(Saturday, November 3rd)

Final Score: Orlando 94, Washington 82

Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Hedo Turkoglu notched 25 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, as Southeast Division rivals squared off with the Orlando Magic holding off the Washington Wizards, 94-82, at the Verizon Center.

Dwight Howard remained a force with 17 points and 15 boards for Orlando, which opened the 2007-08 campaign with a 102-83 home victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday at Amway Arena. Rashard Lewis had 18 points and eight rebounds, and Jameer Nelson added 17 points and seven boards.

"I thought our guys showed some real toughness," said Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy. "We did a pretty good job defensively throughout the night. It's nice for us because we've been harping on the fact that we need to develop a defensive mentality."

Caron Butler posted 23 points and nine rebounds for Washington, which has lost three straight to start its season for the first time since 1992. Antawn Jamison scored 20 points, and Brendan Haywood added 10 points and 16 boards in defeat.

"The sense of urgency needs to go up," said Butler. "As a captain, I've got to continue to stay positive on the court and off the court. At the same time, the sense of urgency needs to go up."

Both clubs stayed neck-and-neck through the first half of the fourth quarter and Butler's pair of free throws cut Washington's deficit to 76-75. However, Orlando answered with a 10-2 run, the last nine points of which came from Turkoglu, whose three-pointer with 2:45 left gave it a comfortable 86-77 lead.

After Orlando jumped out to a 15-6 lead, the Wizards made a late 10-2 run down the first-quarter stretch and Roger Mason's three-pointer with seven ticks left cut their deficit to just 19-18 heading into the second.

With the score knotted at 38, the Magic made a push down the second-quarter stretch by taking off on a 12-4 burst, with Lewis' trey giving them a 50-42 halftime lead.

Howard's jump hook just past the five-minute mark of the third put Orlando ahead 62-59, but Washington answered with an 8-2 run down the stretch finished by a Darius Songaila jumper that gave it a 67-64 edge heading into the final stanza.

Game Notes

The Wizards go back on the road when they visit the New Jersey Nets on November 8th at the Izod Center. Orlando played its first road contest of the season, as it began a four-game road trip...Last season, the Magic and Wizards split four meetings. Orlando has dropped three of its last five at Washington.

11/04 02:00:25 ET