Magic too strong for Atlanta
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Showing no rust after an eight-day rest, the Orlando Magic routed Atlanta 114-71 on Tuesday in the opener of their NBA Eastern Conference second-round best-of-seven series.
Dwight Howard scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and Vince Carter had 20 points for the Magic, who benefited from an extended break while the Hawks had barely had two days' rest since eliminating Milwaukee in round one.
"The challenge is not to get carried away with the score," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "It was one of those nights where everything just snowballed."
It was the most lopsided playoff defeat in Atlanta Hawks' history and the second-biggest playoff rout for the Magic, eclipsed only by a 47-point victory over Boston from the first round in 1995.
"It's embarrassing," Atlanta guard Mike Bibby said. "They embarrassed us."
The Magic outscored Atlanta 60-21 in the middle two quarters.
"We kind of stopped playing and we can't do that," Atlanta's Al Horford said. "It kind of got away from us."
Howard proved nearly unstoppable and rested in the fourth quarter as reserves finished off the Hawks.
"I didn't allow anything to throw me off my game," Howard said. "That's what I have to do the rest of the series, just not let things take me off my game, just stay free and clear."
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