ORLANDO, Fla. _ Fifteen and counting.
Fifteen consecutive quarters in which the Orlando Magic haven't held a lead.
Their misery continued Friday night against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Struggling again with their 3-point shooting and unable to stop DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis or Jrue Holiday, the Magic lost, 111-97, at Amway Center.
Orlando has lost seven straight games and 18 of its last 21 games _ through a combination of a vicious schedule from Nov. 11 through Dec. 4; injuries to Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon, Jonathan Isaac and Terrence Ross; overall talent and depth mismatches in most games; and, at times, a lack of fight.
The frustration showed Friday night against New Orleans (16-16).
Coach Frank Vogel, Bismack Biyombo and Elfrid Payton received technical fouls in the first half for arguing with referees, and Marreese Speights was whistled for a technical for making contact with Davis following a shot by Speights.
The Magic went just 4 of 20 from 3-point range, trailed by as many as 27 points and allowed the Pelicans to make 50 percent of their shots.
Vogel employed his 13th starting lineup of the season to try to spark his team, put more shooting on the floor and defend against the Pelicans' twin towers of Cousins and Davis. Vogel inserted point guard D.J. Augustin and Speights into the starting five alongside Payton, Jonathon Simmons and Nikola Vucevic.
On Oct. 30, Speights came off the bench to sink six of his 10 shots from beyond the arc to propel the Magic to a 115-99 victory over the Pelicans on the second night of a back-to-back in New Orleans.
In 18 minutes Friday, Speights scored seven points on 2 of 8 shooting overall.
Davis got free often for dunks off lobs and finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Cousins added a game-high 26 points, 11 boards and six assists. Holiday added 24 points.
The Magic last held a lead on Dec. 15 when they led the Portland Trail Blazers 13-12 with 4:35 remaining in the first quarter of a 95-88 loss.
Orlando (11-22) showed some signs of life Friday, though.
Trailing 60-50 at halftime, Orlando cut its deficit to 63-56 early in the third quarter on a transition layup by Simmons.
But the momentum shifted, courtesy of Cousins. He held the ball at the top of the arc, dribbled and crossed up Vucevic, causing Vucevic to fall to the parquet court. The announced sellout crowd inside Amway Center gasped.
Cousins swung the ball left to Holiday, and Holiday elevated and sank a 3-pointer. His trey ignited an 11-5 Pelicans run.
Payton tallied 18 points, but he scored only two of those in the second half.
Vucevic fared even worse. Although he finished with 21 points, he made only seven of his 20 shots.
Simmons paired a team-high 22 points with eight assists.
Isaac and Fournier are recovering from right ankle injuries, and Gordon has a strained right calf and a bone bruise. Vogel said it appears doubtful any member of the trio will play when the Magic face the Washington Wizards on Saturday evening on the second night of a back-to-back.
The Magic's lack of depth was evident all game Friday.
At the start of the fourth quarter, trailing 88-72, Vogel put the Magic's two-way contract players _ Adreian Payne and rookie Jamel Artis _ on the court with Augustin, Simmons and Vucevic.
It didn't work, and the season continued to deteriorate.
When the final buzzer sounded, with Amway Center's lower seating bowl half-empty, the Magic had prolonged a humiliating streak.
They have gone 184 minutes and 34 seconds without a lead.
