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Howard leads Magic after joining NBA's elite

Apr 24, 2008 - 2:10 PM Orlando at Toronto 7:30 pm EDT Eastern Conference first round Magic lead, 2-0

TORONTO (Ticker) -- Thanks to Dwight Howard, the Orlando Magic have managed to take a commanding lead in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Howard and the third-seeded Magic try to extend their lead to three-games-to-none Thursday when they visit the sixth-seeded Toronto Raptors in Game Three.

The 23-year-old Howard registered his second straight 20-20 performance Tuesday as the Magic escaped with a 104-103 victory over the Raptors in Game Two.

Howard collected 29 points and 20 rebounds to join Kevin Garnett (2004), Tim Duncan (2003), Shaquille O'Neal (2001) and Charles Barkley (1986) as the only players to post a 20-20 in consecutive playoff games in the last 30 years.

"Dwight's on his way to being a guy who we talk about 30 years down the line," Magic guard Keyon Dooling said. "He's awesome on both ends of the floor and is our backbone."

Despite Howard's performance, the Magic needed some late heroics to leave Orlando with two wins.

With the Magic trailing by one entering the final minute, Hedo Turkoglu scored his first basket of the second half with the go-ahead driving layup and hit two free throws to give Orlando a 104-101 lead.

A layup by Carlos Delfino narrowed the lead to just one, but after Jose Calderon was called for an offensive foul on the Raptors' next possession, Chris Bosh's jumper hit the front end of the rim as time expired.

Although Howard was not directly involved in the late scoring, teammate Rashard Lewis said the 7-footer was the reason for the victory.

"He's a dominant player, and I think he's the one that really won the game for us," said Lewis, who had 18 points and three steals.