The NBA champion San Antonio Spurs are getting things together at the right time as they prepare to defend their title.

The Spurs won their fourth straight game on Tuesday, scoring a 107-97 road victory over the short-handed Orlando Magic.

"We are just slow and steady," San Antonio's Tim Duncan said after contributing 19 points and 15 rebounds.

"We are trying to get to the point we are playing 48 minutes. We are headed in the right direction.

"It's coming down to crunch time here and we are healthy and have been for a little while. That is a big part of it."

The win moved the Spurs to within one game of the best record in the Western Conference race, where five teams are separated by one and a half games as the regular season heads down the stretch.

The Spurs were helped when Orlando lost starters Hedo Turkoglu and Jameer Nelson to injuries in the first half. The Magic still led by eight points in the third quarter but went into a six-minute scoring drought, Keith Bogans missing all three free throws when fouled shooting a three-pointer.

The Spurs used a late 13-4 run to put the game away.

"Hedo is a big part of what they do," said San Antonio's Manu Ginobili, who scored 28 points to lead all scorers. "He is not only spotting up for threes, but now he is a creator. He dishes out a lot of assists. The fact of him not playing and Jameer, of course, helped us."

Turkoglu suffered a sprained right wrist and Nelson a bruised jaw.

Michael Finley added 24 points for the Spurs. Dwight Howard led Orlando with 24 points and 21 rebounds and Rashard Lewis also had 24 points.

The Spurs did a excellent job against the Magic's outside shooting, holding Orlando to 7-for-16 on three-point shots. The Magic had made at least 10 three-pointers in each of the last 10 games

"That is a very good team and it was a very difficult night tonight," Orlando coach Stan van Gundy said. "From my standpoint, disappointing because I thought our guys really came to play tonight."

Reuters