Superman puts Magic on shoulders in win over Kings

By Jimmy Spencer, for NBA.com
Posted Wednesday January 13, 2010 2:10AM

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (NBA.com exclusive) -- Jason Williams spent years as the poster child for the Kings' fast-paced, high-flying offense.

But standing on the Sacramento hardwood on Tuesday night, the now matured Magic guard slowed things down for a moment.

In the game's final minutes, as the ball was entered to Orlando centerpiece Dwight Howard, the vocals of Williams rose above the silenced Sacramento crowd.

"Punish him!"

And punish he did. Howard finished with 30 points and 16 rebounds in Orlando's 109-88 road victory over Sacramento.

"The best thing for me is just being patient in the post and taking what the defense gives me," Howard said. "I think I did a good job of finding my teammates and them finding me. We just played off each other."

It was easy to hear Williams' statement in the final minutes, as Sacramento's home crowd went quiet in a fourth quarter in which the Magic outscored the Kings 33-10.

For three quarters, the Kings ruled their home court, leading by as many as eight midway through the third. But Orlando cut Sacramento's lead to 78-76 after three and opened the fourth with an 18-4 run to take control.

It may have been Orlando's fourth-quarter defense that led to the victory, but Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy called it Howard's best offensive game of the season. Howard added five assists and three blocks as part of his stellar effort.

Pivoting away from the defense, finishing strong, and even scoring with a left hook, Howard put together a complete offensive showcase. He finished 12-for-17 from the free-throw line, too.

More assists should be awarded to Howard for opening up the offense on the perimeter.

"As talented as we are, the focus is still on Dwight," Matt Barnes said.

"They've got two, three people coming at him, and swiping and grabbing and looping around. It's hard to get it to him so we've got to make a concerted effort to get it to him."

Orlando was able to pound the ball inside to Howard, opening up perimeter shooters and slowing the game down to prevent Sacramento's transition offense.

"Dwight's efficiency in the second half also helped us on the defensive end," Van Gundy said.

Kings head coach Paul Westphal talked about his team's inability to stop Howard.

"We couldn't stop Dwight Howard," Westphal said. "If we doubled him, he found the open man. If we didn't double him, he scored himself.

"He showed a lot of maturity in judgment in the low post and we just couldn't do anything with him."

Kings point guard Tyreke Evans scored 18 points, and added four rebounds and two assists. The rookie spoke after the game about the difficulty of scoring with Howard lurking in the paint.

"I have played against some shot blockers and it is tough to get a layup over them," Evans said. "He comes from the help side. ... If he doesn't block it and you do happen to miss, the big man has to follow up."

It was a homecoming for a number of Magic players, other than Williams. Orlando's Ryan Anderson and Barnes each attended high school in the Sacramento area.

"It's a small community where I live and I had a ton of support tonight," Anderson said. "It's fun coming home. The great thing about the people around me is that I know they like me for me not just because I am a player."

Barnes said he had 45 people come see him on Tuesday.

Barnes said after the game that one of the reasons he came to Orlando as a free agent was to play with Howard, who Barnes called one of the best players in the league.

"We talked on the phone and I said I wanted to come and eight hours later they had a contract for me," Barnes said.

For Williams, he said there was no added inspiration returning to play against his former team.

"No not really, there's a little extra pep in your step when you've lost three of the last four on the road," Williams said.

The Magic snapped a three-game road losing streak. Sacramento was the first stop on a four-game West Coast road trip that goes through Denver, Portland and concludes in L.A. against the Lakers.

Entering the contest losers of four of their last five, the Magic have won two straight.

Vince Carter did not play and remains day-to-day with a left shoulder injury. Kings guard Kevin Martin has been cleared to practice as he returns from wrist surgery.

Tuesday's game against Orlando ended a difficult 10-game stretch for Sacramento that included eight opponents with winning records.

• Magic: Carter
• Kings: Armstrong, Garcia, Martin

• Magic: --
• Kings: --

• Lead Changes: 7
• Times Tied: 8

• Arena: ARCO Arena, Sacramento, CA
• Officials: #17 Joe Crawford, #25 Tony Brothers, #78 Scott Twardoski
• Attendance: 14426
• Duration: 2:17