Steve Francis gave the proper answer, followed by the true one. He scored 27 points and had two big assists late in the Orlando Magic's 76-74 victory over the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night. It was the Magic's first win of the season _ and it came against the team that traded Francis to Orlando before last season.
"I really enjoyed the win," said Francis, who broke into a smile in the closing seconds, then enthusiastically slapped hands with friends at courtside _ right in front of Rockets owner Les Alexander. "It was a great victory, especially against the Rockets."
In other games Tuesday, it was: the Los Angeles Lakers 103, Atlanta 97; Memphis 94, Seattle 69; Golden State 110, Milwaukee 103; and Detroit 102, Sacramento 88.
Francis was traded in June 2004 in a blockbuster deal that brought Tracy McGrady to Houston. McGrady is out three weeks with a back injury, so the stage belonged solely to Francis.
Nelson had gone 2-for-8 from 3-point range in Orlando's last five games, including the last two of the preseason. He missed his first three shots Tuesday night before hitting a running 8-footer with 3:19 left. And then came the clutch 3-pointers.
After Houston's Rafer Alston missed a 3-pointer, Francis again drew in the Houston defense and passed to Nelson at the top of the key. This time, Nelson drove to the basket and hit an acrobatic layup over Yao Ming with 51 seconds remaining.
"Steve told me to keep shooting and he's the team leader," Nelson said. "When he tells you to keep shooting, you keep shooting. I know he's going to keep shooting, so if he tells me to, why not?"
Dwight Howard and DeShawn Stevenson each had 12 points and Nelson scored all 10 of his in the final quarter for the Magic, who won despite shooting 37.8 percent.
"There will be things we'll have to correct," Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "I thought we played a cleaner game as far as being efficient. We're just struggling."
Kobe Bryant scored 37 points, including two drives to spark a 14-2 second-half run, and Los Angeles spoiled Atlanta's home opener. Bryant topped the 30-point mark for the fourth straight game and had 37 for the second straight game _ just off his NBA-best average of 36.3.
Joe Johnson had a season-high 26 points for the Hawks, while Al Harrington, who returned after missing two games with an ankle injury, had 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Shane Battier and Pau Gasol each scored 20 points for the Grizzlies (3-1), who are off to their second-best start in franchise history and snapped a six-game losing streak to the Sonics, who had won five straight in Memphis.
Baron Davis had 20 points and 15 assists and Golden State went 13-of-27 from 3-point range to win a second straight road game. Troy Murphy scored 25 points _ including going 4-of-7 from beyond the arc _ and Jason Richardson added 23 for the Warriors (3-1).
Chauncey Billups had 16 points and eight assists, and Richard Hamilton added 21 points and six rebounds for the Pistons (4-0), who got their first win in Sacramento since Feb. 26, 1996.
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