ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Magic is getting back in a groove, and just in time.
Dwight Howard had 26 points and 15 rebounds, and the Magic rallied to beat the New Jersey Nets 105-102 on Friday night. Up next: Sunday at Boston, which is second in the East and three games ahead of Orlando.
“We want to win as many games as we can coming up into the playoffs,” Howard said. “We want to be rolling. We want to get hot once the playoffs come. We start now.”
Rashard Lewis added 21 points, and Hedo Turkoglu scored 13 for the Magic, which won its third straight game.
Devin Harris had 25 points and nine assists, and Vince Carter had 19 points for the Nets, who went 1-for-8 over the last 6:16.
Carter missed a potential tying 3-pointer from the top of the key as time expired to seal the Magic’s win.
“It was a great look,” Carter said. “Felt comfortable. Got my feet set, let it go and it looked good.”
The defensive effort late was one Orlando (45-16) will need if it wants to contend with Cleveland and Boston in the East, with some key games upcoming that will likely decide home-court advantage.
“We haven’t really done that in a while,” Magic guard Anthony Johnson said of the defensive effort. “It’s been a couple months since we put together a full 48-minute game where we’ve had the defensive focus of a championship team.”
