Dominique Wilkins scored 33 points and Kevin Willis added 13 in the deciding fourth-quarter run as the Atlanta Hawks beat the Orlando Magic 113-101 Sunday night.
The victory gave Atlanta a split of the two-game weekend exhibition series at Wembley Arena, the first games between NBA teams in Europe.The game's star attraction for the British fans, Orlando's 7-foot-1 center Shaquille O'Neal, was the expected crowd-pleaser with his inside power. He scored 31 points despite constant foul trouble that saw him disqualified in the game's final minute.
Orlando recovered from a 30-point second-quarter deficit to close to within one midway through the final period. But Willis scored the next two Atlanta baskets to stretch the lead to four, and later followed a three-point play with a fast-break slam that put the game out of reach.
With the score tied 12-12 at 7:03 of the first quarter, O'Neal committed his second foul, then watched from the bench as Atlanta completed a 25-10 run led by seven points from Wilkins and six from Willis.
It made little difference when the Orlando big man returned at the start of the second period, as Atlanta's defense swarmed over an error-plagued Orlando 24-9 to build a 61-31 lead.
Orlando turned the ball over 15 times in the first half, and Mookie Blaylock had seven of his game-high 11 steals by halftime.
Nets 106, Timberwolves 101
In Durham, N.C., Derrick Coleman and Kevin Edwards each scored 16 points as New Jersey defeated Minnesota.
The Nets ended their exhibition schedule with a 4-3 record. The Timberwolves lost their third straight game and finished the preseason at 4-4. Christian Laettner celebrated his return to Duke University and led Minnesota with 25 points.