ORLANDO, Fla. _ Depleted by injuries, the Orlando Magic knew they needed big games from Elfrid Payton, Jonathon Simmons and Nikola Vucevic to have a chance against the Los Angeles Clippers.
And the Magic also knew they had to slow the Clippers' sixth man, guard Lou Williams.
Neither scenario came true Wednesday night.
Payton, Simmons and Vucevic didn't make enough of an impact, and Williams did.
The result was predictable. In a game notable for both teams' ineptitude on offense, the Magic lost to the Clippers 106-95 at Amway Center.
Orlando made only nine of its 27 attempts from 3-point range.
Williams finished with a game-high 31 points and eight assists while Clippers center DeAndre Jordan added 16 points, collected 20 rebounds and slowed Vucevic.
Vucevic scored 14 points on 7 of 16 shooting, but he performed more efficiently than Payton and Simmons did.
Payton went 5 of 13 from the field and scored 13 points. Although Simmons tallied 20 points, six rebounds and eight assists, he went just 6 of 17 from the field.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Jordan dunked a lob from Williams to extend the Clippers' lead to 93-79, a play that seemed to deflate Orlando players.
The injury-ravaged Magic (11-18) had only a skeleton crew available against the injury-ravaged Clippers (11-15).
Arron Afflalo, Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon, Jonathan Isaac and Terrence Ross didn't play for Orlando.
Patrick Beverley, Danilo Gallinari and Blake Griffin sat out for Los Angeles.
"We can't do anything but try to respond," Vucevic said after the Magic completed their shootaround Wednesday morning.
"Obviously, it's another position we're in, but we're not going to accomplish anything by complaining or feeling sorry about ourselves. The only way you achieve something is by responding. And you never know, things can turn around in this league really quick. Just like they turned around for us badly, maybe we turn around good soon."
Given the high-profile absences, it was no surprise that both teams struggled to put up points early in the game. The Magic made only 34 percent of their shot attempts in the first half, and the Clippers were only slightly better, making 36 percent of their first-half attempts.
Because of their injuries, the Magic recalled center Khem Birch from Lakeland in the G League and also had two-way players Jamel Artis and Adreian Payne in uniform, just in case they were needed. Birch, Artis and Payne entered the game with 58.9 seconds to go in the fourth quarter and the Magic trailing 103-93.
The Magic have lost eight consecutive games to the Clippers.
The Magic haven't beaten the Clippers since Nov. 6, 2013, when the Magic employed a starting lineup of Jameer Nelson, Afflalo, Maurice Harkless, Jason Maxiell and Vucevic.
On Wednesday, Vogel employed a starting lineup of Payton, Wes Iwundu, Simmons, Mario Hezonja and Vucevic.
Hezonja played his best game of the season, finishing with 17 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks _ season highs in each category.
With Hezonja rolling early on, the Magic opened the game well, storming out to a 33-21 lead midway through the second quarter.
But the Clippers countered by scoring 14 consecutive points to take the lead, 35-31.
Austin Rivers sat out the entire second half after he absorbed an elbow to the face from Simmons as Simmons drove to the hoop late in the second quarter.
The Magic took a 55-54 lead on a jumper by Vucevic with 6:36 remaining in the third quarter.
But the Clippers pulled away. With Williams leading the way, Los Angeles went on a 20-11 run and closed the third quarter ahead 74-68.
The Magic never seriously threatened after that.
