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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| ROCKETS | 22 | 30 | 13 | 22 | 87 |
| MAGIC | 34 | 21 | 23 | 24 | 102 |
Recap:
ORLANDO (AP) -- Dwight Howard had 20 rebounds and 13 points, and the Orlando Magic rolled to an easy 102-87 win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.
Howard outmuscled a Rockets team lacking size and strength in the middle with Yao Ming injured. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year blocked four shots and showed how dominant he can be even on a night he didn't have his best offensive game.
Jameer Nelson added 15 points in his first start since Nov. 16, helping the Magic win for the fifth time in six games ahead of a big Christmas Day matchup against the Boston Celtics.
Carl Landry had 20 points and Aaron Brooks finished with 17 for the Rockets, who could do little with Howard roaming the paint.
Yao is out for the season while recovering from surgery to repair a hairline fracture in his left foot, and Howard didn't exactly miss the 7-foot-6 center on Wednesday.
Although it wasn't his biggest scoring night, Howard cleaned up the glass and swatted away mistakes on the defensive end. His presence in the paint led to a 15-0 run that put Orlando ahead 76-60 late in the third quarter.
The Rockets cut the deficit to eight late in the fourth, but Rashard Lewis and Vince Carter each hit a 3-pointer to help the Magic hold on. Carter had 18 points.
Howard, who has struggled for most of his career against Yao, threw down a series of dunks in the opening quarter to get the Magic off to a fast start. Orlando ended the first quarter on a 14-2 spurt highlighted by a pair of 3-pointers by Ryan Anderson, taking a 34-22 lead.
Houston rallied in the second to close to 55-52 at halftime. The Rockets made five of 12 3-pointers in the opening half.
It was only the second time this season the Magic began the game with all their starters in the lineup, and they showed signs they can defend last season's Eastern Conference championship. They'll get another major test Friday when they host Boston.
NOTES: Tracy McGrady, who is in the final year of his contract with the Rockets, said before the game he would be open to a return to Orlando but Houston is his first option. McGrady even joked about crashing at Carter's Isleworth mansion. The two are cousins. ``I told him, hypothetically speaking, if I was to come back, I was going to rent out his guest house,'' said McGrady, who played for Orlando from 2000-04. ... Houston's Chase Budinger sat out with a sprained right ankle.
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POSTGAME VIDEO:
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Preview:
(STATS) -- The last time the Orlando Magic beat the Houston Rockets in central Florida, Dwight Howard was a high school sophomore, Vince Carter was a franchise savior in Canada and Tracy McGrady was one of the NBA's best scorers - while wearing an Orlando uniform.
Howard and Carter will look to help the Magic avoid an eighth straight home loss against Houston on Wednesday night, while the Rockets try for a fourth consecutive victory with McGrady playing a limited role off the bench.
Third cousins Carter and McGrady were once teammates in Toronto and are among the NBA's top 10 scorers of the past decade, but as Carter nears the midway point of his first season in Orlando their careers have something else in common - a stint as the Magic's leading scorer.
While Carter (18.6 points per game) and Orlando seek a fifth win in six games Wednesday, though, they'll have to reverse an odd trend. The Magic (21-7) haven't beaten Houston at home since April 2002 - McGrady's second year in central Florida.
Carter has struggled mightily from the field lately, shooting 28.6 percent and averaging 12.3 points over Orlando's past four games, but the Magic's deep roster has made up for it. Howard had 21 points and J.J. Redick poured in 20 off the bench Monday in a 104-99 win over Utah.
While Carter's been off, Redick's been hot. The former Duke star is shooting 63.0 percent and averaging 15.0 points over his last three games.
"I don't want to say I have figured things out,'' said Redick, at 45.7 percent the team's leading 3-point shooter. "I believe in jinxes. I just want to roll with it right now.''
Perhaps a big night from Redick can help the Magic reverse their fortunes against Houston (17-11), which have extended outside of Amway Arena. Orlando has averaged 88.4 points in losing 12 of 14 overall to the Rockets since Jan. 8, 2003.
Howard's 12.8-point average versus Houston is by far his lowest against any opponent, though this time the injured Yao Ming (24.9 points over his last 10 against Orlando) won't stand in his way.
Magic point guard Jameer Nelson has averaged 20.5 points in his last two home games against the Rockets, and Orlando was thrilled to get its floor leader back Monday after he missed more than a month recovering from knee surgery. Nelson, however, was 0 for 6 in 14 minutes.
"I felt fine," Nelson said. "No matter what the minutes are that they give me, I have to go out there and play them and play them aggressively."
McGrady, who averaged 28.1 points in four years with Orlando, isn't much more than a role player in Houston these days as he's making his way back from serious microfracture surgery on his left knee.
He's played around seven minutes in each of his five games, though he had 10 points in Tuesday's 108-99 win over the Los Angeles Clippers - three more than he scored in his other four contests combined.
"I felt good each game, building a little more confidence and a little bit better rhythm and shape,'' McGrady said.
The more impressive return, though, came from Houston's top reserve. Carl Landry, who lost five teeth in a nasty collision with Dirk Nowitzki on Friday, came back after a one-game absence to match a career high with 27 points.
"Every night it's a different person,'' Landry said. "You never know. That's what makes us a great team."
Trevor Ariza, who spent 89 games with Orlando before being shipped to the Los Angeles Lakers in November 2007, averaged 11.0 points against his former team in last spring's NBA finals.
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Live Baseline Blog:
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Game Notes:
Dec. 23 vs. Houston: Orlando is 20-22 all-time vs. Houston (12-9 at home, 8-13 on the road) during regular season action…The Magic went 0-2 last season against Houston…The Magic are 0-4 in postseason play against the Rockets (1995 NBA Finals)...Orlando has lost 12 of the last 14 regular season matchups with the Rockets…However, they have won 16 of the last 29 meetings overall, including 12 straight wins from Nov. 23, 1994-Feb. 16, 2001, tying Orlando's all-time longest winning streak vs. any opponent (12 vs. Denver, Feb. 21, 1997 to Mar. 9, 2003)...The Magic have lost the last seven regular season meetings at home but won eight of the last 14 played in Houston…Rashard Lewis attended Elsik High School in nearby Alief, TX…Assistant Coaches Patrick Ewing (2004-06) and Steve Clifford (2003-07) served on the bench with Houston as assistants.
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. ROCKETS: 39 pts., Tracy McGrady (@ Houston, 2-16-02)
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAGIC: 37 pts., Yao Ming (@ Houston, 3-11-07; @ Orlando, 1-25-04)
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