The Orlando Magic look to avenge their only loss of the
season to the Detroit Pistons this evening, when the two clubs change scenes
and square off at Amway Arena.
The Magic suffered an 85-80 loss at Detroit on Tuesday and Dwight Howard was
held in check, posting only eight points and five rebounds in less than 17
minutes of action. Howard then netted 17 of his 25 points in the third quarter
of Wednesday's 122-100 triumph versus Phoenix at home.
Ryan Anderson had 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Jameer Nelson added 16
points and 10 assists for Orlando, which buried 12-for-23 from beyond the arc
and got 15 points out of Mickael Pietrus.
"My teammates maintained confidence in me (after Tuesday's loss), and they
didn't lose anything in me even though I shot the ball terribly the last
game," said Anderson, who had seven points in the loss to Detroit. "They're
still passing it to me, and I played my game tonight. It was fun, fun when you
play like that."
Orlando, which is tied atop the Southeast with Atlanta and Miami, may have
veteran guard Vince Carter back in the lineup after he missed the last game
with a sprained left ankle. Carter was acquired in a trade from New Jersey and
is listed as questionable. He is averaging 15.3 points in his first year with
the Magic.
Detroit hopes to get the best of Howard and the Magic again tonight, but has
lost three of its last four games to fall to 2-3 on the season. In a 110-99
setback at Toronto on Wednesday, Ben Gordon recorded a game-high 30 points,
while Charlie Villanueva chipped in 16 points and seven boards for Detroit.
Rodney Stuckey had 13 points and 10 rebounds in defeat.
"Needless to say if anyone in this league scores that many points, it's going
to be tough to counter that," said Gordon. "We did a good job of rallying back
in the third and had a lead for a short period of time, but we never could
really hold them off."
The Pistons have been doing their best without their top two scorers in
Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince. Hamilton hasn't played since the season
opener, missing four straight games, and is doubtful for tonight. Prince is
battling a strained lower back and is expected to miss the game. Prince has
missed the previous two contests.
Detroit has won four straight and 20 of the last 25 meetings with Orlando,
which has lost four of the last five as the host in this series.
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