Mavericks Hand Miserable Magic 19th Straight Loss

December 8, 2003 - 0:0
DALLAS (Reuters) -- Antoine Walker piled up 24 points and 16 rebounds and Michael Finley added 22 points to help the Dallas Mavericks beat Orlando 110-97 Saturday, handing the Magic their 19th consecutive loss.

Orlando (1-19) beat the New York Knicks in overtime in its season opener but has not won since. The NBA record for successive losses is 24, set by the Cleveland Cavaliers at the end of the 1981-82 campaign and the start of the next season.

The record for most straight losses in one season is held by the 1995-96 Vancouver Grizzlies and the 1997-98 Denver Nuggets with 23.

The Mavericks were again without Dirk Nowitzki, who missed his fifth game in a row due to injury. Dallas was also playing for the fifth time in eight days but still had more than enough offense to subdue the Magic.

Antawn Jamison picked up 18 points for the Mavericks and rookie Josh Howard added 13.

Tracy McGrady led Orlando with 27 points while Juwan Howard added a season-high 24 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Tyronn Lee had 16 points.