Magic 112, Raptors 72
Dwight Howard scored nine of his 31 points during a three-minute spurt in the third quarter as the Orlando Magic pulled away from the visiting Toronto Raptors and captured their eighth straight home win, 112-72, on Friday night.
Ryan Anderson continued his fine play with 21 points and four 3-pointers for the Magic, who held a 60-44 edge on the glass. Howard had 19 rebounds – eight offensive – and Anderson added 10.
Anderson has averaged 16 points a game over his last eight – all off the bench.
DeMar DeRozan scored 16 points for Toronto, which has dropped six straight and completes a five-game road trip Saturday in Miami.
Howard started the early second-half run with a three-point play and a post move, and Jason Richardson capped it with a 3-pointer for a 61-46 lead with 7:09 left in the period.
Orlando held that lead through the rest of the frame and opened the fourth with an 18-2 splash, seven of the first nine points courtesy of J.J. Redick, to effectively put the game out of reach.
Raptors center Andrea Bargnani suffered his third straight poor scoring game, going 3 of 14 for 11 points. He made just 10 of 37 in his last two games.