ORLANDO, Fla. — Maybe all the Magic needed after a slow start was a slap in the face.
Dwight Howard came back from a bloody nose to finish with 29 points and 17 rebounds, and the Magic beat the Hawks 112-98 on Thursday to take a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Not even a hard hit could slow the Magic’s Superman.
“I’m human. It’s not like I’m built of metal,” Howard said. “I bleed. I break bones.”
Vince Carter had 24 points and hit some big shots late, and Rashard Lewis finished with 20 points, leading Orlando’s 19-2 run in the fourth quarter. The perennially poor free-throw shooting Howard was 13-for-18 from the line.
The Hawks avoided embarrassment but not another road playoff loss.
After a 43-point defeat in the opener, the Hawks led early but head home searching for a way to stop the Magic’s 12-game winning streak. Game 3 is Saturday in Atlanta.
“Go home and win,” Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. “We’ve been pretty good on our floor.”
The Hawks finally drew first blood, it just wasn’t a hard enough hit.
Howard made a layup as he was slapped in the face inadvertently by Al Horford to start the third quarter, the blood pouring from the Magic center’s nose. Howard shot the free throw — and missed — with plugs in his nostrils, holding back laughter, and then left for about two minutes so trainers could stop the bleeding.
The play started an 11-2 run that erased Atlanta’s early nine-point lead.
