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Howard, Magic top Cavaliers in China Games

Oct 17, 2007 - 3:35 PM SHANGHAI, China (Ticker) -- Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic drew first blood.

Howard scored 31 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as the Magic rallied to capture a 90-86 preseason victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the China Games on Wednesday.

This was the first of two preseason matchups between the squads in the Asian nation, with the second contest to be held in the gambling city of Macao on Saturday.

Early on, it was the Cavaliers that were in control, building a 14-point lead in the second quarter. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 10 points at halftime and LeBron James added eight.

The Magic, who had won their previous two preseason contests after absorbing a 94-93 setback in the opener against Atlanta on October 8, rallied behind Howard, who signed a five-year extension worth approximately $85 million in July.

The 6-11 center, who had 16 of his points after the break, finished 9-of-17 from the field and made 13-of-16 free throws.

Jameer Nelson scored 24 points and handed out six assists for Orlando, which was playing without top free agent acquisition Rashard Lewis due to a sprained ankle.

Despite playing just 28 minutes, James scored 17 points and grabbed four steals for Cleveland, which has continued to play without Sasha Pavlovic and Anderson Varejao due to contract holdouts.

Larry Hughes scored 16 points Ilgauskas finished with 12, as the center played sparingly in the second half.