NBA

Howard keeps Magic in hunt

By Wire services
Published April 16, 2006

ORLANDO - The Magic are trying not to think too much about the postseason, even though they are suddenly playing like a playoff team.

Dwight Howard scored a season-high 28 and grabbed a career-high 26 rebounds to lift Orlando over Philadelphia 102-97 Saturday night, keeping the Magic's postseason hopes alive and damaging the 76ers'.

"They stuck with us the whole game," Howard said. "To me it felt like a little playoff game. It kept going back and forth."

Allen Iverson had 36 points and five assists, while Chris Webber added 20 points and 11 rebounds for the 76ers.

Philadelphia has lost two in a row, falling 11/2 games behind idle Chicago with two to play. The win was the Magic's eighth in a row overall and 12th straight at home, and leaves them 21/2 games behind the Bulls. The Magic have two games left and the Bulls have three.

The Magic host Chicago on Monday night and finish the regular season at Indiana on Wednesday. Philadelphia plays at home against New Jersey on Tuesday and finishes at Charlotte on Wednesday.

Both teams need help from Chicago. Besides their game at Orlando, the Bulls play today at Miami and host Toronto on Wednesday.

Neither team led by more than three points until the end of a tight fourth, which the Magic didn't sew up until the final minute.

Trailing by three, Webber drove the lane and missed inside, and Hedo Turkoglu nailed two free throws to cement the victory.

Trailing by five points or less most of the third, the 76ers tied the game at 71 on Iverson's 3-pointer with 5:02 left. Iverson scored 15 of Philadelphia's 24 in the third, but the teams traded buckets until Orlando closed out with an 83-80 lead to open the fourth.

BOBCATS 92, PACERS 91 (OT): Primoz Brezec scored 18, including the basket that forced overtime, and Alan Anderson hit a free throw with 59 seconds left in the extra period. The visiting Pacers, who still clinched a playoff berth when Philadelphia lost to Orlando, had two chances to win but Jermaine O'Neal and Anthony Johnson couldn't convert.

GRIZZLIES 93, ROCKETS 81: Mike Miller scored 25 and Shane Battier hit his first eight shots and added 19 for visiting Memphis, which won for the sixth time in seven games and completed the franchise's first season sweep of Houston. Houston's Rafer Alston beat the halftime buzzer with a driving layup to forge a 46-all tie at the break. Eddie Jones sank a 3-pointer and Battier hit two from the corner as the Grizzlies rebuilt their lead in the third.

HAWKS 120, BUCKS 114: Josh Smith scored a career-high 28 and Marvin Williams added 19 for visiting Atlanta, which snapped an 11-game road losing streak and four in a row overall. The Hawks took a 96-88 lead with 8:54 to play on Smith's layup as the crowd booed Milwaukee's second-half performance. The game featured 21 lead changes, but none in the fourth.

KINGS 100, NUGGETS 82: Mike Bibby scored 23 and Kenny Thomas added 18 points for visiting Sacramento, which moved 11/2 games ahead of Utah for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Ruben Patterson scored 20 to lead the Nuggets, who trailed the entire second half.

LATE FRIDAY: Kobe Bryant broke Elgin Baylor's single-season scoring record (2,719 in 1962-63), getting 50 points in the Lakers 110-99 win over visiting Portland.

[Last modified April 16, 2006, 00:43:12]