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Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic's second unit helped the Magic overcome an early 15-point deficit against the lowly Washington Wizards to win their 8th straight game, 109-95, in runaway fashion. Howard scored 28 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, while backup shooting guard J.J. Redick scored 10 of his 18 points in the second quarter to ignite Orlando's once-stagnant offense. With Howard in the middle, Redick and Jason Williams in the backcourt, and Brandon Bass and Mickael Pietrus up front, Orlando scored on 13 of its first 14 possessions of the second quarter, turning a 33-20 deficit into a 50-45 lead before coming up empty on another possession. The Wizards' roster is mostly bereft of talent after two significant trading deadline deals, and they could only rely on three players to deliver offensively tonight, which was their third game in as many nights. Andray Blatche continued his post-All-Star break brilliance with a game-high 32 points, while 10-day contract signee Shaun Livingston scored 18 with 8 assists in his best all-around performance since attempting to recover from the gruesome knee injury that nearly ended his career 3 years ago. Al Thornton rounded out Washington's cast of double-figure scorers with 15 points, and that trio accounted for almost all of Washington's offense before it threw in the towel.

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With injuries to Luol Deng and Joakim Noah, the cards were already stacked against the Chicago Bulls when they faced off against the Orlando Magic in front of a nationally-televised audience. Losing Derrick Rose to a wrist injury near the end of the first quarter, when he attacked the basket and collided with Dwight Howard, just exacerbated the discrepancy of talent between two teams heading in completely opposite directions. The Magic won the game by a score of 111-82, extending their winning streak to a season-high seven games.The Bulls' six-game losing streak is slowly taking the team out of the playoff picture with 16 games to go in the regular season. Vince Carter led Orlando with an efficient 23 points (8-13 FG, 2-5 3PT). Rookies Taj Gibson, with 12 points (6-10 FG) and 9 rebounds, and James Johnson, with 13 points (5-9 FG) and 3 steals, played relatively well for Chicago.

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Coming off one of its biggest wins of the season against the Los Angeles Lakers, if there was a storyline to look at before last night’s game, it was this … how would the Orlando Magic perform versus the Los Angeles Clippers? There is an inclination, at times, for teams in the NBA to have a letdown after a victory against a marquee opponent. But head coach Stan Van Gundy made an excellent point before the game when asked if the Magic were in for a trap against the Clippers. Van Gundy’s answer, more or less, was no because Orlando has shown the ability to win games this season in convincing fashion after coming off huge victories versus teams like the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, and others.

Yesterday was no different, as the Magic out-classed the Clippers by the score of 113-87. Orlando had a 10 point lead in the first quarter against Los Angeles and never looked back. Balance was the name of the game for the Magic, as six players scored in double-figures. Dwight Howard led the way for Orlando with 22 points (9-12 FG, 4-4 FT), 15 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Oh, and Howard had one dazzling assist on a fast break that sent the sell-out crowd at the Amway Arena into a frenzy. Jameer Nelson, who has been playing at a different level since the All-Star break, continued his sterling play with 17 points (6-13 FG, 3-6 3PT), 8 assists, 5 rebounds, and 0 turnovers. The Clippers were led by Baron Davis, who had 16 points (7-15 FG, 2-4 3PT), 9 assists, and 4 rebounds. And general manager Mike Dunleavy Sr. was fired, to boot.

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Stifling defense and timely aggressiveness from Vince Carter helped the Orlando Magic hold off the L.A. Lakers, 96-94, in their first visit to Amway Arena since winning the 2009 NBA Finals, with Orlando coming away with its 5th straight win and dealing L.A. its third straight loss for its first three-game skid since acquiring Pau Gasol in 2008. Carter scored 15 of his team-high 25 points in the first quarter, and 10 of them at the foul line, with some hard-nosed drives to the hoop. The Magic prevailed when Kobe Bryant's contested 19-footer bounced off the iron just before the horn, surviving his 18-point, fourth-quarter burst which featured both big shots and baffling decisions. Dwight Howard managed just 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting, but snagged a game-high 16 rebounds. Notably, the Magic out-rebounded the Lakers by a 50-39 margin, and Matt Barnes got physical with Bryant on both ends of the court, as Orlando demonstrated it's become a bit tougher since the Finals. Here's the traditional boxscore, and here's Hoopdata's advanced version.

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The Orlando Magic jumped out to a 32-18 lead against the New Jersey Nets in the first quarter tonight and did just enough on both ends of the floor throughout the rest of the game to avoid the indignity of losing to one of the worst teams of all-time, prevailing by a final score of 97-87. Small forward Matt Barnes led Orlando with 16 points, scoring 14 of them during the game's first seven minutes as Nets defenders simply failed to account for him in transition or beyond the arc. Point guard Jameer Nelson continued his strong play with 15 points and 8 assists (though we shouldn't read too deeply into that stat, as I'll explain), while Jason Williams, his backup, broke out of a long shooting slump to score 13 in just 19 minutes. Nets center Brook Lopez struggled against Dwight Howard, his Magic counterpart, for much of the game, but nonetheless finished with a game-high 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting, aided by a trio of late 20-footers that kept the game interesting. Howard contributed little offensively after the first quarter, but affected the game with his rebounding (16 total, 5 on the offensive glass) and shot-blocking (5 4) to once again turn in Orlando's strongest performance on the night. Yet coach Stan Van Gundy can't be happy with the fact that the Nets outscored his team after the first quarter, played harder for long stretches, and made 8 of their last 9 shots from the field.

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The Orlando Magic used their superior inside presence on both ends of the floor in dealing the Golden State Warriors a 117-90 defeat in a game whose outcome was never in doubt after halftime. Magic center Dwight Howard led everyone with 28 points and 12 boards in just 32 minutes, while Rashard Lewis scored 17 points and Vince Carter added 15. Orlando got just about whatever it wanted against Golden State, which dressed only 8 players, as it scored 70 points in the paint and held a commanding edge on the glass, 58-29. In a not entirely unforeseeable event, Brandon Bass got Lewis' backup minutes at power forward for the third straight game, and he responded with 10 points and a season-high 7 rebounds in 17 minutes of work. He hadn't scored as many points or logged as much floor time since December 2nd against New York, when he scored 17 points in 18 minutes against the Knicks' smallish front line.

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In their most efficient offensive performance of the season, the Orlando Magic blitzed the Philadelphia 76ers, 126-105, with 58.4% shooting from the field, 7 players scoring in double-figures, and with each player making at least 2 field goals. Jameer Nelson orchestrated the show with 22 points, 10 assists, and just 1 turnover in 27 minutes. Rashard Lewis and Vince Carter scored 19 apiece, each hitting 3 treys, and an opportunistic Matt Barnes added 16, including an emphatic, two-handed slam down the lane in the first quarter which set the tone for the game. Orlando's gaudy numbers help obscure its performance on defense, one of its worst of the season: Philadelphia, led by rookie point guard Jrue Holiday's career-best 23 points and 5 three-pointers, scored 1.17 points per possession (Orlando's 9th-highest allowed this season) and posted 53.5% effective field goal shooting (Orlando's 11th-best allowed). The 76ers didn't bomb away from the outside or make many trips to the foul line, but rather converted their leak-out transition opportunities and had a bit more success than normal at the rim thanks in large part to Magic center Dwight Howard's inability to stay on the floor. Howard picked up 4 fouls in 24 minutes and wasn't especially effective on D end when he did play. His lack of energy manifested itself most obviously on one play in which he never arrived to help Lewis at the rim against Thaddeus Young, who threw down a vicious dunk. Howard managed just 3 rebounds, his lowest total since December 11th, 2006. Additionally, he hasn't played more than 24 minutes without grabbing at least 3 boards since his rookie season.

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With franchise center Dwight Howard mired in foul trouble and unable to get his shots to drop, the Orlando Magic's secondary stars took charge and keyed Orlando to a 96-80 win over the Miami Heat, its first win in three tries against them this season. Rashard Lewis scored a game-high 22 points for the host Magic, his highest offensive output since a 23-point performance against Boston exactly 4 weeks ago. The Magic's shooting-guard duo of Vince Carter and J.J. Redick combined for 32 points on 77.9% True Shooting, while point guard Jameer Nelson picked his spots carefully and finished with 12 points and 4 assists. And not to be overlooked, Marcin Gortat contributed 9 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks in relief of Howard. Orlando limited Miami superstar Dwyane Wade, who owns a career scoring average of 30.1 points per game against the Magic, to just 21 today, his lowest total against them since scoring 21 in November 2005. Efficiency was a huge factor in Orlando's win, as it committed turnovers on just less than 10% of their possessions.

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