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Magic welcome Howard back at Sacramento

Mar 9, 2011 - 4:15 PM (Sports Network) - The Orlando Magic will welcome Dwight Howard back to the lineup tonight when they kick off a five-game road trip in California's capital against the Sacramento Kings.

The Magic fell to Portland in central Florida on Monday without their superstar center when LaMarcus Aldridge led all scorers with 24 points and Andre Miller finished with 15 points and seven assists, as the Trail Blazers held on for an 89-85 win over Orlando at Amway Center.

Howard was suspended by the NBA for one game without pay for receiving his league-high 16th technical foul of the season in Friday's 89-81 loss to Chicago. Under NBA rules, a player or coach is automatically suspended without pay for one game upon receiving his 16th technical of the regular season.

Jason Richardson went 4-for-5 from three-point territory and ended with a team-best 22 points for Orlando, which has dropped two in a row after winning its previous four. Hedo Turkoglu and Ryan Anderson each netted 13 points in defeat.

"We were able to get to the basket a little bit easier without having that big guy down there to block shots," Miller said of the absence of Howard.

The Magic, who will also visit Golden State, Phoenix, the LA Lakers and Milwaukee on their trek, are 16-13 as the visitor on the season.

The Kings, meanwhile, dropped their third straight on Monday when Chase Budinger went 4-for-6 from beyond the three-point arc en route to 20 points as Houston climbed over the .500 mark for the first time this season with a 123-101 win at Sacramento.

DeMarcus Cousins notched 20 points -- all in the first half -- and 11 rebounds for the struggling Kings, who have lost three straight and 13 of the last 16 overall. Marcus Thornton chipped in 16 points, while Beno Udrih and Francisco Garcia had 15 and 11 points, respectively, in the loss.

"We have to play the whole game together. Play team ball the whole game. Hopefully we can change things around," Cousins said.

Sacramento remains without reigning Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans due to a case of plantar fasciitis in his left foot. The team is 3-12 in Evans' absence this season and went 2-8 without him a year ago.

Orlando has won three of its last four trips to Sacramento but fell to the Kings, 111-105, at Amway Center back on Feb. 23. Sacramento hasn't swept the home-and-home season series with the Magic since the 2003-04 campaign.