Dwight and Day: Howard holds Bogut in check as Magic win 7th straight
By SAM
GARDNER
FOXSportsFlorida.com Magic
writer
Jan. 5, 2011
ORLANDO, Fla. -- What a difference a Dwight makes.
One month after Milwaukee center Andrew Bogut dominated a depleted Orlando frontcourt in a 96-85 victory over the Magic, Bogut was held in check Wednesday night, the Magic rolled and Dwight Howard had everything to do with it.
Howard scored 28 points on 9-of-16 shooting and had 13 rebounds, and Bogut was held to just six points on 2-of-5 shooting and seven rebounds as the Magic earned a 97-87 victory over the Bucks at the Amway Center.
The win was Orlando's seventh straight victory, and it showed just how valuable Howard is to the Magic when they face off against teams with dominant big men.
"I would say Andrew Bogut would attest to the fact that Dwight's pretty good," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said dryly after the game.
See, when Bogut scored 31 points on 13-of-20 shooting and pulled down 18 rebounds in the Bucks' December 4 victory, Howard was nestled in a hotel bed (or, perhaps, by a hotel toilet), stricken with a stomach virus that took down half the Magic rotation.
Try as he might, then-Magic center Marcin Gortat could do nothing to stop the 7-foot Australian, and he made even less headway on offense, scoring just two points on 1-of-4 shooting.
But with Howard healthy and ready to go, the result was far different.
"No question, Dwight was dominant, that's what we needed him to be tonight," Van Gundy said. "I was disappointed in the way the second half some of our other guys played, so you get into another situation where you're hanging on for dear life and he plays the entire second half."
Van Gundy said he doesn't want to make a habit of playing Howard so many minutes. Howard has played almost 43 minutes in each of the last two games, and played 39 minutes the game before.
"(That's) not what you want to be doing every night, but if our other guys aren't going to play better than they did tonight, then we're forced into that," he said. "Luckily, Dwight responded and played extremely well."
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