Magic torch Heat; Clips lose without Billups
MANILA, Philippines – Dwight Howard had 25 points and 24 rebounds and the Orlando Magic made 17 of 42 three-pointers en route to a 102-89 victory over the Miami Heat.
It was Howard's 20th double-double of the season and his sixth game with at least 20 points and 20 boards. The 42 three-point attempts were a franchise record for the Magic.
Dwyane Wade led all scorers with 33 points, but LeBron James had a relatively quiet game with 17 points, 10 assists and six rebounds.
The Magic shot 40.5% from beyond the arc, with Ryan Anderson making five of his 11 attempts. He finished with 27 points and 11 boards for Orlando.
"Obviously, the amount of 3s they were able to take and make really made the difference in this game," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told NBA.com.
"That's quite a few, even for us," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said of their three-point attempts. "But I would say 35 or 36 of them were good shots."
The Heat only made five three-pointers as a team. James and Wade missed all of their attempts from beyond.
Wade’s hot shooting kept the Heat in the game during the first half. With Orlando leading 53-42, Wade scored eight straight points to bring Miami to within three points, 50-53, going into halftime.
But the Magic took control for good with a 12-0 run midway through the third quarter, a stretch that saw the Heat miss six straight field goals. Orlando went on to lead by as much as 19 points, and the Heat were never able to cut the deficit to single digits.
"They shot the three-pointer extremely well, and the big fella in the middle took care of his 20 and 20 once again," James said. "Sometimes, you have to pick your poison, but we gave up both tonight."
"They are an extremely tough team to beat when they are making the threes and the big fella is doing what he wants."
Miami never led in the game and lost their first assignment in their six-game road trip.
Clippers lose to Irving-less Cavs
With star rookie Kyrie Irving out due to a concussion, Ramon Sessions stepped up to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers past the Los Angeles Clippers, 99-92.
The Clippers lost their first game without veteran guard Chauncey Billups, who is out for the season with a torn Achilles.
Sessions had 24 points and 13 assists, while Antawn Jamison led all scorers with 27 points. Daniel Gibson started in place of Anthony Parker and finished with 17 markers.
"With the young fella (Irving) out, I had to come in and fill his void," Sessions told NBA.com. "We've got a lot of guys banged up, but we've also got a lot of guys stepping in doing a great job."
Chris Paul tied the game at 87-all with two free throws at the 2:10 mark, but Gibson gave the Cavs the lead for good after he drained a long three-pointer with 1:20 to go.
The Clippers came as close as two points, 92-94, after a three-point play from Blake Griffin, but Gibson and Alonzo Gee made free throws in the final seconds to preserve the victory.
Griffin finished with 25 points and 15 rebounds, while Paul had 16 points and 12 assists.
"We had no aggression tonight from the get-go. We were not tough enough tonight, and we weren't gritty tonight, and we didn't execute the game plan. I'm very disappointed in our approach," Clippers head coach Vinny del Negro said.
Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Bucks ended a three-game losing streak by defeating the Toronto Raptors, 105-99.
Tony Parker continued his hot shooting streak, scoring 37 points along with eight assists to lead the San Antonio Spurs past the Philadelphia 76ers, 100-90.

