NEW YORK (Reuters):

THE ORLANDO Magic registered a 95-88 road win over the New Orleans Hornets on Monday night, notching a fifth straight victory a day after handing the Boston Celtics their first loss of the season.

Dwight Howard had 24 points and 15 rebounds for the Magic, Rashard Lewis added 19 and Jameer Nelson scored 16 as Orlando improved to 7-0 on the road in ending New Orleans' five-game winning streak.

Peja Stojakovic led the Hornets with 21 points.

The fast-starting Magic (10-2) bolted to a 33-17 first-quarter lead behind Howard's 10 points and increased the margin to 21 points in the second.

However, New Orleans (9-3) closed the gap to 53-43 at the half, and took the lead at 57-56 on Stojakovic's jumper with 8:25 remaining in the third quarter and the game stayed relatively close until the final buzzer.

New Orleans moved 78-73 ahead on six straight points in the third period, only to see Orlando build a five-point advantage following a Lewis three-pointer with 1:25 remaining.

The margin stretched to nine at 95-86 on a pair of free throws by Orlando's Keyon Dooling with 17 seconds left.

New Orleans, who were playing without Chris Paul, suffered another injury when centre Tyson Chandler hyper-extended his right knee in the second quarter.