on a 6-0 run over the next two minutes to give the Kings a 10-point lead at 104-93. But Orlando wouldn’t go away, using a 15-7 run over the final two minutes to get within 109-109.

But Williams hit two free throws, and then Johnson made two more.

NOTES: Willie Cauley-Stein had 16 points and seven rebounds. … The Kings played their second game on the West Coast this week. The Kings opened the three-game trip with a 117-110 win over the Trail Blazers on Wednesday night. … Terry Rozier had a double-double for the Magic with 18 points and 11 assists. He also had three steals. … Jameer Nelson, in his 13th season, played in his 48th straight game — his longest active streak. … Nikola Vucevic, in his fourth season, played in his 254th straight game.

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