Howard, Magic Stifle LeBron To Knock Off Cavaliers

ORLANDO, Fla. -- LeBron James shook his head, raised his eyebrows, stared down officials and even yelled "and one" at the top of his lungs after a basket.

No matter how much he pleaded, though, James didn't get the calls he wanted. Maybe James and his Cleveland teammates should have spent as much energy on the defensive end.

Dwight Howard had 22 points and 18 rebounds, Hedo Turkoglu added 19 points and 11 rebounds, and the Orlando Magic took advantage of James' shooting struggles to beat the Cavaliers 99-88 on Thursday night.

A week after a 10-point home loss to defending NBA champion Boston, the Magic looked much more like a contender in the Eastern Conference.

"We didn't play the way we needed to against Boston," Howard said. "In order for us to win, we have to play our game. We fall into playing the other team's game, we tend to lose. We played our game tonight. We ran, played inside-out, shot the ball with confidence, and that's what we have to do when we play against a good team."

In the only other NBA game Thursday night, San Antonio beat Phoenix 114-104.

The Magic spent the first half of the season playing in the shadow of the Celtics and Cavaliers. Last week's loss to Boston might have prompted some to consider Orlando an afterthought in the East. A loss to Cleveland would have solidified the notion.

Orlando won't have to worry about that now.

"I hope we're still under the radar," said guard Jameer Nelson, who added 18 points after being added to Eastern Conference All-Star team earlier in the day. "Right now, it doesn't make a difference what people say about us a team and as individuals. We just want to reach our goals at the end of the season."

Orlando's goal Thursday was to keep James from getting easy baskets, hoping to put hands in his face on every shot while avoiding fouls that would send him to the free throw line. The plan worked to perfection.

James was 10-of-27 from the field, spending much of the night complaining to the officials. He finished with 23 points, eight rebounds and eight assists - and took only six free throws.

"I'm just trying to be quiet and not say anything to the refs," James said. "But it can get frustrating at times when you continue to just get beat up and you don't get the attention of the refs. I just try to be quiet and hopefully they'll call it the next time.

"But it can get frustrating because it can turn the momentum of the game and it can definitely hurt us."

Cleveland coach Mike Brown and guard Mo Williams picked up technical fouls in the third quarter while complaining to the officials about a lack of calls. Brown even had to be restrained by an assistant while screaming at one of the referees.

"The NBA is going to make calls how they see it," Brown said. "This was a physical game, and for a guy like that to go to the free throw line six times when he drove as much as he did, it's sad to see."

While the Cavs were complaining about a lack of free throws, Orlando pulled away in transition and from the 3-point line. The Magic overcame a 10-point deficit in the second quarter and turned a close game into a one-sided affair with a spree of jumpers in the fourth.

Mickael Pietrus started the spurt with a mid-range shot. Anthony Johnson and Rashard Lewis followed with consecutive 3-pointers. Lewis, who finished with 19 points, added a jumper, then Turkoglu and Nelson hit two more from behind the arc to make it a rout with 6 minutes remaining.

Turkoglu's breakaway dunk made it 97-74 and sent many fans scattering for the exits.

Orlando finished 11-of-31 from 3-point range - most of them open shots because Cleveland double- and triple-teamed Howard down low.

"He did his job by drawing attention," Nelson said.

Orlando scored the first seven points of the third quarter - two inside baskets by Howard and Lewis' 3-pointer.

Williams, trying to prove he belonged in the All-Star game over Nelson, was 4-of-15 and finished with 12 points. Wally Szczerbiak scored all 14 of his points in his first 7 minutes on the floor.

"We missed a lot of easy shots," James said. "Me personally, I missed a lot of easy shots. Some teams, if you miss shots and don't make them shots with them, they can get off to a big lead. They were able to break the lead open in the third quarter. ... The momentum shifted." Spurs 114, Suns 104

At Phoenix, Manu Ginobili made 18 free throws without a miss and finished with 30 points and nine rebounds, and Tony Parker had 26 points for San Antonio.

Tim Duncan added 20 points and 15 rebounds for the Spurs in their 29th straight victory over two seasons when they score 100 or more points.

Amare Stoudemire led the Suns with 28 points and 10 rebounds. Grant Hill had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Steve Nash finished with 16 points and 18 assists.

Nash had seven assists in the first quarter to push his total to 7,161, passing Suns coach Terry Porter to move into 11th place on the NBA's career assist list.

Shaquille O'Neal scored 13 points to move past Hakeem Olajuwon into seventh place on the career scoring list. He has 26,954 points in his career.