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Howard, Magic seek sweep of lowly Knicks

Apr 6, 2008 - 2:11 PM Orlando (48-28) at New York (20-56) 7:00 pm EDT

NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic will look to complete a season sweep of the lowly New York Knicks on Sunday afternoon.

In its last trip to the "Big Apple," Orlando received 22 points and 20 rebounds from Howard in a 112-102 victory on November 9.

The 6-11 Howard is averaging 17.5 points and 12.2 boards to go along with 2.1 blocks in 13 career matchups against the Knicks, who haven't swept in the series since the 2001-02 campaign.

On Saturday, the Magic locked up the third seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 101-86 win over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Knicks return to Madison Square Garden after dropping all five games on the road trip, including Friday's 118-110 setback to the New Orleans Hornets. Jamal Crawford scored 29 points to lead the way.

"We fought the whole game and guys played good," Knicks forward Zach Randolph said. "Just towards the end, Chris (Paul) took over, hit big shots and we couldn't bounce back."

As one of the most storied franchises in NBA history, New York has managed just five wins since the All-Star break under coach Isiah Thomas, who could find his way out the door at the end of the season.