The Orlando Magic took down the Houston Rockets 110-92 on Wednesday night. You can see three highlight-reel dunks from the game here.
Dwight Howard had a perfect 11-of-11 night from the floor.
"For a while, though, it did appear Howard had been hexed. He had to report to the bench after picking up two fouls in 22 seconds.“Yeah, I thought about that. I was sitting there going, ‘I’ve been jinxed!”‘ Howard said. “Not a bad for playing three quarters.”Coach Stan Van Gundy says Howard is playing his best basketball since Van Gundy arrived in 2007 — and believes it will continue.“He was incredible,” Van Gundy said. “He’s just patient down there (in the paint). He’s changed the way he plays. He doesn’t force things now. People want more and they’re getting more. He’s by far the biggest reason we’re winning games. People are going to have to give him more credit.”"
Brain Schmitz has the story here.
Phillip Rossman-Reich of Orlando Magic Daily made sure Marcin Gortat got his due.
"But remember it was the Rockets and their general manager Daryl Morey who set up an e-mail account to try and get Gortat to sign an offer sheet in Houston. The “Polish Hammer” (his other nickname is apparently blacklisted by our Web site software. Sorry, Marcin) reminded everyone why he was so sought after and why he is still valuable to Orlando as the team took control of the game in the first half.Gortat scored seven points and grabbed seven rebounds in 14 minutes, the most he has played since playing 17 minutes against Cleveland on Feb. 11, to help spark Orlando to a five-point first-quarter lead. Gortat was certainly not alone in providing an early spark of energy (he had three offensive rebounds as well) as Jameer Nelson also helped keep Orlando afloat."
You can read that story here.
Houston’s losses are starting to pile up.
"Dwight Howard not only set an Orlando franchise record with his 19th consecutive double-double, he set a record for most made shots without a miss by a Rockets opponent, making all 11 of his attempts and finishing with 30 points and 16 rebounds.Aaron Brooks led the Rockets with 24 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Martin had 17 of his 19 points in the second half when the Rockets made their too-late comeback.“The first half I started thinking, just wondering why shots wouldn’t go in,” Martin said. “It just happens like that sometimes. Once a couple started to fall, things started rolling. I finally felt like myself again.”“Tonight, you have to look yourself in the mirror, including myself, and bring that same effort in the first half. You don’t want to get down that much in this league. You can come back, but it’s tough to pull it out.”"
Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle has that story here.
Ryan Anderson saw time on Wednesday night, but he has trouble getting on the court at times. He is being patient and waiting for his time.
"“It’s tough to feel like you can get any consistency, but I have to stay ready,” he said. “It’s on me. I have to expect every game that I’m going to play and take advantage of the minutes I do get.”He has struggled, looking as if he were rushing his shots. Anderson came into Wednesday night averaging 7.9 points and 3.4 rebounds per game in 15.7 minutes per game.Anderson arrived in a trade with Vince Carter from the Nets last summer. The 6 foot-10 forward was appealing to the Magic because he mirrored Lewis’ 3-point game.With Lewis missing the first 10 games of the season because of a suspension, Anderson averaged 15 points per game. He came back with some big nights after spraining his right ankle, but then saw his playing time tail off.“We have an all-star cast,” Anderson said. “I know they have confidence in me and I have confidence in myself. I’m on a winning team, a team that went to the Finals. So you can’t complain.”"
You can read that and other notes here.
(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger and a contributor at NFL Mocks Subscribe to his RSS feed, add him on Twitter to follow him daily and you can get the HTD app here).