WASHINGTON _ The Orlando Magic just couldn't keep the ball out of the paint Friday night.
With Washington Wizards point guard John Wall and shooting guard Bradley Beal getting into the lane at will, one of the Magic's biggest weaknesses _ poor perimeter defense _ came to the fore again.
The Magic lost to the Wizards, 125-119, at Capital One Arena as they gave up a season-high 74 points in the paint.
Beal scored 30 points and dished out seven assists while Wall added 30 points of his own and distributed nine assists.
It was just too easy for the Wizards, who made 57 percent of their shot attempts.
With the Magic trailing 112-111, Aaron Gordon drove to the hoop and appeared to get pushed in the back just before he released an errant shot with 5:11 left in the game. But no foul was called on the play, prompting Gordon to raise his hands quizzically and glare in a referee's direction.
A few seconds later, Kelly Oubre Jr. received a pass from Wall and sank a 3-pointer, extending the Wizards' lead to 115-111 with 4:59 to play.
The Magic fell behind 121-113 before they made a last-gasp effort. Elfrid Payton made one of two free throws and scored on a driving layup to cut the deficit to 121-116 with 1:31 left on the clock.
After a score by Gordon was nullified after a replay review, Wall struck again, scoring on a layup. Washington led 123-116.
Game over.
Payton finished with a team-high 27 points, five rebounds and a team-high eight assists.
The Magic now have lost seven consecutive games and 27 of their last 31 games.
The Magic did a better job Friday of driving toward the hoop and dumping the ball off to Bismack Biyombo, and Biyombo did a solid job of collecting the ball and going up strong to the hoop.
Gordon set the tone on the Magic's first possession of the game, feeding Biyombo the ball as Biyombo cut toward the hoop.
In the Magic's previous game Wednesday night in Milwaukee, Gordon made only four of his 18 shot attempts and failed to involve his teammates in the offense.
On Friday, however, Gordon made a concerted effort to find teammates. In 38 minutes, he went 4 of 15 from the field and tied a career high by recording seven assists.
Biyombo scored his 16th, 17th and 18th points when he converted a three-point play with 4:15 remaining in the second quarter. With the basket, he recorded a new career-high point total.
But Biyombo wasn't much of a factor the remainder of the game. He compiled 21 points, 13 rebounds and four assists.
Orlando made 63.2 percent of its shot attempts during the first half. There was just one problem: Orlando also turned the ball over 11 times.
The Magic have been awful defensively during the third quarter lately, and the only difference Friday was they were a bit less terrible. The Wizards scored 33 points on 14 of 23 shooting.
Orlando fell behind 94-87 when Oubre drained a 3-pointer with 2:55 left in the period.
But Orlando recovered. Gordon sank a free throw, and Marreese Speights swished 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to tie the score 94-94.
The Magic took a 103-102 lead when Mario Hezonja sank a 3-pointer with 9:09 remaining in the fourth quarter. But the lead lasted just 18 seconds. On the Wizards' ensuing possession, Tomas Satoransky scored on a driving hook shot.
A short while later, Beal made a pair of free throws.
Following a missed 3 by Hezonja, Beal struck again. He fed Ian Mahinmi for a dunk, putting Washington ahead 108-104.
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