Ginobili missed the first 12 games, but San Antonio stayed afloat thanks to rookie guard George Hill emerging as one of the finds of the draft and by also discovering a hidden scorer in guard Roger Mason.

The Spurs even came into Thursday night's matchup with Orlando on somewhat of a role, having just had a six-game winning streak snapped in a loss to New Orleans Wednesday.

But it was a different streak -- the one that had befuddled them in their four most recent defeats -- that again bit them in a 90-78 loss to the Magic.

San Antonio came in winners of 10 of 14 games, but in its four losses had shot an average of 38 percent. Playing in their sixth back-to-back of the season, the Spurs again were done in by their shooting as they connected on just 37 percent of their field goals for the game.

The majority of the damage was done in the first half as their Big Three of Ginobili, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker combined to shoot 5-of-24 in the opening 20 minutes.

The Spurs trailed 44-29 at the break, their 29 points the fewest they've scored in a half this season.

Duncan guarded Magic center Dwight Howard in his first game back after missing two straight outings with a sore knee. Duncan was stingy early as Howard missed his first three shots of the night.

But the Magic's big man picked it up in the second half, finishing with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

Duncan led the Spurs with 19 points and nine rebounds.

The Spurs cut into Orlando's advantage in the second half. They trimmed the lead to 65-52 at the end of the third quarter and got as close as eight several times in the fourth.

But even with Howard forced to the bench after picking up his fifth foul at the 8:21 mark, the Spurs still couldn't find enough baskets down the stretch.