ORLANDO (NBA.com exclusive) --  The Orlando Magic bounced back impressively from their first defeat of the season. The Phoenix Suns will get the same test Friday night at Boston.

Dwight Howard scored 17 points in the third quarter Wednesday night while the Magic were turning a close game into a 122-100 victory over the previously unbeaten Suns.

Twenty-four hours after taking their first loss of the season at Detroit, the Magic regained their shooting form at home and built a 28-point lead in the fourth quarter.

"I thought that was a very good bounce back for us after a game we were all very unhappy with last night," said Magic coach Stan Van Gundy. "I thought maybe it's the first time in these five games where we played well at both ends of the floor."

The Suns will continue their five-game road trip against the unbeaten Celtics on Friday night.

"The dreams of an undefeated season are now done," said Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry. "We hung in, but we had no answer, size-wise, for Dwight Howard. "He creates problems and we have to double-team him, which frees up the shooters."

The bounce-back award went to Ryan Anderson, who came back from a horrendous shooting night in Detroit with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Anderson is plugged into Rashard Lewis' starting spot while the All-Star forward serves a 10-game suspension.

"It's a great opportunity to play now; that's all I'm really looking at," said Anderson.

"I mean, it's Rashard Lewis. It's a given he's going to play; he's an All-Star. He's going to help this team so much when he comes back.

"It will be great to be his backup. I don't know if we're ever going to play together on the court, but I can't really control it."

If nothing else, Anderson might be complicating things for Van Gundy.

"I was curious to see how he would respond after last night," Van Gundy said. "I thought his response was pretty good for a 21-year-old guy coming off missing 10 threes last night."

The last time the Magic posted two straight victories against the Suns was in 2001, when Howard was a freshman in high school. They beat the Suns in March and are now 14-27 all-time against Phoenix.

Howard, limited by foul trouble for a second straight night, managed to lead the Magic with 25 points, but picked up his third technical foul of the young season.

"It's not a concern," he said. "I get a tech, I can't do anything about it. It's going for a good cause."

Van Gundy, noting that his center is 13 technicals short of a suspension, disagreed.

"It leaves a concern in a lot of ways," he said. "Obviously there's the suspension, and you're not endearing yourselves to the referees. Yes, it's an issue."

Amar'e Stoudemire's big first half (19 points, 11 rebounds) got the Suns back in the game after the Magic had vaulted to a 27-13 lead.

Jared Dudley and Goran Dragic came off the bench to spark a 14-5 Phoenix spurt which reduced Orlando's lead to three at one point.

But Howard came out with a vengeance in the second half.

"We wanted to get it under double figures and see what we could do in the second half," Stoudemire said. "Coming off of a back-to-back kind of weighed in on us and fatigue set in during the third quarter. It was hard to get into it from that point."

Phoenix starters Grant Hill and Jason Richardson went scoreless in a combined 39-plus minutes.

The Magic played their second game without Vince Carter, who re-injured his left ankle during Tuesday night's loss at Detroit.

Van Gundy said he knew Carter would not be available when he couldn't return to Tuesday's game in the fourth quarter.

"I don't think we're dealing with anything too serious or long term," Van Gundy said.