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Turkoglu, Howard help Magic hold off pesky Knicks

Feb 26, 2009 - 5:18 AM NEW YORK (Ticker) -- To beat Nate Robinson, Dwight Howard figured out what was missing - the rest of his Orlando Magic teammates.

Hedo Turkoglu scored 33 points and Howard added 24 and 21 rebounds as the Magic executed down the stretch to hold off Robinson and the defiant New York Knicks, 114-109, on Wednesday.

Robinson scored 13 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter for the Knicks, who once again climbed on the back of their tiny teammate, only to fall tantalizingly short.

"KryptoNate," Howard said, referring to the nickname Robinson earned when he hurdled the Magic's 7-foot center en route to the Slam Dunk title at All-Star Weekend earlier this month.

"He started making shots. He threw some kryptonite at me, and (I) kind of blew it away. He just kept throwing some more kryptonite. Thank God my other teammates were there to shield it."

Rashard Lewis and Courtney Lee added 15 points apiece for the Magic, who had their 16-point third-quarter lead whittled to two in the closing seconds.

Danilo Gallinari nailed a 3-pointer with 24 ticks left to pull the Knicks within 109-107. The rookie forward nailed all three of his shots in the final 1:45 as New York made a frantic comeback.

After Rafer Alston hit two free throws on the ensuing possession, Robinson coasted in for a quick layup to again pull the Knicks within two.

"They wouldn't go away," Lewis said. "All night they always kind of hung around, even though we had a 15-point lead, 10-point lead. They're the type of team that can go on a 10-0 run within a minute in the half or two minutes, and they're right in it.

"They're one of those teams that never goes away."

But as was the story of the game, the Magic did not falter, as Lewis canned two more from the line to make it 113-109.

Robinson flew back the other way and launched a wild 3-pointer, which was hindered by contact from Lee, who bumped the diminutive guard in mid-air. A foul was not called, and Turkoglu then nailed a free throw to provide the final margin.

Turkoglu was 11-of-17 from the field, including 3-of-5 from the arc, and 8-of-10 from the foul line.

"Turkoglu hit some big shots tonight," Knicks forward David Lee said. "I think he was kind of the difference for them, and it seemed like every time we got within seven or nine, he would hit a tough pull-up jumper."

"He had a great night," Stan Van Gundy said of Turkoglu. "I thought he played really, really well. He played a lot of minutes and I thought he was the key to the game offensively after the first quarter. Dwight got us off to good start, and Turk took it from there."

In the fourth, Wilson Chandler nailed a three to make it 94-87 with 4:24 left - the closest the Knicks were to that point since the second quarter.

Al Harrington added an awkward bank shot to pull New York within five, setting the stage for Orlando's clutch performance down the stretch. Van Gundy, however, didn't think it needed to be that close.

"We didn't finish it well," the coach said. "We got lazy, we didn't pull rebounds and we didn't stay home on 3-point shooters. I wasn't happy with that, but I'm very happy for the win."

In the back-and-forth final minutes, Alston responded with a cold-blooded three before Gallinari stroked one of his own.

Howard then slammed home an emphatic dunk with Robinson on his back like gnat en route to a three-point play and nine-point lead for the Magic with 1:31 left.

New York then went on a 10-3 run, capped by Gallinari's final bucket, to pull within two before Orlando salted it away from the line. Robinson scored five of those points to cap another remarkable night.

"He has been terrific since jumping over Dwight," Alston said of Robinson. "He is strong, quick, powerful. You want to give him a step but then he can raise and shoot. If you get up on him, he is going to drive right by you."

Chandler added 27 for the Knicks, who were 13-of-29 from the arc.