Sports

NBA

Magic gets defensive

Associated Press
Published March 18, 2006

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ORLANDO - Dwight Howard and Darko Milicic have become a defensive presence in the middle for the Orlando Magic.

Howard had a season-high six blocks and Milicic added four, giving him 14 in the last three games, to help Orlando beat Boston 84-77 on Friday night.

"I've been watching Darko block shots the last couple of games and I just tried to do some of the same things tonight," said Howard, who also had 18 points and 13 rebounds. "The coaches are expecting a big defensive presence from both of us and they got it tonight."

The Magic trailed 61-59 entering the fourth quarter, but limited Boston to just 13 percent (3-for-23) shooting in the final period. It was only the second time in 37 games this season that Orlando has trailed going into the fourth quarter and rallied to win the game.

Paul Pierce led Boston with 19 points and Wally Szczerbiak added 16, the only two Celtics in double figures.

Jameer Nelson had 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Orlando, which won for the fourth time in five games.

The Magic had two decisive runs in the final period, both fueled by Hedo Turkoglu, who scored 10 of his 18 in the quarter. Turkoglu's 3-pointer started a 7-0 run that pushed the Magic in front 70-66 with 7:29 left in the game. Then he scored the last four points in an 8-1 run that gave Orlando an 80-72 advantage with 1:47 left.

Boston never got closer than five the rest of the game.

"One of the referees said this was one of the ugliest games he's seen in quite some time and I agree," Boston coach Doc Rivers said.

RAPTORS 97, BUCKS 96: Chris Bosh had 27 points and 10 rebounds, and host Toronto rallied from a 16-point deficit in the final six minutes to beat Milwaukee.

The Bucks led 94-78 with 5:41 left before Toronto finished the game on a 19-2 run, capped by Bosh's two free throws with 3.4 seconds remaining.

PACERS 98, KINGS 93: Ron Artest was booed loudly and shot poorly in his return to Indiana as the Pacers beat Sacramento.

Artest was playing in Indianapolis for the first time since his trade request was granted and he was sent to the Kings for Peja Stojakovic seven weeks ago. Artest scored 18 points, but shot 6-for-22 from the field, including 2-for-14 in the second half.

The fans reserved their loudest pregame cheers for Stojakovic, who scored 20 points to help the Pacers snap the Kings' five-game winning streak.

JAZZ 111, HAWKS 101: Utah stayed close in the Western Conference playoff race by beating host Atlanta.

Deron Williams scored 28 points and had two teammates score more than 20 as Utah snapped a three-game losing streak and gave the Hawks their fourth straight loss.

MAVERICKS 104, WIZARDS 94: Jason Terry and Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points apiece, and visiting Dallas pulled away in the second half.

Jerry Stackhouse, booed every time he touched the ball by Wizards fans disenchanted with his two seasons in Washington, added 17 points off the bench for the Mavericks, who won their third straight and sixth in seven games.

NETS 92, LAKERS 89: Nenad Krstic scored 26 points and tapped in a missed shot by Vince Carter with 13 seconds left as host New Jersey won its fourth straight.

Kobe Bryant, who led Los Angeles with 24 points, 11 below his average, missed a long 3-pointer at the buzzer.

CAVALIERS 99, TRAIL BLAZERS 84: LeBron James scored 27 points and Drew Gooden added a season-high 23 points and 14 rebounds as host Cleveland snapped a three-game losing streak and handed Portland its ninth consecutive road loss.

Sebastian Telfair, a reserve, scored 24 points to lead Portland, which has lost 17 of 20.

KNICKS 105, PISTONS 103: Jamal Crawford scored 15 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, including the tiebreaking jumper with 2.2 seconds left, as host New York rallied to beat Detroit.

Eddy Curry added 16 points and 11 rebounds and Steve Francis scored 15 points for the Knicks, who were decked out in green for the first time ever to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

GRIZZLIES 116, NUGGETS 102: Mike Miller matched a franchise record with 41 points and host Memphis shot 56 percent from the field to beat Denver.

Miller, who set a franchise record for points from a reserve, connected on 12 of his first 15 shots and 15-of-24 for the game.

SPURS 108, SUNS 102: Nazr Mohammed matched a career high with 30 points and had 16 rebounds to lead host San Antonio past Phoenix.

San Antonio has won three straight and remained a half game behind Dallas in the chase for the top record in the Southwest Division and the Western Conference.

HAWKS: Atlanta coach Mike Woodson was fined $20,000 and forward Josh Smith was fined $15,000 by the league for criticizing referees. Woodson complained after Monday night's 88-87 loss to Milwaukee about the imbalance of fouls in the game.

[Last modified March 18, 2006, 02:30:29]

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