Orlando builds big lead, holds on to beat Hawks

ATLANTA(AP) For three quarters, Orlando hardly missed. In the final period, nothing seemed to go.Fortunately for the Magic, they had enough of a lead to hold off the Atlanta Hawks.Putting
on a show for the home folks, Dwight Howard had 23 points and 19
rebounds as Orlando preserved a 106-102 victory Wednesday night in a
matchup of the top two teams in the Southeast Division.Orlando
nearly squandered a 21-point advantage, catching a huge break when Mike
Bibby missed a breakaway layup that should have made it a two-point
game with just under 1 1/2 minutes remaining. The Magic went nearly 5
minutes without scoring in the final period, but the Hawks couldn't hit
enough shots - not even the easiest one of all - to complete the
comeback.Atlanta lost for only the third time in 18 games at Philips Arena."We
exhaled too early,'' said Howard, an Atlanta native who recorded his
26th double-double of the season. "We gave them a chance to come back.''Josh
Smith led Atlanta with 21 points, but he missed all four of his
free-throw attempts - the worst culprit in a 14-of-25 performance at
the line that came back to haunt the Hawks at the end.The Magic
stretched their lead on second-place Atlanta to five games in the first
of a home-and-home between the division rivals. The teams meet again
Friday night in Florida.Orlando was dead-on through the first
three quarters, shooting better than 55 percent. The Magic were really
on target in the second period, finishing off a 10-of-16 display when
Rashard Lewis banked in a desperation 3-pointer just ahead of the
24-second buzzer and the game clock, sending Orlando to the locker room
with its biggest lead of the half at 60-45.The Magic stretched
the lead to 76-55 on Courtney Lee's 3-pointer with just over 6 minutes
remaining in the third and was up 86-70 heading to the final period."You
can't wait three quarters to decide you want to play,'' Atlanta coach
Mike Woodson said. "We were just awful, I thought, in the first three
quarters.''Suddenly, Orlando went cold. The visitors went
5-of-16 in the final quarter and turned it over four times, giving the
Hawks a shot.Fortunately, the Magic had the guy with the
"Superman'' cape. As his teammates struggled, Howard scored two
straight baskets - one of them a thunderous dunk - after pulling down
offensive rebounds.Plus, he got a chance to be home for a day."Sometimes I eat too much of my mama's cooking,'' Howard quipped. "I had a lot of family out there.''Orlando
went 4:50 without scoring until Lewis hit a turnaround jumper that made
it 99-92. He scored 20 points for the Magic, as did Hedo Turkoglu."We have to learn to put teams away,'' Howard said. "We can't let an Atlanta team come back like that.''Atlanta
squandered too many chances to complete the comeback. Al Horford
stepped on the baseline with under 2 minutes to go while trying to
drive, ruining one possession, but the biggest blunder came after the
Hawks knocked the ball away for what looked to be a sure basket.Bibby
took off the other way, all alone. He glanced over his shoulder to make
sure no one was coming up - then clanked the lay-in that could have
made it 101-99 with plenty of time remaining. Bibby also missed a late
3-pointer to seal the victory for the Magic."We just didn't
shoot the ball well,'' Bibby said. "It happens. The good thing is we've
got them Friday in Orlando. We let one get away here.''Every
Orlando starter was in double figures with 3 minutes left in the third
quarter. J.J. Redick joined them by banking in a towering shot over
Solomon Jones before the period was done."They came to play in the first three quarters,'' Smith said, "and we were nonexistent.''Bibby
scored 17 points but was only 6-of-17 from the field. Joe Johnson, the
Hawks' leading scorer, was just 5-of-17 for 13 points - matching his
second-lowest output of the season."Tonight, they missed,''
Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said. "I don't anticipate they'll do that
two nights in a row. When they play us Friday, it could be a tough
night.''Notes: Atlanta G Acie Law wasn't at the game. Woodson
said he was attending to a personal matter and could rejoin the team on
Thursday. ... Hawks C Zaza Pachulia wasn't in uniform because of the
flu. ... Orlando G Keith Bogans missed his second straight game with a
sprained right ankle. ... Orlando evened the season series at 1-1, the
road team winning both games. ... Horford had 13 rebounds. ... Atlanta
F Marvin Williams, coming back after missing a game with a sprained
shoulder, scored 16 points.