The Orlando Magic's slide keeps getting worse.

Gerald Wallace scored 22 points and rookie Emeka Okafor registered his 36th double-double of the season with 23 points and 10 rebounds, leading the visiting Charlotte Bobcats to a 108-94 win against Orlando as the Magic lost for the ninth time in 10 games.

The expansion Bobcats beat the Magic for the second time in four days and won on the road for just the third time.

Magic rookies Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson also registered double-doubles, but Orlando faltered in the middle of the fourth quarter.

Howard had 15 points and 14 rebounds, while Nelson had 18 points and a season-high 13 assists. Grant Hill led the Magic with 28 points.

Brevin Knight had 15 points, 15 assists and 8 steals, and Primoz Brezec added 20 points for Charlotte, which snapped an 11-game road losing streak.

The Bobcats led, 83-82, with more than eight minutes left before going on a 12-2 run that decided the game.

Jason Hart started the run with a 3-pointer and Okafor finished it with a free throw to give the Bobcats a 95-84 lead with 3:37 remaining.

Orlando, which began the night one game behind Philadelphia for eighth place in the Eastern Conference, dropped another half-game behind the 76ers.

Charlotte jumped out to an early 21-9 lead, but the Magic cut their deficit to 53-51 by halftime. Nelson, who hasn't had a double-double all season, had 11 points and 10 assists in the first half.

The Magic finally caught Charlotte when Howard converted a driving layup to give Orlando a 60-59 lead with 8:43 left in the third quarter, but the advantage was short-lived. Knight hit a jump shot at the other end to put Charlotte back in front, and the Bobcats didn't trail again.

Other games

Rockets 99, Cavaliers 80: Tracy McGrady scored 31 points and Bob Sura had 12 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists on his 32nd birthday, leading host Houston against Cleveland. Mike James had 15 points off the bench and Yao Ming added 13 points and eight rebounds for the Rockets. Houston shot 48 percent, outrebounded Cleveland by 11 and never trailed after the early minutes of the second quarter.

The Cavaliers turned in another woeful performance on the road after winning in Brendan Malone's coaching debut against Detroit on Tuesday. Cleveland has lost 10 in a row away from home.

Grizzlies 105, Nets 96: Lorenzen Wright and Jason Williams each scored 20 points and visiting Memphis shot 70 percent in the first half to end New Jersey's five-game winning streak. James Posey added 12, Bonzi Wells had 11 and Earl Watson and Pau Gasol each had 10 as Memphis won for the ninth time in 12 games. Vince Carter led the Nets with 22, Nenad Krstic had 21 and Rodney Buford 15. Jason Kidd had 12 points and 12 assists.

Nuggets 117, Lakers 96: DerMarr Johnson had 20 points and helped slow Kobe Bryant in the second half, leading host Denver in a rout of Los Angeles to give the Lakers their longest losing streak in 11 years. The Lakers have lost seven in a row and dropped 5 1/2 games behind Denver for the Western Conference's final playoff spot with 14 games left.

Wizards 85, Jazz 84: Larry Hughes hit a shot from the top of the key to put visiting Washington ahead with 46.4 seconds remaining in the game and Utah's Keith McLeod missed a layup at the buzzer to give the Wizards the victory, their first win here since 1997. Hughes finished with 25 including the game-winner.

Kings 109, Mavericks 101: Peja Stojakovic hit six 3-pointers on the way to a season-high 38 points, and the energized Kings avoided a regular-season sweep by visiting Dallas. For the first time in several weeks, Stojakovic played a full game with the same confidence and flair that made him the NBA's second-leading scorer last season. The inconsistent Serbian forward had just his third 30-point game of the season while grabbing nine rebounds and making all 14 of his free throws.

SuperSonics 96, Trail Blazers 91: Ray Allen returned from an ankle injury and scored 19 points, and Damien Wilkins filled in admirably after Rashard Lewis left with an injury for visiting Seattle's fourth straight victory.

News

Utah forward Andrei Kirilenko's left wrist was broken last night in a collision with Washington's Kwame Brown, ending his season. Kirilenko is Utah's leading active scorer at 16 points per game.

Los Angeles Lakers forward Brian Cook was placed on the injured list because of a sprained right hand. X-rays were negative and he is expected to miss two weeks.