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Howard powers Magic to 101-95 win over Cavs
Associated Press
February 21, 2010
Orlando, Fla. — Dwight Howard sat on a chair in front of his locker and plopped his son, Braylon, onto his lap. The 2-year-old was wearing a blue shirt with the Superman emblem stamped on the chest.
Statement? Hardly. The big man did that on the court.
Howard had 22 points and 16 rebounds in a bruising battle with Shaquille O'Neal, and the Orlando Magic beat Cleveland 101-95 on Sunday for the Cavaliers' first three-game losing streak in two years.
''He's a big load,'' Howard said of O'Neal, who had taken offense recently to Howard being called Superman. ''You just got to get in there and fight him. You got to get out there and wrestle with him. You got to make him work.''
They both did plenty of that.
Howard was 8-for-13 shooting and added four blocks, and Vince Carter had eight of his 11 points in the fourth quarter to help the Magic beat Cleveland for the first time this season.
O'Neal made his first eight shots and finished with 20 points, and LeBron James had 33 points and nine rebounds for the Cavaliers, who were eliminated by Orlando in last year's Eastern Conference finals.
''Dwight is one of the only true big men left. I'm sure he doesn't mind a little bit of physicality,'' said O'Neal, who avoided any verbal jabs at Howard after this one. ''I darn sure don't mind it. Two big, strong guys. Old ball, young ball going at it. Fun game to watch.''
Stayed tuned. Might be plenty more matchups this season.
Although the Cavaliers' losing skid - all since acquiring Antawn Jamison from Washington - comes on the heels of a 13-game winning streak, they still lead Orlando by five games. And with the Magic starting to play their best basketball, a conference finals rematch might be in store.
''We play the way we're playing, they play the way they're playing, we'll eventually meet,'' Howard said.
The hoopla surrounding the Howard-Shaq squabble over the Superman nickname finally lived up to the billing, and for a February game it sure felt like June.
Carter made a two-handed dunk over heavy traffic, and followed that with a layup over Jamison, pumping his fist to the crowd in celebration. Jameer Nelson came back with a 3-pointer to put the Magic ahead 96-88 with about 2 minutes left.
O'Neal tipped in a missed shot, and Anthony Parker made a 3-pointer to trim the deficit to three. But after James missed a 3-pointer on Cleveland's next possession, Rashard Lewis made a 3 - from the same spot where he sent the Game 6 clincher into overtime last year - with 20.1 seconds remaining to seal the Magic's win.
Jamison, acquired from Washington earlier this week, had 19 points - after starting his Cleveland career 0 for 12 - but still doesn't know what it feels like to win with his new team.
''I think Antawn is really going to benefit us, we are just going through a little transition period right now trying to figure out lineups and figuring out certain sets,'' James said.
Until the last few minutes, though, it was Superman vs. Superman.
O'Neal has been known as the comic book superhero for most of his 17-year NBA career, and he had taken exception with Howard getting the same nickname. It didn't help that Howard has erased much of O'Neal's shadow in Orlando - where he spent four years in the mid-90s - and has restored the Magic to prominence.
''I am not concerned with that,'' said O'Neal, who has called Howard an ''impostor'' among other things. ''When I am done playing, I will have four, five or six (titles). I am not concerned with useless titles.''
He'll also be remembered for putting on quite a show.
O'Neal grabbed a rebound and caught Howard under the basket, hammering a powerful one-handed dunk over the young center in the opening quarter. Shaq added a put-back dunk, an alley-oop tip and a three-point play over Howard all before the half.
At the other end of the floor, Howard used his youth and agility to wiggle around O'Neal almost at will, slicing through the paint for layups and hook shots and making the elder center sprint down the court. Howard also banked a jumpshot from the wing and his defensive presence helped Orlando go ahead 46-35 late in the second quarter.
''I don't think he smiled tonight so that should make everybody happy,'' said Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, referring to how some perceive Howard as a happy-go-luck center. ''He's playing as well as anybody in the league.''
And suddenly, so are the Magic.
''Sometimes people do forget that we're the defending Eastern Conference champions,'' Lewis said. ''That's OK. We just got to keep playing hard, because we know we might see them again.''
NOTES: Gina Marie Incandela sang the national anthem, the same 7-year-old girl the Magic had perform for most of their surprising NBA finals run last season. Orlando was 7-0 when she sang until losing consecutive home games to the Los Angeles Lakers in the finals. ... Howard and O'Neal bumped fists before the opening tip.
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West scores 27, lifts Hornets over Rockets 102-94
By Brett Martell
February 21, 2010
New Orleans, LA — David West answered the Houston Rockets’ late charge with power and poise.
West highlighted a 27-point outing by muscling inside for a crucial offensive rebound and launching himself back up through three defenders for a slam dunk with 1:51 left.
He followed that with two clutch free throws to help New Orleans pull away for a 102-94 victory on Sunday night.
Hornets coach Jeff Bower called West’s rebound of Emeka Okafor’s miss and follow-up dunk “a key play that put the game away.”
West said he thought Okafor had “a good look at the basket.”
“I just wanted to be there to give him some support,” West continued, adding that the Rockets are “really active with their hands, getting their hands on balls, so I just knew I had to go up really strong and just try to finish.”
Hornets rookie point guard Darren Collison added 26 points, the fifth straight game he’s had 24 or more. His driving floater with 34.6 seconds left put New Orleans up 96-89. He added four free throws and converted a steal into a fast-break layup in the final half-minute to close out a performance in which he also had nine assists.
“I’m just trying to attack as much as I can,” Collison said. “Whatever it takes to win games. If I have to use my speed to get inside the paint—my teammates are all over me talking about trying to use my speed.”
Morris Peterson scored 15 points for the Hornets, who led by as many as 17 but found themselves clinging to a two-point lead with 2:16 left before West turned the tide.
Rookie forward Chase Budinger scored 18 points and Aaron Brooks added 15 for the Rockets, who have dropped two straight since they were involved in a three-team, nine-player deal at the trade deadline last week.
Houston was plagued by poor shooting much of the game. Early in the fourth quarter, the Rockets were at 36.8 percent (28 of 76), including 5 of 21 from 3-point range.
Houston made 12 of its last 16 shots, including two of four 3s, but found its range too late.
“We just have to come together as a team and understand what the strengths are of each guy and get it turned around,” coach Rick Adelman said. “Offensively we were very impatient.”
Kevin Martin, one of the Rockets’ new players, had 13 points, while Louis Scola added 12 points and 11 rebounds.
“It’s like starting over,” Budinger said. “We have new faces on the team and we are just trying to get used to one another. … The next few days are going to be very important for us.”
Peja Stojakovic scored 14 points despite an off shooting night (5 of 16), and rookie Marcus Thornton added 12 points for the Hornets, who have won two straight.
The Hornets led 74-57 on Stojakovic’s jumper in the last minute of the third quarter.
Then Collison, who had five turnovers in the third period, turned the ball over twice in the final seconds of the quarter, leading to a putback and a 3, both by Budinger, who got the second shot off with 0.1 seconds on the clock to pull the Rockets to 74-62 heading into the fourth quarter.
Budinger’s baskets turned out to be the beginning of a 13-3 run that included six points by Martin, pulling Houston to 77-70.
New Orleans’ lead was back to 89-79 after Collison’s driving floater off the glass, but Budinger hit a 3 on the other end, igniting a 9-1 Houston run that cut it to 90-88 on Jared Jeffries’ inside basket with 2:16 to go.
West’s final four points made it 94-88 with 1:26 left and the Hornets held on from there.
New Orleans took its first double-digit lead in the second quarter and went up 47-31 when Julian Wright threw down Thornton’s alley-oop lob.
Houston responded with eight straight points highlighted by Shane Battier’s 3, then Thornton hit his second 3 of the quarter to put New Orleans up 50-39 at halftime.
NOTES: Okafor blocked five shots in the first quarter. He finished with six blocks to go with 11 rebounds. … Collison came in averaging the most assists (8.2) in games started by rookies. … Thornton and Houston reserve guard Garrett Temple, teammates at LSU last season, guarded each other at times. … New Orleans is 5-5 since All-Star point guard Chris Paul went out for surgery on a meniscus tear in his left knee.
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