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Magic opens with big victory
Orlando rolls past 76ers, 120-106 NBA ROUNDUP
Thursday, October 29, 2009

Dwight Howard had 21 points and 15 rebounds, Vince Carter scored 15 points and the new-look Orlando Magic rolled to a 120-106 victory against the Philadelphia 76ers last night in the season opener for both teams at Amway Arena in Orlando, Fla.

Ryan Anderson added 16 points, and Jason Williams had 15 points to highlight a deep Magic bench. Orlando went ahead by 23 points at the half, scored 100 through three quarters and showed no signs of a Finals hangover after losing to the Los Angeles Lakers on the same floor in June.

Marreese Speights had 26 points, and Elton Brand added eight points in his first regular-season game since missing most of 2008-09 with a right shoulder injury for Philadelphia.

The Magic didn't spend much time embracing last season's success.

The Eastern Conference championship banner already was hanging from the rafters before the game. A video montage of their playoff run only lasted about three minutes, and coach Stan Van Gundy -- in his usual play-the-game-already attitude -- was stretched out in his chair on the bench during opening night introductions.

It didn't long take to open a big lead, either.

A perfect preseason behind them, the Magic showed signs that those exhibition wins weren't a fluke. They went down by five points early in the first quarter before showing why so many have them picked to again contend with Boston and Cleveland for a conference title.

Carter took a near half-court alley-oop pass from Matt Barnes and finished left-handed, his mother in the fourth row among the throngs in the arena brought to their feet in celebration for the hometown kid.

Carter, a Daytona Beach native who has made his home in Orlando for years before being traded in the offseason from New Jersey, followed that with a 3-pointer to highlight a furious Magic push that put them ahead by 23 points at the half.

Even with all the talent on display, Orlando was missing a key piece.

The Magic are without Rashard Lewis for the first 10 games after the All-Star forward was suspended by the league for testing positive for an elevated level of testosterone. Lewis posted a link on his Twitter page to a video of him exercising on a stationary bike at his home about two hours before tip-off.

Philadelphia didn't show quite the same energy.

Having Brand back didn't help much, and although Louis Williams had 18 points, his reign as the full-time point guard was shaky. The 76ers were sloppy and resembled little of the team that took the Magic to six games in the first round of the playoffs last season.

The only real fight Philadelphia showed was when Speights went face-to-face with Howard after the big men got tangled up underneath the rim in the second quarter. Howard was called for a technical foul on the play.

The 76ers never got so close again.

Other games

n Hawks 120, Pacers 109: Joe Johnson scored 25 points, Al Horford had 24 and host Atlanta finally played some defense in an offensive shootout, pulling away in the fourth quarter for a season-opening victory against Indiana. The Pacers shot 53 percent from the field but only 5 of 15 in the final period, including an uncontested layup at the end. They also turned it over six times to finish with a staggering 25 giveaways, leading to 32 points for the Hawks. Danny Granger led Indiana with 31 points, but only one other starter was in double figures. Earl Watson added 20 points for the Pacers.

n Raptors 101, Cavaliers 91: Andrea Bargnani scored 28 points, Chris Bosh had 21 points and 16 rebounds, and host Toronto overcame LeBron James' 25th career triple-double to beat Cleveland. James had 23 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds, but Cleveland opened its season with consecutive losses for the first time since an 0-3 start in 2004-05. James scored 38 points in a home loss Tuesday to Boston. Mo Williams scored 16 points and Shaquille O'Neal had 12 for Cleveland, which had won five in a row against Toronto.

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First published on October 29, 2009 at 12:00 am