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Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis Shine in Win Over Spurs
Sensing the double team was coming, Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard retreated backward with the dribble, and wisely spotted Rashard Lewis on the wing for a wide-open 3-pointer.
There were many reasons the Magic pursued Lewis, the summer's most coveted free agent, but that Lewis-Howard moment from Orlando 's 99-90 defeat of the San Antonio Spurs Thursday was chief among them.
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Not only does the multi-talented Lewis give the Magic another potent 20-point-a-game weapon, but his addition also makes life dramatically easier inside for Howard. Orlando is hoping that Lewis' ability to make teams pay for focusing too much attention on Howard will make their offense far more powerful and efficient than the one that often struggled to score last season.
"We want to spread the floor and if we're out there knocking down shots it's going to keep the lane open for Dwight," Lewis said. "If they leave (Howard) alone, I don't think there's anyone who can guard him one on one."
Orlando was finally able to get a look at the Howard-Lewis duo in Thursday's exhibition finale. Lewis left his first two preseason games with the Magic with injuries, causing him to miss the past 15 days.
But with his sprained right ankle healed enough to play Thursday against the Spurs, Lewis gave the Amway Arena crowd of 14,825 a glimpse at his expansive offensive arsenal. In just three quarters of work, he scored 16 points and grabbed five rebounds.
Obviously rusty from the long layoff, Lewis missed five of his first six shot attempts and turned the ball over twice. But he had an impressive flurry in the third quarter when he hit two 3-pointers and three consecutive baskets.
"I felt good and I really needed to get that under my belt," Lewis said. "My legs got heavy and I got tired. But I needed to get tired before next week. My confidence was up in the second half and it was time for me to make some shots."
The Magic, who waived rookie point guard Kevin Kruger after Thursday's game, closed the preseason with a 6-1 record and up next for Orlando is the Milwaukee Bucks in the regular-season opener Wednesday. Orlando finished the preseason shooting a stellar 50.1 percent and hit 57 3-pointers in seven games.
Carlos Arroyo continued his stellar preseason play with 16 points on eight of 10 shooting. He also had four assists and continued to push starter Jameer Nelson (nine points, four assists) for minutes.
Howard had his poorest game of an otherwise stellar preseason, but still finished with 11 points, 13 rebounds and three assists. He missed six shots, three free throws and turned the ball over five times against Spurs star Tim Duncan (10 points, seven rebounds in 28 minutes).
"I've really worked on passing out of the double team and it just comes down to having confidence in all our guys," Howard said. "If I can do that and guys can hit shots I really think it will open things up for me inside."
The Magic's starting lineup for the opener seems set with Nelson and Keith Bogans in the backcourt, Howard, Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu along the frontline. They did open the second half with Adonal Foyle (eight points, seven rebounds, four blocked shots) replacing Bogans, giving the Magic four players 6-foot-10 or taller.
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