Howard outshines Shaq O’ Neal

Dwight Howard out-duelled Shaquille O’Neal in a matchup of National Basketball Association star centers to lead the Orlando Magic past Phoenix 111-99 on Tuesday.
Howard scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds while O’Neal finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds but an impressive fourth quarter for the Magic made the difference.

“We held him in check the first half without a double team, but in the end, all that matters is who comes out with the win,” O’Neal said.

Rashard Lewis scored a game high 29 points and Turkey’s Hedo Turkoglu added 22 points for Orlando, offsetting the heroics of Phoenix’s Jason Richardson, who scored 27 points and grabbed six rebounds.

“We had a lot of turnovers, but we played good defence and forced turnovers ourselves and kept them in a half-court offence,” Lewis said.

Lewis sank a 3-pointer to put the Magic ahead and hit another from beyond the arc with less than three minutes remaining to put Orlando ahead by eight. 

Other results: Charlotte 96 Chicago 80; Orlando 111 Phoenix 99; Detroit 100 Denver 95; New Jersey 99 Milwaukee 95; Golden State 118 Minnesota 94; Houston 107 Toronto 97; Indiana 117 Sacramento 109; LA Lakers 99 Memphis 89