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Howard, Anderson lead Magic over Heat

Feb 9, 2012 - 6:06 AM Orlando, FL (Sports Network) - Ryan Anderson scored 27 points, Dwight Howard added 25 and both players had double-doubles to lead the Orlando Magic to a 102-89 win over the Miami Heat on Wednesday.

The Magic made 17 three-pointers and led wire-to-wire, going ahead by as many as 17 and fending off a couple of Miami runs to win for the fourth time in five games.

"I thought we did a good job gathering ourselves. We held our composure and nobody seemed the least bit worried, we just kept making plays," said Magic coach Stan Van Gundy.

Anderson, who made five threes and scored 24 points in a big first half, added 11 rebounds and Howard pulled down a game-high 24. Orlando improved to 12-1 this season when scoring at least 100 points.

Dwyane Wade scored 33 points, including 18 in the second quarter, while LeBron James added 17 and 10 assists and Chris Bosh had 12 points and nine rebounds. The Heat had a three-game winning streak snapped and played the first of six in a row on the road.

Miami, down by 17 in the second quarter, got as close as one point in the first minute of the third and was within five midway through. But the Magic used a 12-0 run to push their lead back to 17 and carried a 77-61 advantage into the fourth.

"They set the tone of this game right from the get-go," said Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra. "We were able to get to a little bit more of an aggressiveness and attack in a little bit more of a disposition in the second quarter, but they were able to sustain it longer and more consistently than we were able to."

It climbed to 19 twice early in the fourth. In a key series later on, after Miami pulled within nine, J.J. Redick missed two straight three-pointers for the Magic. But Howard rebounded the first and the second went out of bounds off the Heat.

Jameer Nelson, who scored 12, then knocked down a three from the left side and the Heat were never within single digits in the final three-plus minutes of the game.

"We needed a good win. We came out tonight with pretty much the same energy we had last game and we got a good win," said Howard. "We just have to continue to do that, be more consistent and coming out with the same intensity every night. I think we did a better job coming out in the third quarter. They made a little run but we kept playing and got a good win."

One of Anderson's five first half three-pointers gave the Magic a 17-point lead at 44-27 in the second quarter. Later, the Heat closed the half on a 12-2 run to cut a 13-point deficit to three at halftime, 53-50.

Wade scored 18 of his 22 first half points in the second quarter and the Heat shot 70 percent in the frame. James added 15 points in the half while Howard had 13 points and 13 rebounds for Orlando.

Miami had a hard time keeping Howard away from the rim in the first quarter, when he had 10 boards. Twice he finished up someone's miss with a slam dunk in transition, giving the Magic a six-point lead both times. They were up 26-18 going into the second quarter.

Game Notes

Anderson ended 5-of-11 on three-pointers and the Magic were 17-of-42 as a team...The teams split four meetings in each of the last two seasons...The Heat will also play Washington, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Indiana and Cleveland on their road trip. They are just 7-5 away from home this season...Orlando is 1-1 on a three-game homestand and is in the midst of a stretch where it plays six of seven games inside its own building.