|
Rashard Lewis had 19 points and Hedo Turkoglu 17 for the Magic, who had all five starters in double figures by the end of the third quarter. The Magic improved to 24-0 this season when holding teams under 95 points.
Corey Maggette led Los Angeles with 22 points, but scored only two in the second half. Cuttino Mobley and Al Thornton had 17 each for the Clippers, who have lost nine of their last 11 games.
Trailing by 15 at halftime, the Clippers pulled to 69-60 with 7:48 to play in the third quarter. However, Jameer Nelson hit a 3-pointer and Turkoglu added three straight 3s to spark a 14-4 run that pushed the Magic's lead to 83-64.
Howard had 14 points and nine rebounds in the first quarter against the outmanned Clippers. His slam dunk gave the Magic a 13-2 lead with 6:36 left in the quarter and Orlando never trailed again.
Lewis and backup point guard Carlos Arroyo had eight points apiece in the second quarter when the Magic shot 61 percent from the field and opened up a 63-48 halftime advantage. Maggete had 20 points in the first half, including 10 of 12 from the free throw line, but there was little help as the rest of the Clippers hit only 11 of 33 shots.
Notes: The Magic's 11 3-pointers gave them 622 for the season, tying the team record in a season with 16 games still to play. ... Clippers C Chris Kaman missed his second straight game with a sore back. Clipper players have missed a league-high 221 games this season because of injuries. ... Magic F Rashard Lewis shooting 50.1 percent (83 of 164) since the All-Star break and averaging 19.6 points. ... The Clippers are 2-13 in the second game of back-to-back games this season.
[Associated Press]
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
|
