Howard stands tall as Magic drop sluggish Mavs

Published Fri, Apr 02 10 09:35 AM

Dwight Howard made his presence felt with 17 points, 20 rebounds and five blocks to guide the Orlando Magic to a 97-82 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday.

Mickael Pietrus made all six of his three-point attempts and added 24 points off the bench while Vince Carter brushed off a toe injury to score 19 and give the Magic (53-22) their third straight win.

The Mavericks were playing for the second consecutive night and appeared sluggish, falling behind by seven points at halftime and 16 after three quarters.

Dirk Nowitzki had 24 points to lead Dallas (50-26) but he was the only Mavericks starter to score in double figures. Jason Terry and Jose Barea grabbed 16 points apiece from the bench.

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