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Dwight Howard Struggles in Atlanta
Dwight Howard had just 11 points, eight rebounds and two blocks in an ugly loss to the Hawks on Sunday.
Howard's homecoming to Atlanta was ruined by foul trouble and the inability of Orlando's guards to distribute the ball against the Hawks. Howard also had five turnovers, five fouls and picked up a technical while hitting three shots in just five tries on Sunday. He may have been guilty of overlooking Zaza Pachulia after dominating Ben Wallace and playing well against Samuel Dalembert in their previous two games
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Joe Johnson poured in a game-high 31 points on 11-of-19 shooting as the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Orlando Magic, 95-82, at Philips Arena.
Zaza Pachulia scored 17 points and Josh Smith contributed with his first double-double — 11 points and 11 rebounds — for the Hawks, who have won two straight.
"We’re just playing great basketball right now," Johnson said. "If we can play like this and I play 30 minutes a night, and these guys play hard every night, I’m satisfied."
Atlanta, which shot 43 percent from the field, never trailed during the contest.
Carlos Arroyo came off the bench and led the Magic with 22 points on a perfect 9-of-9 shooting. Grant Hill added 14 and Dwight Howard scored 11 and grabbed eight boards.
"We’re not giving ourselves a chance to win the game when we start slow," Arroyo said. "We don’t start the games with intensity. We’re a team known for its high energy and starting off the right way, but it was just one of those nights."
Orlando has dropped two in a row.
The Hawks stormed out of the gates, going on 14-4 burst capped by Pachulia’s layup with 5:17 left in the opening quarter. Atlanta continued to dominate the first, leading by as many as 13 and ending the frame with a 22-11 advantage. Johnson had seven points and Pachulia added six.
Atlanta maintained its lead in the second and went into the half with a 46-35 advantage. Orlando cut within seven with 25 seconds left on Hill’s layup, but Smith drained a three-pointer as time expired for the Hawks.
In the third frame, the Magic knotted the game 50-50 on Hedo Turkoglu’s jumper. However, Johnson led the charge for Atlanta with three straight jump shots before free throws by Tyrone Lue and Pachulia put the Hawks up 66-57 at the conclusion of the third.
Arroyo’s jumper got Orlando to within four with 6:22 remaining, but Atlanta went on an 8-0 run as Josh Childress hit a layup and tipped one in and Johnson drained two jumpers.
The Magic were never able to mount any offense in the final four minutes. |
