Howard leads Magic past Wizards

WASHINGTON(AP) The Washington Wizards were helpless against Dwight Howard.The
NBA's leading rebounder, Howard had 26 points, 14 rebounds and three
blocks to help the Orlando Magic beat the Wizards 105-90 on Thursday
night.Orlando has won eight of its last nine games and six in a row on the road.Howard
toyed with four Washington defenders - scoring 14 points and grabbing
nine rebounds in the first 8:45 as the Magic took a 25-11 lead."Our thing is we have to come out strong and let teams know how the game is going to be played the whole night,'' Howard said."We've
got to be able to do that every night to be a great team. Look at the
teams like the Celtics and the Lakers, they come out the first quarter
and they dominate and set the tone. We have to continue to do that in
order to be one of those teams.''JaVale McGee started at center
for Washington, and he picked up two fouls in 2:16. Andray Blatche was
the next to try to stop Howard, and he had two fouls in 1:47. By then,
Howard had seven points.Etan Thomas was the third to guard
Howard, who scored seven more points as the Magic went on an 11-0 run
to take that 14-point lead."He was obviously the dominant guy in
the first half,'' Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said. "Getting off to a
good start was also important.''Howard went to the bench moments
later, and Washington, which has dropped 11 of its 13 games this
season, went on a 19-3 run to cut it to 38-34 early in the second
quarter. Only Darius Songaila had a modicum of success against him.Playing against Howard was a frustrating experience for Wizards interim coach Ed Tapscott."He takes up a lot of space,'' Tapscott said. "It's like a quarter-mile around his shoulders, he's so broad.''Caron Butler scored 19 of his 25 points in the first half for Washington, and Antawn Jamison had 17 points and 12 rebounds.Orlando
had just three points in the first 6:57 of the second quarter after
scoring 38 points in the first quarter - the most allowed by Washington
this season.The Wizards played their second game under Tapscott
after beating Golden State by 24 points in the first. Tapscott, who
replaced Eddie Jordan on Monday, said he'd had time to add a few of his
own innovations to the offense. He suggested that Butler and Jamison
would play on the same side of the court more often, and also warned
that there probably wouldn't be a repeat of Tuesday night's romp."That was a one-of-a-kind game,'' Tapscott said.After
McGee hit a layup to start the quarter to cut Orlando's lead to nine at
55-46, the Magic went on a 16-3 tear to make it 71-49 lead with 6:57 to
play in the third quarter.Hedo Turkoglu added 20 points and had a season-high 10 rebounds. He clearly admires his 6-foot-11, 265-pound teammate."He's
huge. He's really helping for all of us for playing better because it's
so hard to guard him one-on-one out there,'' Turkoglu said. "It opens
up for other guys when they double team and he's a good passer, too.''Butler could only stand and watch his teammates flail against Howard."No
one in the league has matched up well against him except Houston,''
Butler said. "He's a handful. He's a guy who can pound you down there.''Rashard
Lewis, who gave Orlando a victory Wednesday night in Philadelphia with
a late 3-pointer, added 17 points, and Mickael Peitrus also had 17.
Anthony Johnson had a season-high 12 assists.While the Magic had
a comfortable Thanksgiving, their coach did not. Stan Van Gundy said
that he was feeling sick, and didn't join the team for its pregame
holiday meal."I did the stuff to get ready for the game, took a nap. Happy Thanksgiving,'' Van Gundy said.Notes:
Blatche, who had 25 points against Golden State, had five as he fouled
out in just 13 minutes. ... Orlando is the only NBA team that will play
on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve. ... The Magic were
without G Jameer Nelson (strained right hip flexor). He's expected to
miss at least a week. ... Orlando's Keith Bogans missed his third game
because of a fractured right thumb. ... Washington G Antonio Daniels
returned after missing five of the previous six games because of a sore
right knee. Tapscott said Daniels approached him and volunteered to
come off the bench to allow Dee Brown to start.