He has 21 points and 20 rebounds in leading the Magic to an 85-77 victory over the Bobcats.
By Associated Press
Published November 16, 2005
ORLANDO - Dwight Howard made Orlando's 2004 draft look smart.
The No. 1 overall selection last year, Howard had 21 points and 20 rebounds to lead the Magic over Charlotte 85-77 Tuesday night and hand the Bobcats their fifth straight loss.
Orlando chose the high school standout over Emeka Okafor, who went second to Charlotte and was named the NBA's Rookie of the Year last season.
Howard finished third in the balloting, but has shown significant improvement this season - especially on this night against Okafor.
"He's going to be a beast to contain," Magic forward Tony Battie said. "He's good right now, but he's going to be great."
Howard helped get Okafor into early foul trouble. Okafor, who entered the game averaging 13 points and nine boards, finished with eight points - all in the fourth quarter - and six rebounds.
"Dwight played strong. I'm not really surprised," Okafor said. "He's getting the ball more this year, just getting a lot more touches, and he was authoritative with his moves."
Howard, who was 7-of-11 from the field and got his fifth consecutive double-double, fought through leg problems before the game and was just happy he could play.
"(Magic players) made a lot of jokes about how I had this game on my calendar. I just wanted to get the win," Howard said. "It doesn't matter how we got it, ugly or pretty."
Keith Bogans led Charlotte with a season-high 18 points off the bench. No Bobcats starter scored in double figures.
"That unit, we're just not getting out of the gate," Charlotte coach Bernie Bickerstaff said. "I think there has to be a little more focus, there has to be a little more professionalism."
Despite Howard's performance, Sean May made another Orlando draft pick look pretty bad. The Magic considered taking the North Carolina standout in June, but opted instead for Spain's Fran Vazquez, who spurned the team to stay in Europe.
May finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Orlando's DeShawn Stevenson had 16 points and Steve Francis added 13 points, five rebounds and six assists. Battie had 11 points and 12 rebounds - his first double-double of the season - in the Magic's first home win.
Jameer Nelson scored 13 off the bench, including five points in a 12-4 run in the fourth quarter that helped Orlando take control.
