Final
Howard, Magic hit the road against Toronto
Mar 5, 2012 - 3:46 PM (Sports Network) - Double-double machine Dwight Howard will lead his Orlando Magic on the road tonight in the opener of a three-game trek against the Toronto Raptors from Air Canada Centre.Howard has 30 double-doubles on the season and was at it again in Saturday's 114-98 home victory over Milwaukee, posting 28 points and 14 rebounds. Jason Richardson had 18 points, while Hedu Turkoglu and Ryan Anderson both netted 16 for the Magic, who have won eight of their last 11 games and pulled within 4 1/2 games of Southeast-leading Miami after its loss to the Lakers Sunday.
Orlando shot 51.9 percent from the floor and went 14-of-27 from three-point range. It also outscored Milwaukee during the fourth quarter, 29-18.
"We got back on defense better. We forced them to shoot more jump shots," said Howard of his team's late-game rally. "The first half they were getting some easy buckets."
J.J. Redick and Chris Duhon ended with 14 and 12 points, respectively, for Orlando. The Magic will also visit the Bobcats and Bulls on the road swing and are 11-7 away from central Florida this season.
The Magic are 18-9 against the Eastern Conference this season and 5-3 in matchups with the Atlantic Division.
Toronto has alternated wins and losses over its previous six games and will continue a four-game homestand this evening.
The Raptors, who haven't recorded back-to-back wins since Jan. 24-25, posted an 83-75 victory versus the Golden State Warriors on Sunday thanks to 25 points from DeMar DeRozan. Leandro Barbosa added 18 off the bench and Amir Johnson finished with 11 and 13 rebounds for the Raptors.
"We kind of set basketball back a few years," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said in reference to his team's 37.2 shooting percentage. "(But) we found a way. We did it defensively. Some nights you just can't make a basket and you have to do it with defense."
James Johnson chipped in 12 points and 12 boards in the win. Toronto is now 6-12 up north and will also host Houston on the residency. DeRozan is averaging more than 16 ppg in 18 home games this season. Leading scorer and center Andrea Bargnani is still sidelined with a calf injury and the team hopes the former No. 1 overall pick returns soon.
The Raptors dropped a 102-96 decision in Orlando on New Year's Day. Bargnani was healthy for that one and scored a game-best 28 points, while the Magic were paced by Anderson's 24 points and Howard's 19 and 15 boards. Orlando is only 5-10 in the past 15 matchups in Canada.
- ORLANDO: 92
TORONTO: 88
Final
Mar 5 9:33 PM - 248
rootsRUWTbot Added 31 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Magic 87, Raptors 85 4th - 0:31Mar 5 9:26 PM - 217
rootsRUWTbot Added 14 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Magic 87, Raptors 83 4th - 2:01Mar 5 9:20 PM - 203
rootsRUWTbot Added 29 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Magic 80, Raptors 78 4th - 5:18Mar 5 9:08 PM - 174
rootsRUWTbot Took away 10 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Magic 80, Raptors 75 4th - 5:55Mar 5 9:08 PM - 184
rootsRUWTbot Added 16 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Magic 77, Raptors 75 4th - 6:12Mar 5 9:07 PM - 168
rootsRUWTbot Added 17 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Magic 77, Raptors 72 4th - 7:01Mar 5 9:06 PM - 151
rootsRUWTbot Took away 10 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Magic 75, Raptors 72 4th - 7:33Mar 5 9:05 PM - 138
rootsRUWTbot Added 62 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Magic 74, Raptors 70 4th - 8:50Mar 5 9:00 PM - 76
rootsRUWTbot Took away 61 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Magic 73, Raptors 67 4th - 9:03Mar 5 8:59 PM - 137
rootsRUWTbot Took away 13 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Magic 71, Raptors 67 4th - 9:33Mar 5 8:59 PM - 150
rootsRUWTbot Added 8 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Magic 68, Raptors 66 4th - 9:46Mar 5 8:58 PM - 142
rootsRUWTbot Added 9 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Magic 68, Raptors 65 4th - 9:46Mar 5 8:58 PM - 133
rootsRUWTbot Added 57 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Magic 68, Raptors 65 4th - 10:50Mar 5 8:57 PM - ORLANDO: 68
TORONTO: 63
End of 3rd
Mar 5 8:53 PM - 76
roots - ORLANDO: 43
TORONTO: 38
Halftime
Mar 5 8:07 PM - ORLANDO: 23
TORONTO: 20
End of 1st
Mar 5 7:38 PM - ORLANDO: 0
TORONTO: 0
1st Quarter - 12:00
Mar 5 7:13 PM
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