Dwight Howard sees a lot of similarities between him and LeBron James, two of the NBA's most dominant players who have been to the NBA Finals but still haven't won a championship.
"Both of us are chasing it," Howard said after his Magic stomped the Miami Heat 102-89 Wednesday night. "We've gotten all the individual awards, all the accolades, but not the championship. And the reason most of us are playing the game is to win a championship."
Howard had just dominated James and the Heat. He had 25 points and 25 rebounds, leading his team to a start-to-finish victory which showed just how good the Magic can be when everything clicks.
With Howard attracting so much attention around the basket, and moving the ball well on the perimeter, the Magic took a franchise record 42 3-point shots. They made 17. And they cruised to victory.
"When we play like that, we can play with anyone," said forward Ryan Anderson, who made 5-of-11 3-point shots. "We can be pretty good."
Anderson had a team-high 27 points. He gave the Magic the second scoring option they have been looking for behind Howard.
The Magic, who lost in overtime Monday night to the Los Angeles Clippers, return to action Friday against Atlanta, their third real test of the week. The Hawks beat the Magic in the playoffs last season, which eventually led to Howard's request to be traded, which has disrupted the franchise.
