ORLANDO, Florida - Dwight Howard had 25 points and 22 rebounds, and Jameer Nelson scored 24 points as the Orlando Magic defeated the Toronto Raptors 114-100 yesterday in the opener of their first-round series.
Howard scored six straight points in a 10-0 fourth-quarter run that sealed Orlando's first playoff win since 2003. He also blocked five shots and made 9-of-11 free throws.
Former Maccabi Tel Aviv star Anthony Parker had 24 points and eight rebounds for Toronto, Chris Bosh scored 21 and Rasho Nesterovic had 16 points and eight rebounds. Jason Kapono scored 18 off the bench.
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The Raptors, who trailed by 20 points after the first quarter, drew within five with 10:24 left in the fourth on two quick three-pointers by Kapono and a Parker jumper. But Toronto went scoreless for the next 3:16 as Orlando pulled away.
The Magic held Bosh mostly in check. Smothered by Rashard Lewis inside the paint and out, the All-Star power forward started 1-of-6 from the field and scored 13 of his 21 points from the free-throw line (13-of-13). Bosh picked up four fouls in the third quarter - two of them within 20 seconds of one another during tussles with Howard - and played limited minutes in the fourth.
All five Orlando starters scored in double figures. Hedo Turkoglu scored 21, Maurice Evans had 14 and Lewis added 13. Reserve Keyon Dooling scored 10, and Nelson had seven assists.
Orlando looked unbeatable at the start, hitting its first seven shots and making 9-of-11 three-pointers in the first quarter. Evans scored 11 in the period and Lewis had 10 as Orlando opened a 43-23 lead.
The 43 points were third-highest in a first quarter for the playoffs, and Orlando's nine three-pointers tied Boston's record for most in a playoff quarter. Howard blocked three shots in the period and altered several others.
Orlando led by as many as 24 in the first half before Toronto recovered to close the second quarter with a 14-3 run to draw to 60-47 at halftime. Nesterovic scored four in the span and Kapono had eight points - including two three-pointers - as the Magic went scoreless in the quarter's last four minutes.
Nuggets' bus breaks down
Several Denver Nuggets players were stranded on the highway for about a half hour yesterday when the team bus broke down on the way to Staples Center for their playoff opener against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The bus left the team's hotel about two-and-a-half hours before tipoff as scheduled, but experienced problems about 15 minutes into the trip, club spokesman Eric Sebastian said. Players and staff had to wait on the Santa Monica Freeway.
"There was a pop, black smoke, there was another pop, more black smoke," Sebastian said. "We rushed off the bus. We were standing on the side of the road."
The Nuggets' second bus, which left the team hotel about 30 minutes after the first one, stopped to pick up their teammates. The entire team arrived at the arena about 90 minutes before game-time.
"It was a good bonding experience," Sebastian said with a smile.
Rookie guard Taurean Green was on the first bus. "It wasn't scary; it was just a little frustrating," he said. "All we could do is stand around. You don't want to start off the first series being delayed to the arena."
Nuggets coach George Karl was on the second bus. When told what happened, his response was: "Go pick 'em up."
"It was fine," he added. "It was a little pressure relief - laugh a little bit."
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