Tuesday, March 18, 2008
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Howard Powers Magic Past LeBron, Cavs

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[March 18, 2008]  ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Dwight Howard had 23 points and 13 rebounds, Rashard Lewis scored 21 and the Orlando Magic beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 104-90 on Monday night. LeBron James had 30 points, nine rebounds and six assists for Cleveland. Delonte West had 16 points and Sasha Pavlovic added 14.

Orlando was 1-for-9 from the field to open the game, and didn't get much better through three quarters. The Magic finished 34-of-86 (39.5 percent), compared with 35-of-80 shooting (43.8 percent) for Cleveland. Orlando even got beat on fastbreak points (22-3) and points in the paint (46-34).

But the Magic made their mark from long range, including five 3-pointers in a four-minute stretch of the third quarter. Orlando was 14-for-32 on 3's, compared with 6-for-19 for the Cavaliers, and got 20 points off 15 Cleveland turnovers in its fifth straight win.

Hedo Turkoglu had 18 points and seven rebounds and Maurice Evans had 10 points for Orlando. Jameer Nelson had seven assists but only six points on 2-for-12 shooting.

Cleveland led 45-40 at halftime, and by as many as 10 in the third quarter before Orlando made a run. Evans, Turkoglu and Lewis each hit consecutive 3-pointers and Nelson capped it with a 3-point play to give the Magic a 73-72 lead at the end of the third quarter.

James nearly kept Cleveland in the game by himself in the fourth, scoring seven of its first nine points. Four of them were on seemingly effortless dunks.

But the Cavaliers went more than four minutes without a bucket, missing three straight free throws (one from James and two from Zydrunas Ilgauskas). Turkoglu sealed the win with a 3-pointer to put the Magic ahead 89-81 with 5:35 left.

Notes: Orlando leads the season series 2-1. The teams play again April 5 in Cleveland. ... Tiger Woods watched from courtside, a day after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational at nearby Bay Hill. ... Though he struggled from the field, Nelson made an unlikely 3. With 2:30 left, the ball rimmed out, then hit the backboard and went in.

[Associated Press; By TRAVIS REED]

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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