Hardaway, Magic Have the Final Word

Penny Hardaway of the Orlando Magic made the Clippers disappear.

Hardaway scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half and the Magic handed the Clippers their third consecutive loss, 94-93, Thursday night before an announced 14,916 at the Pond of Anaheim.

Hardaway, who made seven of 11 shots in the second half as the Magic overcame an 11-point third-quarter deficit, said the Clippers angered the Magic by talking trash in the first half.

“They got a little cocky . . . and really got us mad at halftime,” Hardaway said after the Magic outscored the Clippers, 47-38, in the second half. “I think they pushed some buttons at the end of the first half and it made us mad.’

“I think right now they’re playing so good and they’re getting a little cocky. They were throwing cheap shots in the first half and talking trash and being arrogant. . . . It gave us something to build off at halftime.”

The Clippers missed two potential game-winning shots in the final 15.9 seconds.

Guard Darrick Martin, who had 16 points, missed a layup and forward Rodney Rogers missed a follow shot.

“The final play was for me to go one on one with [Brian] Shaw,” Martin said. “I had the opportunity to beat him and did beat him, but it just didn’t work out. He got a little piece of the ball and a little piece of me.”

Shaw maintained he didn’t foul Martin.

“I blocked it,” Shaw said. “He made a move and got a step in front of me, and I was able to make up the difference with my size and I blocked it.”

Eric Piatkowski ran in and tipped the ball to Rogers, who missed a jump shot.

“I think I may have rushed it,” said Rogers, who missed nine of 12 shots.

Loy Vaught, who had 28 points and 12 rebounds, missed a follow shot just after the final buzzer.

The Magic has won eight of its first nine games since Richie Adubato replaced Brian Hill on Feb. 18 after a player mutiny.

“So far, we’ve been lucky,” Adubato said. “I think Penny Hardaway has really stepped up his game. He’s using his talents inside and outside, shooting the threes.”

The Magic has allowed only 87.6 points under Adubato after allowing 107.6 in Hill’s last five games.

“We have to deal with the theory of pride and trust,” Adubato said. “You have to take pride in your individual defense. You have to try to prevent them from scoring, but we know in this league you have great offensive players. When you do get beat, hopefully, your teammates are ready to help you. That’s where the trust comes in.

“They’ve been playing with a lot of enthusiasm, and our defense has been tremendous at certain times.”

Adubato, who has spent 18 years in the NBA, served as interim coach of the Detroit Pistons for 70 games in 1979-80 after Dick Vitale was fired, and interim coach of the Dallas Mavericks for 71 games in 1989-90 after John MacLeod was fired.

Adubato hopes he lasts longer than that with the Magic.

“This is the first time I’ve had an opportunity to coach a good basketball team,” Adubato said. “They’ve taken the interim situation away from me, so I have until the end of the year. I have one thing to do and that’s win. We want to stay out of the eighth spot because we want to avoid the Bulls if we can.”