Los Angeles - The Orlando Magic hit the long ball on Sunday night to beat the San Antonio Spurs at their own game.

Jameer Nelson scored 12 of his 22 points in the final quarter, and the visiting Magic hit 14-of-22 three-pointers to shoot down the Spurs 105-98 in a battle of division leaders.

"It was a really well played game with neither one of us able to stop the other for any length of time," said Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy, after his South-east Division leading Magic (30-8) moved to a league best 14-5 on the road.

"The difference in the game simply came down to three-point baskets. We simply shot the heck out of the threes."

The Spurs were hitting threes at a league-best 41-per-cent clip this season, but managed to connect on just three-of-13.

"They did a great job from the three-point line and really knocked them down," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Some nights we don't shoot as well or get as many shots. That's just the way it is, and that was the difference."

Dwight Howard had 24 points with 14 rebounds, while Turkey's Hedo Turkoglu scored 21 as Orlando won for the 13th time in the last 15 outings.

Rashard Lewis added 15, and JJ Reddick chipped in with 12 on four three-pointers.

"It feels good," Howard said. "We've been playing great basketball, but to come here and beat a great San Antonio team says a lot about our growth and maturity."

Frenchman Tony Parker scored 31 points as South-west Division- leading San Antonio (24-12) fell for just the seventh time in the last 29 games.

Tim Duncan had 18 points with 10 rebounds while Argentine Manu Ginobili scored 18 as well.

Neither team was able to get separation in a contest that was knotted 18 times and had 29 lead changes until Reddick buried the tie-breaking three-pointer to put the Magic ahead 97-94 with 2:33 left.

Two free throws by Ginobili made it a one-point game, but Nelson nailed a triple at the other end to open up a 100-96 advantage with 1:56 remaining.

After Nelson and Matt Bonner traded baskets, the Spurs had chances to draw closer, but Parker missed his signature teardrop layup on consecutive trips that would have tied the game.

Nelson split a pair of free throws, making it 103-98 with 26 ticks to go.

"The teardrop is my shot, and it didn't go in," Parker said.

Following a timeout, Michael Finley and Ginobili missed three- pointers before Nelson made both free throws to seal the victory.

"We knew the team that made the stops toward the end was going to win," Howard said. "We came up with some good stops and got a good win."

Elsewhere

LA Lakers 108, Miami Heat 105

Andrew Bynum scored a season-high 24 points, including the go- ahead put-back with 18.5 seconds left, and the Lakers beat the Heat when Daequan Cook missed a game-tying three-pointer at the final buzzer.

Kobe Bryant added 19 points, while Spain's Pau Gasol had 14 with a career-high-tying 18 rebounds for the host Lakers (30-6) who moved one-half ahead of idle Cleveland for the league's best record

League top scorer Dwyane Wade topped Miami (19-17) with 27 points with nine assists, while Michael Beasley scored 23.

Boston Celtics 94, Toronto Raptors 88

Ray Allen hit eight of 10 three-pointers en route to a season-high 36 points, and the stumbling NBA Champion Celtics stopped a four-game slide with just their third win in the last 10 games.

Italy's Andreas Bargnani tossed in 17 points for Toronto (16-22) which dropped to 0-3 against the Celtics this season.

Spanish point guard Jose Calderon, sidelined the last four games with a right hamstring strain, scored six points, including all four free throws, to extend his league-best streak to 76 without a miss before re-aggravating the injury.

Golden State Warriors 120, Indiana Pacers 117

Jamal Crawford scored 32 points, including the go-ahead three- pointer with 11.3 seconds left, and the host Warriors overcame Danny Granger's career-high-tying 42 to end a five-game skid.

Philadelphia 76ers 109, Atlanta Hawks 94

Andre Iguodala scored 27 points, Thaddeus Young added 22 and the visiting Sixers extended their winning streak to a season-high four.

Joe Johnson had 25 points for the short-handed Hawks (22-14) who, without starting centre Al Horford (knee injury), lost their third in a row.

Phoenix Suns 109, LA Clippers 103

Amare Stoudemire scored 26 points, Jason Richardson and Grant Hill had 21 apiece, and the visiting Suns sent the sinking Clippers to their 11th straight loss with their fifth win in the last six games.

Al Thornton netted 23 points while Marcus Camby had 18 along with 18 boards for the lowly Clippers (8-29) who haven't won since December 17.

Sacramento Kings 102, Dallas Mavericks 95

Kevin Martin scored 21 points, Francisco Garcia had 17 and Kings stopped a five-game slide with their first win since December 30.

Jason Terry topped visiting Dallas (22-15) with a season-high 33 points. (dpa)