By DAVID STEELE
Orlando Magic Play-By-Play Announcer
Feb. 25, 2011
Call it a chastening. Call is a censure. Call it a challenge. Call it whatever you like, but Friday night Dwight Howard's teammates responded to his harsh words from earlier in the week.
The Orlando Magic bounced back from a disheartening setback against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, with a 111-88 thrashing of the Northwest Division-leading Oklahoma City Thunder at the Amway Center.
Howard was terrific, scoring 40 points, grabbing 15 rebounds and blocking six shots, but that's not news. The five-time all-star has been consistently commendable throughout the season. Howard's supporting cast was superlative in this one.
Jason Richardson with five threes. Jameer Nelson with rebounds rebounds. Hedo Turkoglu with 10 assists. J.J. Redick with 16 points off the bench. Stifling team defense which held OKC's two all-stars, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to just 34 percent shooting, and the Thunder as a team to just 33 percent from the field.
Granted, the Thunder was a team in transition. Former starters Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic were on their way to Boston. Newcomers Kendrick Perkins, Nate Robinson and Nazr Mohammed were en route to join their new team. But the Magic lost a fourth quarter lead to a much less talented Sacramento team on Wednesday night, so there was good reason to celebrate this solid win against the 36-21 Thunder.
Now the question is, with 23 games remaining in the regular season, can the Magic string together a slew more of these kinds of games? If the answer is yes, then Orlando will claim more than its fair share of victories and be a dangerous opponent headed into the post-season.
Magic numbers
3: How many times Dwight Howard has scored 40 or more points in a game in his career. Howard had 40 against the Thunder and 40 in a loss at Chicago earlier this year. He scored a career high 45 in a win against Charlotte in February of 2009.
5: Consecutive games ahead against playoff contending teams. (Charlotte, New York, Miami, Chicago and Portland)
16: Howard's made field goals against Oklahoma City. Ties his career high.
26: Orlando's assist total Friday night against the Thunder. The Magic are 49-1 (since '08-'09 in the regular season) with 24 or more assists in a game.
28: The number of times Howard has blocked 6 or more shots in a game in his career (regular and post-season). Orlando is 22-6 in those games.
