Dwight Howard scored nine of his 31 points during a three-minute spurt in the third quarter as the Orlando Magic pulled away from the visiting Toronto Raptors and captured their eighth straight home win, 112-72, on Friday night.
Ryan Anderson continued his fine play with 21 points and four 3-pointers for the Magic, who held a 60-44 edge on the glass. Howard had 19 rebounds – eight offensive – and Anderson added 10.
Anderson has averaged 16 points a game over his last eight – all off the bench.
DeMar DeRozan scored 16 points for Toronto, which has dropped six straight and completes a five-game road trip Saturday in Miami.
Howard started the early second-half run with a three-point play and a post move, and Jason Richardson capped it with a 3-pointer for a 61-46 lead with 7:09 left in the period.
Orlando held that lead through the rest of the frame and opened the fourth with an 18-2 splash, seven of the first nine points courtesy of J.J. Redick, to effectively put the game out of reach.
Raptors center Andrea Bargnani suffered his third straight poor scoring game, going 3 of 14 for 11 points. He made just 10 of 37 in his last two games.
Toronto | Orlando | |
DeMar DeRozan 16 | Scoring | Dwight Howard 31 |
Jose Calderon 5 | Assists | Jameer Nelson 8 |
Julian Wright 10 | Rebounds | Dwight Howard 19 |
Andrea Bargnani 4 | Free Throws Made | Dwight Howard 7 |
Jerryd Bayless 2 | Steals | Ryan Anderson 1 |
Andrea Bargnani 1 | Blocks | Brandon Bass 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Toronto | 72 | 35.4 | 4-15 | 10-17 | 15 | 44 | 2 | 6 | 14 |
Orlando | 112 | 47.2 | 9-27 | 19-27 | 21 | 60 | 4 | 5 | 9 |