ORLANDO, Fla. – The Orlando Magic struggled during much of their game against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night, playing sloppily on offence and failing to contain Andrea Bargnani at the rim.

But a four-minute stretch in the fourth quarter made everything all better.

The Magic went on a late 16-0 run, led by the shooting of Ryan Anderson — who finished with 24 points — to erase a double-digit deficit and defeat the Raptors 102-96.

Orlando shot 4 for 5 from three-point range during the burst, with Anderson making two of them, as the Magic took a 94-89 lead with 3:05 left after trailing by as many as 16 points.

“We sort of could’ve just given up, but we kept pushing through it,” Anderson said. “This was huge for us.”

Dwight Howard had 19 points and 15 rebounds for the Magic, who have won four straight since a season-opening loss to Oklahoma City. J.J. Redick added 21 points and Hedo Turkoglu had 15 points and seven assists.

“I thought we played a great fourth quarter,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. “Our intensity level went way up.”

Bargnani paced the Raptors with 28 points, and Jose Calderon had 18 points and 13 assists.

It was the second consecutive late collapse by the Raptors, who also gave up a second-half lead to Dallas on Friday.

“I don’t really have an explanation as to why this game got away,” Calderon said. “It’s tough. It’s kind of like the same thing that happened with Dallas. They’re two veteran teams. They know how to play in those moments. We’ve got to learn from that.”

Bargnani, who scored only three of his 28 points in the fourth period, was disappointed with his team’s showing.

“We really made the game for three quarters; we played good offence and great defence,” he said. “But we didn’t play that way in the fourth quarter. We played really bad.”

The Magic shot 44.4 per cent from three-point range and were 5 for 7 from long range in the fourth quarter.

After the Raptors built another double-digit lead in the second half and looked to be on their way to a road upset, the Magic shots began falling while the Raptors’ offence stalled.

Turkoglu made a layup to cut the Raptors’ lead to 89-80, then Anderson and Redick made three-pointers. Howard converted a layup off a pass from Jameer Nelson, followed by three-pointers from Anderson and Turkoglu to force Toronto into a timeout down 94-89.

The Raptors missed all five of their shots and committed three turnovers during the run. They didn’t score between the 7:48 and 2:47 marks of the fourth quarter.

“It was the defensive end of the floor,” Van Gundy said. “You’re not going to come close to trading baskets and get back in the game, so you obviously have to make plays at both ends. You have no margin for error. But your defence has got to be great, and ours was going down the stretch. To be down 11 going into the fourth and get that done, we played a great game in the fourth quarter.”

The Raptors took a double-digit lead late in the first quarter behind some strong shooting from Calderon and Bargnani. The Magic responded, going up 40-39 after a 12-2 run midway through the second quarter that included eight points from Anderson.

Bargnani led all scorers with 19 points after two quarters of play.

NOTES: Nelson returned for the Magic after missing one game with a neck spasm. He finished with nine points. … Toronto guard Jerryd Bayless didn’t play because of a sprained ankle he sustained Friday against Dallas. There’s no definite timetable for his return. … Calderon surpassed the 3,000-assist mark. … Howard, who had 24 rebounds in each of the Magic’s past two games, was attempting to become the first player with 24-plus rebounds in three consecutive games since Dennis Rodman in November 1993. … Anderson, who is 21-for-45 (46.6 per cent) from deep this season, leads the NBA in three-pointers made and attempted.

The Magic went on a late 16-0 run, led by the shooting of Ryan Anderson — who finished with 24 points — to erase a double-digit deficit and defeat the Raptors 102-96.

Orlando shot 4 for 5 from 3-point range during the burst, with Anderson making two of them, as the Magic took a 94-89 lead with 3:05 left after trailing by as many as 16 points.

“We sort of could’ve just given up, but we kept pushing through it,” Anderson said. “This was huge for us.”

Dwight Howard had 19 points and 15 rebounds for the Magic, who have won four straight since a season-opening loss to Oklahoma City. J.J. Redick added 21 points and Hedo Turkoglu had 15 points and seven assists.

“I thought we played a great fourth quarter,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. “Our intensity level went way up.”

Bargnani paced the Raptors with 28 points, and Jose Calderon had 18 points and 13 assists.

It was the second consecutive late collapse by the Raptors, who also gave up a second-half lead to Dallas on Friday.

“I don’t really have an explanation as to why this game got away,” Calderon said. “It’s tough. It’s kind of like the same thing that happened with Dallas. They’re two veteran teams. They know how to play in those moments. We’ve got to learn from that.”

Bargnani, who scored only three of his 28 points in the fourth period, was disappointed with his team’s showing.

“We really made the game for three quarters; we played good offense and great defense,” he said. “But we didn’t play that way in the fourth quarter. We played really bad.”

The Magic shot 44.4 percent from 3-point range and were 5 for 7 from long range in the fourth quarter.

After the Raptors built another double-digit lead in the second half and looked to be on their way to a road upset, the Magic shots began falling while the Raptors’ offense stalled.

Turkoglu made a layup to cut the Raptors’ lead to 89-80, then Anderson and Redick made 3-pointers. Howard converted a layup off a pass from Jameer Nelson, followed by 3-pointers from Anderson and Turkoglu to force Toronto into a timeout down 94-89.

The Raptors missed all five of their shots and committed three turnovers during the run. They didn’t score between the 7:48 and 2:47 marks of the fourth quarter.

“It was the defensive end of the floor,” Van Gundy said. “You’re not going to come close to trading baskets and get back in the game, so you obviously have to make plays at both ends. You have no margin for error. But your defense has got to be great, and ours was going down the stretch. To be down 11 going into the fourth and get that done, we played a great game in the fourth quarter.”

The Raptors took a double-digit lead late in the first quarter behind some strong shooting from Calderon and Bargnani. The Magic responded, going up 40-39 after a 12-2 run midway through the second quarter that included eight points from Anderson.

Bargnani led all scorers with 19 points after two quarters of play.

NOTES: Nelson returned for the Magic after missing one game with a neck spasm. He finished with nine points. … Toronto guard Jerryd Bayless didn’t play because of a sprained ankle he sustained Friday against Dallas. There’s no definite timetable for his return. … Calderon surpassed the 3,000-assist mark. … Howard, who had 24 rebounds in each of the Magic’s past two games, was attempting to become the first player with 24-plus rebounds in three consecutive games since Dennis Rodman in November 1993. … Anderson, who is 21-for-45 (46.6 percent) from deep this season, leads the NBA in 3-pointers made and attempted.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP)—The Orlando Magic struggled during much of their game
against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night, playing sloppily on offense and
failing to contain Andrea Bargnani at the rim.

But a 4-minute stretch in the fourth quarter made everything all better.

The Magic went on a late 16-0 run, led by the shooting of Ryan Anderson—
who finished with 24 points—to erase a double-digit deficit and defeat the
Raptors 102-96.

Orlando shot 4 for 5 from 3-point range during the burst, with Anderson
making two of them, as the Magic took a 94-89 lead with 3:05 left after trailing
by as many as 16 points.

“We sort of could’ve just given up, but we kept pushing through it,”
Anderson said. “This was huge for us.”

Dwight Howard had 19 points and 15 rebounds for the Magic, who have won four
straight since a season-opening loss to Oklahoma City. J.J. Redick added 21
points and Hedo Turkoglu had 15 points and seven assists.

“I thought we played a great fourth quarter,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy
said. “Our intensity level went way up.”

Bargnani paced the Raptors with 28 points, and Jose Calderon had 18 points
and 13 assists.

It was the second consecutive late collapse by the Raptors, who also gave up
a second-half lead to Dallas on Friday.

“I don’t really have an explanation as to why this game got away,”
Calderon said. “It’s tough. It’s kind of like the same thing that happened with
Dallas. They’re two veteran teams. They know how to play in those moments. We’ve
got to learn from that.”

Bargnani, who scored only three of his 28 points in the fourth period, was
disappointed with his team’s showing.

“We really made the game for three quarters; we played good offense and
great defense,” he said. “But we didn’t play that way in the fourth quarter.
We played really bad.”

The Magic shot 44.4 percent from 3-point range and were 5 for 7 from long
range in the fourth quarter.

After the Raptors built another double-digit lead in the second half and
looked to be on their way to a road upset, the Magic shots began falling while
the Raptors’ offense stalled.

Turkoglu made a layup to cut the Raptors’ lead to 89-80, then Anderson and
Redick made 3-pointers. Howard converted a layup off a pass from Jameer Nelson,
followed by 3-pointers from Anderson and Turkoglu to force Toronto into a
timeout down 94-89.

The Raptors missed all five of their shots and committed three turnovers
during the run. They didn’t score between the 7:48 and 2:47 marks of the fourth
quarter.

“It was the defensive end of the floor,” Van Gundy said. “You’re not
going to come close to trading baskets and get back in the game, so you
obviously have to make plays at both ends. You have no margin for error. But
your defense has got to be great, and ours was going down the stretch. To be
down 11 going into the fourth and get that done, we played a great game in the
fourth quarter.”

The Raptors took a double-digit lead late in the first quarter behind some
strong shooting from Calderon and Bargnani. The Magic responded, going up 40-39
after a 12-2 run midway through the second quarter that included eight points
from Anderson.

Bargnani led all scorers with 19 points after two quarters of play.

NOTES: Nelson returned for the Magic after missing one game with a neck
spasm. He finished with nine points. … Toronto guard Jerryd Bayless didn’t
play because of a sprained ankle he sustained Friday against Dallas. There’s no
definite timetable for his return. … Calderon surpassed the 3,000-assist mark.
… Howard, who had 24 rebounds in each of the Magic’s past two games, was
attempting to become the first player with 24-plus rebounds in three consecutive
games since Dennis Rodman in November 1993. … Anderson, who is 21-for-45 (46.6
percent) from deep this season, leads the NBA in 3-pointers made and attempted.

For almost three quarters Sunday, the Orlando Magic looked awful against the Toronto Raptors.

Orlando’s offense seemed out of sync. Toronto’s Andrea Bargnani scored at will. And the Raptors just played with more energy.

All that changed when it mattered most.

Trailing by as many as 13 points early in the fourth quarter, the Magic recovered from their basketball hangover and celebrated New Year’s Day with an emotional 102-96 win.

“We never panicked,” center Dwight Howard said.

“It kind of reminded me of the team that went to the Finals. When we were down, instead of us pointing the finger or getting mad at each other, we just kept coming into huddles saying, ‘Let’s stick to the gameplan. We know what we’ve got to do and just do it.’ “

A 3-pointer by Hedo Turkoglu with 3:35 left in regulation gave Orlando an 91-89 lead, and Ryan Anderson followed on the ensuing Magic possession with a trey from in front of the Raptors’ bench.

The two baskets completed a 20-2 Magic run, and they brought the announced sellout crowd of 18,846 to its feet.

“It’s really big for us,” said Anderson, who scored a team-high 24 points.

“This is definitely the first win of this year where we had to really fight our way back from where we could have just sort of given up.”

Bargnani scored a game-high 28 points, victimizing Anderson for most of the night. But Bargnani struggled in the final period, missing four of his five shot attempts from the field.

“Today, we played really well for three quarters,” Bargnani said. “We played great offense and great defense. In the fourth quarter, we played really bad. We gave up a little on the defensive end, and they made some real tough shots.”

J.J. Redick had 21 points off the Magic bench.

But perhaps Redick’s biggest basket came courtesy of Howard — not Howard’s brawn, but Howard’s brain.

With Orlando trailing 89-83 during a timeout midway through the final quarter, Howard said coach Stan Van Gundy initially called for a pick-and-roll between Howard and Turkoglu to try and create an open shot for Anderson.

But Howard figured Redick would have a better look, and Howard recalled saying that to Van Gundy. The coach, apparently, changed the play.

“Get ready to shoot, because it’s coming to you,” Howard remembered telling Redick.

Seconds later, Redick sank a 3 from the top of the arc, cutting the Toronto lead to 89-86 and prompting Howard to point to his coach on the sideline.

“It was just trusting each other,” Howard explained afterward. “Coach put some trust in my coaching skills.”

The thought — and the joke about his coaching skills — made Howard smile.

And the win gives the Magic (4-1) some momentum heading into their game tonight against the Detroit Pistons (1-3) in Auburn Hills, Mich.

The mood would have been downcast on the flight north if not for the drastic turn of events against the Raptors (1-3).

“I thought we played a great fourth quarter,” Van Gundy said.

“Our intensity level went way, way, way up. I didn’t think we put much into the game on the defensive end of the floor until then, either in terms of intensity or in terms of discipline to what we were supposed to be doing. I’ll take some of the blame for that.”

jbrobbins@tribune.com. Read his blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/magicblog. Subscribe to our Orlando Magic newsletter at OrlandoSentinel.com/joinus.