Howard has another 20-20 game to carry Magic to 2-0 lead

[April 23, 2008]  ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Dwight Howard had 29 points and 20 rebounds, his second straight 20-20 game, and the Orlando Magic beat the Toronto Raptors 104-103 on Tuesday night for a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series.

Chris Bosh had 29 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto, but missed a 19-footer with 1.9 seconds left that could have won the game. Jason Kapono scored 20 points, Jose Calderon had 18 and Carlos Delfino added 16 for the Raptors.

Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis each scored 18 for Orlando. Hedo Turkoglu made the go-ahead layup and finished with 12 points and nine rebounds.

Toronto, which trailed most of the game, took a 101-100 lead with 1:04 left on three consecutive 3-pointers, one from Delfino and two by Calderon, plus a free throw by Delfino.

But Turkoglu drove the lane for an acrobatic layup to put Orlando back on top, 102-101, then sank two free throws to push the lead to three points. Delfino made another layup to make it 104-103 with 9.6 seconds left, and the Raptors immediately got the ball back after Orlando's Keyon Dooling was called for an offensive foul on the inbounds pass.

Toronto isolated Bosh for the last shot, but it was no good.

Howard was the first player in nearly 40 years to record consecutive playoff games with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds. The last was the San Francisco Warriors' Nate Thurmond in the 1968-69 playoffs.

The game was much more physical than Sunday's series opener. Turkoglu was called for a flagrant foul in the second quarter defending Bosh. The Raptors star had just stolen a pass and had a clear shot at the basket when Turkoglu caught up with him, pushing Bosh hard to the ground.

Howard picked up a technical in the third quarter jawing with Delfino after the making a layup, plus the foul on the guard in the third quarter.

The Raptors took their first lead of the series in the third quarter, using a 7-0 run to go ahead 64-59. Orlando was 0-for-5 to start the quarter, but regained an 81-71 lead after Nelson's two 3-pointers and Howard's bucket that preceded his technical.

For the second straight game, Toronto got buried in a double-digit deficit in the opening minutes -- this time from inside. Orlando was only 1-of-5 on 3-pointers in the period after a 9-of-11 performance in Game 1, but opened a 26-8 lead on Nelson's slash to the bucket 8:04 into the game.

The Magic had five dunks in the first six minutes -- including three in a row on fast breaks off a steal (two by Turkoglu and one from Lewis).

The Raptors, who tied a franchise playoff low with eight turnovers in Game 1, had that many in the first 13 minutes.

But they closed the gap in the second quarter with a 15-5 run over 3:05. Kapono hit two 3s in the span and scored 13 in the quarter. Bosh, guarded by Magic reserve center Adonal Foyle and Howard instead of Lewis, as in Game 1, also had 13 in the period on 4-of-6 shooting. The Raptors finally tied it at 55 with Calderon's layup a minute before the half, then trailed 59-57 at halftime.

Notes: Raptors C Rasho Nesterovic, who had 16 points and eight rebounds in Game 1, started but played only five minutes. ... Orlando has won five of six series in which it was victorious in Game 1. The lone exception was in 2003 against Detroit. ... Bosh missed his first free throw in 40 consecutive attempts this season against the Magic early in the second quarter. He entered the game 38-of-38. ... The Raptors are 2-8 all-time on the road in the playoffs. ... Two lane violations were called on the same Howard free throw attempt in the second quarter -- the first on Kapono, the second on Howard. He missed both tries.

[Associated Press; By TRAVIS REED]

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