Magic beat Bucks 108-101 as Nelson, Bogut hurt

ORLANDO, Fla.(AP) Dwight Howard was still standing, and that's all that mattered for the Orlando Magic.Howard
had 24 points and 13 rebounds as the Orlando Magic outlasted the
Milwaukee Bucks 108-101 Monday night in a matchup of injury-depleted
teams.
Richard Jefferson scored 25 points to lead Milwaukee,
which lost Andrew Bogut to a knee bruise in the third quarter. The
Bucks were already missing Michael Redd and Luke Ridnour, their
starting backcourt, to injuries.
Hedo Turkoglu, forced to play
some point guard when Jameer Nelson went out with a groin pull, and
Rashard Lewis each added 22 points for the Magic. Howard picked up his
fourth foul halfway through the third quarter but played eight minutes
in the final quarter, scoring 7 points but making only 5 of 11 free
throws.
"It was a war of attrition, that's what it was,'' Coach
Stan Van Gundy said. "They came in here missing guys and we came in
missing one, then lost one and had one in foul trouble. Neither team
was playing with the guys they really wanted to play with most of the
night.''
Orlando (10-4) led by 12 with just under two minutes
left, but poor free throw shooting and Jefferson almost brought the
Bucks back. His short jumper with 24 seconds left cut the lead to
103-100, but free throws by Turkoglu and Lewis sealed the win.
"Some
games we just come out and our talent takes us over the edge, but we've
got to learn how to play together,'' Howard said. "Sometimes our talent
won't take us that far.''Milwaukee committed 39 fouls but Orlando made only 38 of 54 free throws.
"We
cannot afford to come out here and try to outscore these guys,'' Luc
Mbah a Moute said. "They have an offense that is more established than
our offense. Our main thing is to defend. Tonight we did not do a good
job of it.''Howard made only 10 of 20.
"It's every game, so I do worry about that,'' Van Gundy said.Bogut
got the better of a matchup of back-to-back No. 1 overall draft picks
early. Bogut made a pair of jump hooks over Howard to start the game.
He then drew charges for two of the three fouls that sent Howard, the
2004 top pick, to the bench with about seven minutes left in the second
quarter.Bogut had 16 points and three rebounds in the first. Howard, the No. 1 pick had only four points and six boards.
In
the first three minutes of the second half, Bogut picked up three fouls
trying to stop Howard inside, sending Bogut to the bench with four. A
minute later, Bogut was taken to the locker room for X-rays.
"I took a charge in the first half and got a knee,'' Bogut said. "But I'll be OK.''
Turkoglu
hit a 3 at the end of the first quarter to give the Magic a 33-23 lead.
Milwaukee cut the lead to six midway through the second quarter, but
another basket by Turkoglu gave Orlando a 58-47 halftime lead.Both
teams have already been hit hard by injuries. The Magic announced
earlier Monday that sixth man Keith Bogans would miss at least a month
with a broken thumb.
Redd, out since Nov. 5 with a high ankle
sprain, was joined on the inactive list by point guard Ridnour, who
suffered a scraped and bruised knee against the Bobcats. Ridnour had
missed two games earlier this year with lower back spasms.Redd was averaging 21.3 in four games before his injury."People
are saying to us, 'You're coming close to beating good teams, what
would take you over the edge?''' Jefferson said. "Those guys might be
able to take you over the edge, but that being said, you can't go out
there and wait.''
Orlando's early-season schedule was littered
with teams that finished last in their divisions, and three of the
Magic's losses early wins were against the four teams they've played
with a winning record.

Notes: Turkoglu had missed the Houston
game with the flu. ... Milwaukee had lost five straight against the
Magic, by an average of 16 points. ... The Bucks started their fifth
different lineup in 16 games.