Magic manhandle Mavericks for ninth straight win

The Orlando Magic and the Dallas Mavericks both look decidedly different from the last time they played less than three weeks ago.



Dwight Howard had 23 points and 13 rebounds and Turkey's Hedo Turkoglu handed out a career-high 17 assists as the Magic avenged a home loss to the Mavericks with a 117-107 road victory, their ninth straight win. The Magic (25-12) have not lost since a December 21 setback to the Mavericks, their second game after making two huge trades and revamping their roster with newcomers Turkoglu, Jason Richardson and Gilbert Arenas. They have the longest current winning streak in the NBA. 'Everyone is pretty much veterans that came in the trade and guys that are playing a lot are veterans,' said Richardson, who scored 20 points. 'We are trying to get to the big goal at the end of the season.' The trade has added firepower to the Magic, who had seven scorers in double figures. Orlando has had at least six double-figure scorers in seven consecutive games, the longest streak in the NBA in 18 seasons, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. 'I am not surprised at all,' Richardson said. 'We've got a lot of guys that when we were on other teams, we were averaging 22, 23 points per game.' The Mavericks (26-10) were 23-5 after beating the Magic. In their next game, they won at Oklahoma City but lost German juggernaut Dirk Nowitzki to a sprained knee and are 2-5 without him. 'Dirk's not here. so let's not talk about Dirk,' said Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle. Dallas also lost scoring forward Caron Butler for the season when he suffered a ruptured patellar tendon on New Year's Day, leaving the scoring load to Jason Terry, Shawn Marion and DeShawn Stevenson. 'We need to focus on our defense and our rebounding,' Carlisle said. 'That's going to have to be a constant force for us to be successful, regardless of our personnel.' Dallas held a 50-34 lead with three minutes left in the first half and Howard on the bench with foul trouble. Richardson made a pair of three-pointers and three free throws in a 17-7 surge that cut the deficit to six points at the break. 'They had a chance to really build a big margin with Dwight out of the game and those guys hung in there,' Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. Dallas still held an 88-85 lead early in the fourth quarter when Orlando ripped off a clinching 23-2 run. Turkoglu had seven points and five assists, accounting for all but six points in the spurt. 'Seventeen assists for anybody is incredible, but a 6-10 forward with 17 assists, that's a phenomenal, phenomenal game,' Van Gundy said. 'He made a lot of plays for us.' 'It was a tough game to play defensively because of the way they stretched the floor and Howard,' said Carlisle, who was ejected during Orlando's late run. Jameer Nelson scored 16 points, Arenas added 14, Turkoglu had 13 and Brandon Bass and Ryan Anderson 11 apiece for the Magic, who shot 52 percent (42-of-81) from the field, including 14-of-32 from the arc. Stevenson scored 24 points, Marion added 18 and Terry 16 for the Mavs, who shot 54 percent (41-of-76) and made 12-of-26 three-pointers. Oklahoma City 109, Memphis 100= Kevin Durant scored 40 points and Russell Westbrook added 22 and 11 assists for the Thunder, who avenged a loss at Memphis four days ago. Zach Randolph had 27 points and 16 boards for the visiting Grizzlies. Chicago 90, Boston 79= Derrick Rose outduelled Rajon Rondo with 36 points and Carlos Boozer added 22 for the host Bulls, who ended the Celtics' four-game winning streak. Paul Pierce scored 21 points and Rondo added 13 and eight assists for Boston. Atlanta 108, Indiana 93= Josh Smith scored 27 points and Joe Johnson added 24 for the host Hawks, who have won four in a row. The Pacers have lost three in a row and six of seven. Utah 103, Houston 99 (OT)= Paul Millsap scored 12 of his 27 points in overtime as the Jazz stopped a two-game slide. Argentina's Luis Scola scored 24 points for the Rockets, who have lost five straight games. Charlotte 104, Washington 89= Gerald Henderson had career highs of 19 points and nine rebounds as the Bobcats dropped the Wizards to 0-18 on the road. Rookie John Wall had 16 points and 11 assists for Washington. Detroit 112, Philadelphia 109 (OT)= Austin Daye made a three-pointer to force overtime, then scored five of his xx points to start the extra session as the host Pistons ended a three-game skid. Rookie Evan Turner scored 19 points to lead seven 76ers in double figures. Milwaukee 115, New Jersey 92= Chris Douglas-Roberts victimized his former team with 24 points and Turkey's Ersan Ilyasova added a season-high 22 for the visiting Bucks, who stopped a three-game slide. The Nets have lost seven of eight.