Magic shoot down Cavaliers
Associated Press
ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Magic are looking more and more like a contender in the Eastern Conference.
Dwight Howard had 22 points and 18 rebounds, Hedo Turkoglu added 19 points and 11 rebounds, and the Magic took advantage of LeBron James' shooting struggles to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 99-88, last night.
"I hope we're still under the radar," said guard Jameer Nelson, who added 18 points after being added to Eastern Conference All-Star team earlier in the day. "Right now, it doesn't make a difference what people say about us a team and as individuals. We just want to reach our goals at the end of the season."
James was 10-of-27 from the field, spending much of the night complaining to the officials. He finished with 23 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. But he took only six free throws — and missed three of them.
SPURS 114, SUNS 104
Manu Ginobili made 18 free throws without a miss and finished with 30 points and nine rebounds, Tony Parker added 26 points, and Tim Duncan had 20 points and 15 rebounds, leading visiting San Antonio past Phoenix.
CLEVELAND 32 24 16 16—88
ORLANDO 25 30 24 20—99
CLEVELAND-James 10-27 3-6 23, Wallace 1-3 0-0 2, Varejao 3-6 3-5 9, Pavlovic 3-8 0-0 8, M.Williams 4-15 3-3 12, Gibson 1-6 2-2 5, Hickson 6-9 1-2 13, Szczerbiak 5-6 1-2 14, Kinsey 1-1 0-0 2, Jackson 0-1 0-0 0, J.Williams 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-82 13-20 88.
ORLANDO-Turkoglu 8-22 0-0 19, Lewis 6-16 4-4 19, Howard 9-15 4-6 22, Lee 2-6 4-4 8, Nelson 6-11 2-2 18, Pietrus 2-4 0-0 4, Johnson 3-6 2-2 9, Battie 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 36-80 16-18 99.
3-Point Goals-Cleveland 7-14 (Szczerbiak 3-3, Pavlovic 2-3, Gibson 1-2, M.Williams 1-4, James 0-2), Orlando 11-31 (Nelson 4-6, Turkoglu 3-10, Lewis 3-10, Johnson 1-1, Lee 0-2, Pietrus 0-2). Fouled Out-None. Rebounds-Cleveland 47 (James, Varejao 8), Orlando 54 (Howard 18). Assists-Cleveland 17 (James 8), Orlando 17 (Lewis 5). Total Fouls-Cleveland 17, Orlando 17. Technicals-Cleveland coach Brown, M.Williams, Orlando Defensive Three Second. A-17,461. (17,248).
SAN ANTONIO 32 25 32 25—114
PHOENIX 31 26 27 20—104
SAN ANTONIO-Finley 2-5 0-0 6, Duncan 6-16 8-12 20, Bonner 1-3 0-0 3, Mason 3-9 4-4 12, Parker 12-21 2-2 26, Bowen 1-3 6-8 9, Ginobili 6-13 18-18 30, Thomas 3-5 0-0 6, Ge.Hill 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 35-76 38-44 114.
PHOENIX-Gr.Hill 9-12 2-3 20, Stoudemire 11-23 6-6 28, O'Neal 5-14 3-5 13, Richardson 3-6 1-1 7, Nash 5-12 5-5 16, Amundson 0-1 0-0 0, Barbosa 2-5 3-3 7, Barnes 5-8 0-2 13, Dudley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 40-81 20-25 104.
3-Point Goals-San Antonio 6-19 (Finley 2-5, Mason 2-5, Bonner 1-1, Bowen 1-3, Parker 0-1, Ginobili 0-4), Phoenix 4-7 (Barnes 3-4, Nash 1-1, Barbosa 0-1, Richardson 0-1). Fouled Out-None. Rebounds-San Antonio 52 (Duncan 15), Phoenix 41 (Stoudemire, Gr.Hill 10). Assists-San Antonio 16 (Parker 5), Phoenix 22 (Nash 18). Total Fouls-San Antonio 21, Phoenix 24. Technicals-Duncan, Nash, O'Neal, Stoudemire, Phoenix defensive three second. A-18,422 (18,422).