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Recap: TORONTO (AP) -- Jameer Nelson scored 30 points, J.J. Redick had a career-high 27 and the Orlando Magic used a season-high 17 3-pointers to beat the Toronto Raptors 125-116 on Sunday.
Dwight Howard had 24 points and 11 rebounds, Ryan Anderson scored 20 and the Magic (3-0) remained unbeaten after going 8-0 in the preseason.
Chris Bosh led Toronto with 35 points and 16 rebounds while Andrea Bargnani had 26, including 22 in the second half. Former Magic swingman Hedo Turkoglu had 19 points for Toronto, which has lost two straight following a season-opening victory over Cleveland.
The Magic were without former Raptor Vince Carter, who left Friday's win at New Jersey with a sprained left ankle, and swingman Mickael Pietrus, who was sent home to Florida with flulike symptoms. Redick and Barnes took their places in the starting lineup.
Carter, who scored 16 points in 15 minutes before leaving in the second quarter Friday, did some straight-line running before the game but was not strong enough to play
"He's still struggling to move laterally,'' Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said. "It's a tough loss for us but it's a good sign that he could go out and do the other stuff. It's not anything real long term or serious, so that's positive.''
Trailing by 10 points on Matt Barnes' 3-pointer with 7:30 left, Toronto cut it to four on a running dunk by Bosh, a layup from Turkoglu and a jumper by Bosh over Howard, making it 111-107 with 5:27 to go.
At the other end, Howard took exception to a foul from Bosh, who put both arms around Howard's upper body under the basket, then jawed with the Magic star, but the referees stepped in before the situation escalated. Howard made both free throws, pushing the lead back to six.
Bargnani made two more layups but the Magic answered each time, with Anderson and Howard each scoring off Nelson's misses keep the Raptors at bay.
Anderson had three 3s in the first quarter as the Magic went 7 for 11 from beyond the arc and built a 36-28 lead.
Orlando opened the second quarter on an 18-4 run, taking a 54-32 lead with 7:03 left, before Toronto answered with a 14-3 spurt over the next five minutes, cutting the deficit to 57-46. Howard was forced to the locker room with a right shoulder injury with 2:21 left in the half and did not return before the break, but Orlando held firm without its star center and led 64-53 at halftime.
Howard returned to start the second half and scored nine points in the third quarter, while Nelson made three 3s and scored 14 points as Orlando took a 99-89 lead into the fourth.
Toronto guard Jose Calderon went four for six from the free throw line and has already missed more free throws this season (four) than he did all of last season, when he set an NBA record by shooting 98.1 percent (151 for 154).
Notes: Bosh got a technical foul for arguing a non-call on a blocked shot in the first, and Barnes got one after tangling with Bargnani as they went for a rebound in the third. ... Van Gundy said Pietrus could rejoin the team in Detroit for Wednesday's game against the Pistons if his symptoms improve. ... Howard went 14 for 16 at the line.
Preview: John Denton -- The call came late on a Sunday night back in early July, just hours before Hedo Turkoglu was about to board a plane back to his native Turkey and just a couple of days after he had officially left the Orlando Magic.
``Turk,’’ as fans in Orlando affectionately knew him for five seasons, wanted to get out the message that he was sad about leaving the Magic. He was ecstatic about landing a five-year, $53 million free-agent contract, but some of that enthusiasm was tempered the fact that Turkoglu wouldn’t be playing with the Magic any longer. Some of his greatest professional and personal moments came in Orlando, and Turk wanted the fans in Central Florida to know that he was grateful.
``Please tell all of the fans in Orlando that I appreciated so much being a fan favorite all of those years,’’ Turkoglu said. ``I loved my time with the Magic and I know that I will miss people in Orlando.’’
Turkoglu, the NBA’s Most Improved Player in 2008, will face his former Magic teammates Sunday for the first time when Orlando (2-0) plays in Toronto (1-1) at 1 p.m.
Turkloglu was a major piece of the Magic’s drive to the NBA Finals last spring, averaging 15.8 points, 4.8 assists and 4.5 rebounds in 24 games.
Turkoglu was never better than in Game 7 against Boston in the second round of the playoffs when he had 25 points, 12 assists, five rebounds and four assists. And in the Eastern Conference Finals against Cleveland, Turkoglu averaged a team-best 6.7 assists to go with his 17.2 points per game. In The NBA Finals, Turkoglu was Orlando’s leading scorer at 18 points per game while shooting a solid 49.2 percent from the floor and 43.8 percent from 3-point range.
But when the Magic couldn’t agree on contract terms with Turkgolu following the season, he opted out of the final year of his contract and became an unrestricted free agent.
``It’s sad to leave, but this is what is best now for me and my family,’’ Turkoglu said last July. ``I’ll never forget all of the great times we had in Orlando.’’
The Magic traded for Vince Carter on draft night in late June, all but ending Turkoglu’s time in Orlando. The Magic were leery of giving Turkoglu, 30, a five-year deal and had no desire to pair him with Carter. The feeling was that both players need the ball in their hands to be successful and their talents would have been repetitive.
Carter, who suffered a mild ankle sprain in Orlando’s 95-85 win in New Jersey on Friday, is questionable for Sunday's game in Toronto. He made five of seven shots and had 16 points in 15 minutes against the Nets. J.J. Redick will start in Carter's place, if he's unable to go.
Turkoglu was among the most sought-after free agents in July with Portland making a strong push for him. The Blazers offered a deal worth $49 million and Turkoglu committed verbally before backing out when Toronto made a stronger push. He and his wife, Banu, preferred the cosmopolitan feel of Toronto and its strong Turkish community.
Like his time in Orlando, Turkoglu’s No. 15 is now a thing of the past. He wears No. 26 because his daughter, Ela, was born on Feb. 26 in Orlando.
His transition to Toronto was slowed somewhat by a toe injury in the preseason, and he’s eased into this regular season slowly. He had 12 points and seven rebounds in the season-opening defeat of Cleveland and even though he had 14 points in Friday’s loss to Memphis, he made just four of 10 shots and turned the ball over four times. Unlike in Orlando when much of the offense ran through Turkoglu’s hands, much of the ball-handling duties fall on Jose Calderon’s shoulders now and Turkoglu has had to adjust.
Yes, Turkoglu is gone, but he made it clear that a big part of him will always be in Orlando. He said he’ll be forever grateful to the Magic and coach Stan Van Gundy for helping him become an elite player.
``Stan put the ball in my hands and trusted in me, and that meant a lot to my game,’’ Turkoglu said. ``The fans there loved me and I’ll always remember that. I love Orlando, but I’m in Toronto now.’’
Game Notes: Nov. 1 @ Toronto: Orlando is 27-23 all-time vs. Toronto (15-9 at home, 12-14 on the road) during regular season action…The Magic split their four games last season against the Raptors (2-2)...The Magic are 4-1 in postseason play against the Raptors (2008 First Round)...The Magic have four of the last seven regular season meetings…Orlando has won eight of the last 14 regular season matchups at home, but lost nine of the last 11 at Toronto…Vince Carter spent the first six-plus NBA seasons with the Raptors from 1998-2005 and stands as Toronto’s all-time leader in points (9,420), field goals (3,541) and field goal attempts (7,944)…Assistant Coach Brendan Malone was the first-ever head coach of the Toronto Raptors in 1995-96…Assistant Coach Bob Beyer served as an assistant for the Raptors in 2003-04 and as an advanced scout in 2004-05. BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. RAPTORS: 39 pts., Dwight Howard (@ Toronto, 1-4-09)
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAGIC: 41 pts., Chris Bosh (@ Toronto, 2-7-07)
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