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Hawks finish tour of Sunshine State in Orlando

Dec 6, 2010 - 3:39 PM (Sports Network) - The Orlando Magic hope to be back at full strength when they welcome Southeast Division rival Atlanta to Amway Center tonight.

A flu-ridden Orlando club dropped its final contest on a three-game road trip Saturday in Milwaukee when Andrew Bogut returned to the Bucks' lineup at the right time, posting 31 points and 18 rebounds to carry Milwaukee to a 96-85 win over the Dwight Howard-less Magic.

Bogut was sidelined the previous five games due to back spasms and saw plenty of easy baskets without the two-time reigning Defensive Player of the Year clogging up the middle.

Howard, along with forward Mickael Pietrus and guards Jameer Nelson and J.J. Redick, missed their second straight game with a stomach virus. Forward Ryan Anderson also didn't play because of a sprained foot as Orlando suited up just eight players.

Vince Carter scored a team-high 20 points for the Magic while Quentin Richardson netted 16 in defeat.

"We don't look at this as an excuse for tonight's game," Richardson told the Magic's website. "We know we are a deep team and have at least one other player at each position that could possibly start on any other NBA team."

Howard, Nelson, Pietrus and Redick remain day-to-day while Anderson is doubtful for tonight's contest. If Howard can't go tonight, he will match the most games he's missed in a single season (three). Coming into this year, the All-Star missed a total of three games over his six- year career.

The Hawks, meanwhile, lost for the first time in six games to Miami on Saturday in the opener of a two-game tour of the Sunshine State. LeBron James scored 22 points and combined with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade for 84 percent of Miami's offense during an 89-77 win in that one.

Al Horford scored 22 to lead the Hawks, who had a five-game winning streak snapped as they continue to toil without All-Star guard Joe Johnson, who is sidelined for four to six weeks after undergoing arthroscopic elbow surgery last Thursday.

Jamal Crawford and Josh Powell had 12 points apiece off the bench for Atlanta.

"It's disappointing but I'm proud of the way the guys hung in there," Horford said after the team's loss to Miami. "We were down big in the first half but we kept fighting. We just couldn't pull it off."

Orlando has won seven of its last eight matchups with the Hawks, including four straight in central Florida.