LEAD: Howard dominates, Magic makes 17 triples to beat the Heat

By Paul Levine Feb 9, 2012, 7:37 GMT

Los Angeles - The Orlando Magic went inside out to turn the Miami Heat upside down.

Dwight Howard had 25 points with 24 rebounds and the Magic drilled 17 three-pointers to beat the visiting Heat 102-89 on Wednesday night.

'We played inside out and we passed the ball well,' Howard said. 'This was a good win for us.'

Ryan Anderson scored 27 points with five threes and pulled down 11 rebounds for the Magic, which launched a franchise-record 42 shots from behind the arc en route to its fourth win in five games.

Dwyane Wade had 33 points and LeBron James finished with 17 on a frosty 5-of-15 shooting for Miami, which lost for just the third time in the last 14 outings in the opener of a six-game road trip.

'They shot the threes extremely well and the big fella (Howard) in the middle took care of his 20 and 20 once again,' said James.

'Sometimes you have to pick your poison, but we gave up both tonight. They are an extremely tough team to beat when they are making the three and the big fella is doing what he wants.'

Utilizing the long ball with eight three-pointers in the opening half, the Magic raced to a 44-27 second-quarter cushion.

The Heat responded by closing the half with a 24-9 spurt, including the final 12 points by Wade, to trail 53-50.

With James going scoreless in the third quarter, the Magic outscored its guests, 24-11, to carry a 77-61 cushion into the final frame.

The Heat rallied to within 89-80 on a jumper by Chris Bosh. But Jameer Nelson buried a corner three-pointer, pushing the lead to 12 with 3 minutes 53 seconds remaining, and the Magic cruised to its 11th win in the last 13 home meetings against its Florida rivals.

'We played with a lot of energy,' said Nelson after contributing 12 points. 'We played for each other and we played with great resolve tonight.'

Elsewhere: San Antonio Spurs 100, Philadelphia 76ers: Frenchman Tony Parker poured in 37 points, Gary Neal added 18 off the bench, carrying the visiting Spurs past the host Sixers for their sixth straight victory.

Cleveland Cavaliers 99, LA Clippers 92: Antawn Jamison scored 27 points, Ramon Sessions had season highs of 24 points with 13 assists as a last-minute starter for injured rookie Kyrie Irving (concussion) and the Cavaliers held off the visiting Clippers.

Blake Griffin had 25 points and 15 rebounds while Chris Paul had 16 points and 12 assists for the Clippers, playing their first game without starting guard Chauncey Billups, sidelined for the season with a torn Achilles' tendon.

Chicago Bulls 90, New Orleans Hornets 67: Carlos Boozer scored 18 points and the visiting Bulls charged to their fourth straight win, while sending the Hornets to their seventh straight loss and 22 in the last 24 games.

New York Knicks 107, Washington Wizards 93: Tyson Chandler collected 25 points and 11 rebounds while Jeremy Lin had 23 points and a career-high 10 assists, sparking the shorthanded Knicks over the Wizards for their third straight win.

The visiting Knicks won despite missing their top scorers Amar'e Stoudemire (family death) and Carmelo Anthony (groin strain).

Milwaukee Bucks 105, Toronto Raptors 99: Argentine Carlos Delfino scored a season high 25 points, Drew Gooden had 20 points with 14 rebounds and the visiting Bucks broke a three-game slide after topping the Raptors.

DeMar DeRozan paced Toronto with 25 points while Spaniard Jose Calderon handed out 15 assists.

Atlanta Hawks 97, Indiana Pacers 87: Josh Smith collected 28 points with 12 rebounds and the Hawks beat the Pacers in Atlanta for the ninth consecutive time.

Memphis Grizzlies 85, Minnesota Timberwolves 80: Rudy Gay scored 19 points while Quincy Pondexter had a career-high 17, and the Grizzlies snapped a three-game slide by trimming the visiting Timberwolves.

JJ Barea netted 17 points for Minnesota, which was without All-Star Kevin Love, serving the second of a two-game suspension for stomping on Houston's Luis Scola on Saturday.

Detroit Pistons 99, New Jersey Nets 92: Greg Monroe had 20 points with 12 rebounds and the visiting Pistons won their season-high third in a row by clipping the Nets, who received 34 points from Deron Williams.

Dallas Mavericks 105, Denver Nuggets 95: German juggernaut Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points and the visiting Mavericks ended a three-game slide while handing the undermanned Nuggets their fourth straight loss.

Spaniard Rudy Fernandez netted 17 points for Denver, playing its first game without leading scorer Danilo Gallinari, out for the next month with a left ankle sprain.

Houston Rockets 103, Portland Trail Blazers 96: Chase Budinger scored 22 points, Courtney Lee added 16 and the visiting Rockets overcame the third quarter loss of guard Kyle Lowry (right elbow injury) to hold off the Trail Blazers.