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Howard, reserves turn back Pacers

 
Published March 12, 2012

ORLANDO — Dwight Howard had 30 points and 13 rebounds, and J.J. Redick added 18 points and a career-high nine assists as the Magic ran past the Pacers 107-94 on Sunday night.

The Magic played without starters Hedo Turkoglu and Jason Richardson but seemed unfazed as it built a 20-point lead in the first half and got 30 points from its reserves.

Orlando has won four out of its last five and also earned a 3-1 season series victory over Indiana.

Paul George led the Pacers with 22 points, Tyler Hansbrough added 19 and Danny Granger 18.

The Pacers lost their fourth straight game and will try to avoid their second five-game losing streak of the season Tuesday when they host Portland.

Richardson sat with a sprained left ankle, and Turkoglu was out serving a one-game suspension for making contact with a referee in last week's win over Chicago.

Orlando flourished without them, though, thanks to the efforts of replacements Redick and Quentin Richardson and an equally active night by the Magic on defense.

Howard did his damage in just 37 minutes of action and also connected on 8 of 12 attempts from the free throw line.

The Pacers were accomplices in the Magic's production on both ends as they had leftover fatigue from their overtime loss Saturday night at Miami.

Indiana cut a huge Magic first-half lead to single digits early in the third quarter before watching it balloon back above 20 points late in the period, connecting on just 1 of 12 3-pointers overall.

undecided on Howard: The NBA trade deadline is Thursday afternoon, but Magic CEO Alex Martins indicated Sunday to the Orlando Sentinel that the team has not yet decided whether it will move Dwight Howard, who has asked for a trade. The Magic center can exercise the early termination option in his contract after the season and become a free agent, which keeps open the possibility of him re-signing with Orlando, as well as leaving.

So, is the Magic willing to risk not trading Howard before the deadline and not get anything in return? "We're not at the point where we're ready to answer that question yet," Martins told the newspaper. "Sometime in the next four days we will be."

Coach Stan Van Gundy said that even if Howard remains in Orlando past the deadline, it won't end the speculation.

"There won't be closure," Van Gundy said. "There's closure, I guess, if he goes. If he stays, it just starts all over again. Just start the clock again. You're right back where you started from the day the playoffs ended last year, like Groundhog Day."

Game highlights: Kobe Bryant scored 10 of his 26 in the fourth quarter and hit a go-ahead jumper with 41.7 seconds to play as the host Lakers rallied from a five-point deficit in the final 2½ minutes to beat the Celtics 97-94. With 15.5 seconds left, Bryant was used as a decoy and Andrew Bynum hit a hook shot over Kevin Garnett, and then Boston couldn't get a good look at a tying 3-pointer. "Andrew is too big. You can't teach that," Bryant said. "I knew it was going to be a high-percentage shot." … Lou Williams scored half of his 28 points in the third quarter, Evan Turner had 24 points and 15 rebounds, and the visiting 76ers handed the Knicks their fifth straight loss, 106-94. Williams had 14 points in the final 3:28 of the third quarter, when the 76ers seized control for their third straight victory. "In the third quarter, played with a ton of confidence and felt like I could make any shots," Williams said. … Ersan Ilyasova had 31 points and 12 rebounds, Drew Gooden added 21 points and the visiting Bucks beat the Raptors for the sixth straight time, 105-99. … Antawn Jamison scored 28 and rookie Kyrie Irving scored 16 of his 21 points in the final 4:14 as the host Cavaliers won their third in a row, 118-107 over the Rockets. Luis Scola scored a season-high 30, but Houston has lost six of seven.

Around the league: Houston guard Kyle Lowry remains in a New York-area hospital after being admitted last week with abdominal distress and a fever. There is no timetable for his release and rejoining the team.

Magic 107, Pacers 94

INDIANA (94): Granger 7-15 4-4 18, West 1-5 0-0 2, Hibbert 5-8 0-0 10, Collison 3-6 2-4 8, George 10-17 1-1 22, Stephenson 0-3 0-0 0, Hansbrough 6-11 7-7 19, Amundson 0-1 1-2 1, Price 1-5 0-0 2, Jones 5-8 0-0 10, Pendergraph 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 39-81 15-18 94.

ORLANDO (107): Q.Richardson 2-7 5-5 10, Anderson 4-11 2-2 12, Howard 11-14 8-12 30, Nelson 3-5 0-0 7, Redick 7-14 1-1 18, Clark 2-5 2-2 6, Duhon 3-4 0-0 9, Davis 3-8 2-2 8, Wafer 1-6 3-6 5, Liggins 0-3 0-0 0, Orton 1-2 0-0 2, Smith 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 37-79 23-30 107.

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Indiana 22 23 21 28— 94

Orlando 36 20 35 16— 107

3-Point GoalsIndiana 1-12 (George 1-2, Collison 0-1, Stephenson 0-2, Price 0-2, Granger 0-5), Orlando 10-27 (Duhon 3-4, Redick 3-7, Anderson 2-6, Nelson 1-1, Q.Richardson 1-4, Davis 0-1, Liggins 0-2, Wafer 0-2). Fouled OutNone. ReboundsIndiana 42 (George 8), Orlando 52 (Howard 13). AssistsIndiana 15 (Collison 4), Orlando 22 (Redick 9). Total FoulsIndiana 25, Orlando 14. TechnicalsHansbrough, Howard. A18,846.

Lakers 97, Celtics 94

BOSTON (94): Pierce 4-14 4-4 13, Bass 7-12 1-2 15, Garnett 7-11 0-0 14, Rondo 10-18 3-4 24, Allen 6-14 2-2 17, Stiemsma 1-1 0-0 2, Pietrus 2-7 0-0 5, Pavlovic 0-0 0-0 0, Bradley 2-3 0-0 4, Dooling 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 39-83 10-12 94.

L.A. LAKERS (97): World Peace 4-8 3-6 14, Gasol 5-11 3-4 13, Bynum 9-16 2-4 20, Fisher 2-5 4-4 9, Bryant 9-20 5-7 26, Murphy 1-1 0-0 2, Blake 1-4 0-0 2, Barnes 3-3 0-1 6, Goudelock 2-3 0-0 5, McRoberts 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 36-71 17-26 97.

Boston 14 28 28 24— 94

L.A. Lakers 24 20 28 25— 97

3-Point GoalsBoston 6-17 (Allen 3-8, Rondo 1-2, Pierce 1-3, Pietrus 1-3, Dooling 0-1), Lakers 8-16 (World Peace 3-5, Bryant 3-6, Goudelock 1-1, Fisher 1-2, Blake 0-2). Fouled OutNone. ReboundsBoston 40 (Garnett 11), Lakers 50 (Bynum 14). AssistsBoston 33 (Rondo 10), Lakers 25 (Bryant 7). Total FoulsBoston 21, Lakers 16. TechnicalsPierce, Bryant, World Peace, Lakers defensive three second. A18,997.

76ers 106, Knicks 94

PHILADELPHIA (106): Brand 6-10 1-1 13, Iguodala 7-11 3-3 19, Vucevic 0-2 0-0 0, Turner 9-14 6-7 24, Holiday 2-14 4-7 8, Williams 10-19 5-6 28, Young 6-9 2-2 14, Meeks 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 40-79 21-26 106.

NEW YORK (94): Anthony 5-13 11-12 22, Stoudemire 4-9 1-2 9, Chandler 3-4 2-4 8, Lin 5-18 4-5 14, Fields 6-9 0-0 13, Shumpert 0-4 0-0 0, Smith 4-13 3-3 12, Davis 3-5 0-0 8, Novak 3-5 0-0 8. Totals 33-80 21-26 94.

Philadelphia 22 29 38 17— 106

New York 24 25 24 21— 94

3-Point GoalsPhi. 5-9 (Williams 3-5, Iguodala 2-3, Holiday 0-1), N.Y. 7-17 (Davis 2-2, Novak 2-3, Fields 1-1, Smith 1-4, Anthony 1-4, Lin 0-3). Fouled OutHoliday. RebsPhi. 48 (Turner 15), N.Y. 48 (Chandler 12). AssistsPhi. 18 (Iguodala 8), N.Y. 16 (Lin 7). Total FoulsPhi. 21, N.Y. 19. TechsTurner, Stoudemire. A19,763.

Bucks 105, Raptors 99

MILWAUKEE (105): Harris 0-3 0-0 0, Ilyasova 11-16 6-6 31, Gooden 7-11 7-9 21, Jennings 4-14 3-5 11, Delfino 2-7 0-0 5, Dunleavy 7-15 3-3 19, Udrih 2-4 7-8 11, Sanders 2-3 3-4 7, Brockman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 35-73 29-35 105.

TORONTO (99): J.Johnson 2-7 2-2 6, Bargnani 4-10 3-4 11, A.Johnson 6-7 0-0 12, Bayless 7-13 2-3 16, DeRozan 9-22 3-4 21, Davis 1-1 2-2 4, Kleiza 4-9 0-0 10, Forbes 2-7 3-4 7, Barbosa 5-10 0-0 12, Gray 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 40-86 15-19 99.

Milwaukee 21 30 27 27— 105

Toronto 28 28 23 20— 99

3-Point GoalsMil. 6-18 (Ilyasova 3-3, Dunleavy 2-6, Delfino 1-5, Udrih 0-1, Jennings 0-3), Toronto 4-13 (Barbosa 2-2, Kleiza 2-4, DeRozan 0-1, J.Johnson 0-1, Bayless 0-2, Bargnani 0-3). Fouled OutNone. ReboundsMil. 42 (Ilyasova 12), Toronto 52 (Davis 10). AssistsMil. 26 (Dunleavy, Jennings 6), Toronto 23 (Bayless 6). Total FoulsMil. 18, Toronto 30. A17,316.

Cavaliers 118, Rockets 107

HOUSTON (107): Parsons 4-6 0-0 9, Scola 15-25 0-1 30, Dalembert 6-11 3-4 15, Dragic 7-11 2-2 20, Martin 1-6 1-2 3, Lee 2-5 0-0 5, Flynn 1-4 2-2 4, Patterson 2-4 0-0 4, Budinger 6-10 2-4 16, Hill 0-4 1-2 1. Totals 44-86 11-17 107.

CLEVELAND (118): Gee 4-11 3-4 11, Jamison 8-16 8-8 28, Hollins 2-3 0-1 4, Irving 5-15 10-10 21, Parker 2-4 0-0 5, Thompson 2-2 0-2 4, Sessions 4-8 5-5 15, Samuels 4-6 3-4 11, Gibson 5-10 0-0 11, Casspi 3-7 0-2 8. Totals 39-82 29-36 118.

Houston 26 31 27 23— 107

Cleveland 30 24 27 37— 118

3-Point GoalsHou. 8-17 (Dragic 4-5, Budinger 2-3, Lee 1-2, Parsons 1-3, Flynn 0-1, Martin 0-3), Cle. 11-20 (Jamison 4-7, Sessions 2-2, Casspi 2-3, Parker 1-1, Irving 1-3, Gibson 1-4). Fouled OutNone. ReboundsHou. 45 (Dalembert 10), Cle. 53 (Irving 6). AssistsHou. 25 (Dragic 8), Cle. 25 (Sessions 7). Total FoulsHou. 25, Cle. 21. TechsFlynn, Houston three second. A17,662.