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Dwight Howard, Magic Pound Pistons, 116-91
Orlando, FL (Sports Network) - Dwight Howard dominated inside with 33 points, 17 rebounds and seven blocked shots, as Orlando picked up a 116-91 victory over the Detroit Pistons.
Vince Carter tallied 20 points and Jameer Nelson added 14 points and nine assists for the Magic, who won for the fourth time in five games. Rashard Lewis tacked on 13 points and Ryan Anderson finished with 11 in the victory.
In their first game out of the All-Star break, the Magic used a strong second half to pull away from the Pistons to win for the eighth time in 10 contests. Orlando held a 60-36 scoring advantage over the final 24 minutes.
Richard Hamilton had a season-high 36 points for the Pistons, who couldn’t build on a 23-point victory at home against Minnesota on Tuesday.
Ben Gordon’s jumper started the final quarter, bringing Detroit within 83-79, but the Magic went on an ensuing 10-2 burst to take control. Howard notched the final six points of the burst, including an alley-oop jam off a feed from Jason Williams.
Orlando pulled away at the end of the game, going on a 20-4 spurt to the final horn.
The Magic claimed a 30-25 lead after the first quarter, but Detroit whittled a 12-point deficit in the second and managed to go ahead 52-51 on a pair of Hamilton free throws with 1:32 left. That capped a 13-1 spurt, but the Pistons trailed, 56-55 at the half.
A three-ball by Carter widened Orlando’s lead to 74-62 midway through the third.
Orlando has won three straight meetings...The Magic moved to 21-5 at home, while Detroit fell to 6-19 on the road...Gordon was ejected with 6:33 remaining due to arguing with an official. He received a pair of elbows to the face from Orlando’s J.J. Redick in a short span prior to the ejection...Tayshaun Prince and Jonas Jerebko each had 13 points for Detroit.
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