Howard lifts Magic
The Orlando Magic are going back to Philadelphia with a chance to close out the 76ers. Dwight Howard made sure of it.
Howard had 24 points and a career playoff-high 24 rebounds, a dominating performance that powered the Magic to a 91-78 victory over the Sixers Tuesday night and gave Orlando a 3-2 series lead.
Rashard Lewis snapped out of his playoff slump with a series-high 24 points, and Rafer Alston scored 14 for the Magic. It is Howard’s fourth career playoff game with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds.
Andre Iguodala scored 26 points and led a second-half charge that fizzled fast, and Andre Miller added 17 points for Philadelphia.
The Sixers face elimination in Game 6 in the best-of-seven series Thursday in Philadelphia. A potential Game 7 would be Saturday in Orlando.
The Magic managed to keep home-court advantage without starting shooting guard Courtney Lee, who took an elbow to the head from Howard early in the first quarter and never returned.
Howard led a third-quarter surge, muscling his way past the Sixers and elevating above everyone. Howard had two dunks, including an alley-oop from Hedo Turkoglu over Theo Ratliff, that highlighted a 12-5 run to put the Magic ahead 58-47.