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Magic look to complete season sweep of Warriors

Dec 22, 2008 - 3:42 PM Golden State (8-20) at Orlando (21-6), 7:00pm EST

ORLANDO, Florida (Ticker) -- Last week, the Orlando Magic defeated the Golden State Warriors even without All-NBA center Dwight Howard. A week later, they get another shot at the Warriors - this time with their star player back in the lineup.

The Magic look to extend their winning streak to five games on Monday night as they host the Warriors to complete the season series between the two clubs.

Howard missed last week's meeting in Oakland with a slightly sprained knee but has returned and helped lead the Magic to two of their biggest wins of the season. He registered a pair of double-doubles - despite battling foul trouble - in victories over a pair of Western Conference powers, the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers.

Against the Warriors, point guard Jameer Nelson tied a career high with 32 points on 13-of-25 shooting to pave the way for a 109-98 triumph. Little-used reserve Marcin Gortat, filling in for Howard in the middle, collected 16 points and 13 boards.

With eight wins in 10 games this month, the Magic are one of just four teams to have registered at least 20 wins, joining the Celtics, Lakers and Cavaliers.

Conversely, it had been a season-long struggle for the Warriors, who snapped a five-game losing streak Saturday, riding Jamal Crawford's 50-point performance to a 110-103 victory on the road over the Charlotte Bobcats.

The big offensive showing was quite a recovery for Crawford, who was coming off a 3-of-15 shooting performance the night before in a loss to Atlanta.