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Howard leads Magic into San Antonio

Mar 14, 2012 - 3:01 PM (Sports Network) - Dwight Howard capped a day filled with furious rumors on Tuesday by dominating the star-studded Heat.

With the trade deadline looming, the superstar could be suiting up for the last time as a member of the Magic tonight when Orlando visits the Southwest Division-leading San Antonio Spurs.

Tuesday afternoon it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Howard was headed out of Central Florida. One salacious story even had the desperate Magic brass putting the fates of coach Stan Van Gundy and general manager Otis Smith in Howard's hands if he agreed to a contract extension.

"If anybody thinks I care about that, I really don't give a damn about being fired," Van Gundy said before tip off against Miami. "That doesn't concern me in the least. If they want to fire me to please somebody, fire me."

Amidst that firestorm, Howard went out and scored 24 points while grabbing 25 rebounds as the Magic pulled within four games of first-place Miami in the Southeast Division with a 104-98 overtime win.

Jameer Nelson scored four of his 25 points on a pair of slashing layups in the extra frame for Orlando, which has won three straight and is currently third in the Eastern Conference.

After the big win Howard seemed to reverse course, telling reporters that he wants to stay with the Magic for the rest of the season and that he's been telling team officials exactly that for the past few weeks.

"We're playing some pretty good basketball right now and we just have to keep it up," said Howard. "We got a great opportunity to win and I told them that I want to be here, and I want to bring a championship here. I told them to give me a chance."

Staying with the status quo could prove costly for the Magic, however. The team could receive nothing this summer if Howard opts out of his contract and decides to walk.

"I feel they have to roll their dice," Howard said. "It might be tough, but I feel like we have a great opportunity. They've got to roll it."

San Antonio will be finishing up a seven-game homestand Wednesday and is 3-3 so far on the residency after Monday's 112-97 rout of Washington.

Tony Parker, retuning from a one-game absence due to a right quad contusion and hamstring issue, had 31 points and seven assists to help the Spurs continue their recent dominance over the Wizards. San Antonio has won 12 straight over Washington overall and 12 straight in the Alamo City.

Tim Duncan added 14 points to surpass Clyde Drexler (22,195) into 25th place on the NBA's all-time career-scoring list. Duncan, who also pulled down nine rebounds, now has 22,207 career-points.

"The reason (getting the ball more) obviously is Tony (Parker) is playing great," Duncan said. "He's making all the right decisions. We have great shooters on the perimeter, which opens it up in the middle for me. They have to respect our shooters and respect Tony and I'm the other guy."

Tiago Splitter donated 17 points and seven boards off the bench for the Spurs, who improved to 16-4 on the season at home and lead the Southwest by 3 1/2 games over Memphis.

Manu Ginobili had eight points and seven assists in his first start since Jan. 2, when he fractured a bone in his left hand. The star swingman suffered a hip flexor late in the contest, however, and is day-to-day.

For Orlando, sharpshooter Jason Richardson could miss a third straight game with a sprained left ankle.

The Spurs have won three of four over the Magic, including an 85-83 overtime win in Central Florida back on Jan.18.