Orlando, Florida, Jan 31. Dwight Howard scored 31 points and pulled down 19 rebounds Saturday as Orlando downed Atlanta 104-86 to take over first place in the NBA`s Southeast division.The Magic, who notched their third straight victory of this season over their division rivals the Hawks, had 17 points from Rashard Lewis and 16 from Ryan Anderson. J.J. Redick added eight points and a career-high seven assists.
Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford each scored 19 points for Atlanta, as the Hawks shot 39.5 percent for the game.
Al Horford, selected to back up Howard in the All-Star Game, had only four points and four rebounds against Howard.
Howard scored eight points in a 16-2 scoring spurt in the third quarter to stretch Orlando`s lead to 74-56.
Atlanta managed to reduce the deficit to single digits just once thereafter, when Johnson`s three-pointer trimmed the gap to 81-72 with just under nine minutes to play.
Howard and Orlando`s reserves answered with a 14-5 scoring run.
Orlando have now beaten Atlanta six straight times.
Antara NEws
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