The Orlando Magic held off the Los Angeles Lakers for a 96-94 win on Sunday night, with Kobe Bryant missing the chance to tie the game in the dying seconds.
In a rematch of the last year's NBA finals, Vince Carter had 25 points for the Magic, who withstood a game-high 34-point effort from Bryant.
Bryant tallied 18 in the fourth quarter, where the Lakers came back from 10 points down before losing their third game in a row.
It is the first time the Lakers (46-18) have lost three games in succession since January 2008.
Orlando (44-20) recorded their fifth consecutive win, with all five starters scoring in double figures.
"I'm glad that Kobe missed. We didn't make free throws but we got the win and that's all that matters," said Orlando's Dwight Howard, who scored 15 points and grabbed 16 rebounds.
"They beat us last year and we wanted to show them they're not going to beat us anymore."
The Magic led for nearly the entire game, taking a 74-64 advantage into the fourth before the defending NBA champions scored eight points to start the final quarter.
With Los Angeles trailing by three points, Bryant made what he thought was his second successive three-pointer to tie the game with 12 seconds left, but his foot was on the line and the visitors were left still trailing by one.
Carter split a pair of free throws to put the Magic up by two and give the Lakers one last chance, but Bryant missed his shot.
"You could see it in everybody's faces and everybody's demeanour," Carter said.
"Everybody on that floor wanted to win that game.
"It wasn't just, 'Yeah, OK, whatever.' It was, 'Let's go get it.' That game was [like a] Game Seven."
"Everybody is gunning for us," said the Lakers forward Lamar Odom. "It's tough to put yourself in a position to repeat. We have to understand that."
Elsewhere in the NBA, the Detroit Pistons ended a six-game losing streak with a 110-107 overtime victory over the Houston Rockets.
Will Bynum, who had 12 points and 11 assists, dedicated the win to his teammate Rodney Stuckey, who collapsed during Friday's game against Cleveland.
"The most important thing tonight is that Rodney is back home and it looks like he's healthy," Bynum said.
"Once we learned that, we could start worrying about trying to get a win tonight. I haven't had many chances lately, and we haven't won many games.
"Tonight, both happened, and it feels good."
Several of Bynum's assists went to Tayshaun Prince, who continued his resurgence with a season-high 29 points.
Prince, who has struggled after the first serious injury of his career, has averaged 26 points in Detroit's past two games. "Tay was hot, so I just kept feeding him the ball," Bynum said. "It is good to see him playing like that."
* With agencies
UJDA CHAMAN
Produced: Panorama Studios International
Directed: Abhishek Pathak
Cast: Sunny Singh, Maanvi Gagroo, Grusha Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla
Rating: 3.5 /5 stars
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Champion%20v%20Champion%20(PFL%20v%20Bellator)
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PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
RESULTS
5pm: Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,400m
Winner: AF Tathoor, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 1,000m
Winner: Dahawi, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 2,000m
Winner: Aiz Alawda, Fernando Jara, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 2,000m
Winner: ES Nahawand, Fernando Jara, Mohammed Daggash
7pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
Winner: Winked, Connor Beasley, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7.30pm: Al Ain Mile Group 3 (PA) Dh350,000 1,600m
Winner: Somoud, Connor Beasley, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
8pm: Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
Winner: Al Jazi, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel