ORLANDO, Fla. – Fouled out and reduced to a spectator, Dwight Howard stood on the Orlando Magic sideline with one thought as he watched the Philadelphia 76ers erase another big lead.
“Man, I hope these boys don’t come back again,” Howard said.
They nearly did.
Rookie Courtney Lee had a career-high 24 points, Hedo Turkoglu added 16 and the Magic nearly blew another 18-point lead before beating Philadelphia 96-87 on Wednesday night to even the series at one game apiece.
Howard had 11 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out, and Rashard Lewis made a pair of big jumpers in the final minutes to help Orlando get its fourth win in five chances against Philadelphia this season.
“They want me to shoot the jump shot,” Lee said. “Knowing that Dwight’s so dominant down low, it’s up to me to make shots when he’s double-teamed.”
Andre Miller had 30 points, and ex-UA Wildcat Andre Iguodala scored 20 of his 21 points in the second half for the Sixers, who closed the gap to five points and almost erased the same deficit they faced in the series opener. Game 3 is Friday in Philadelphia.
“We feel like we had some opportunities,” Iguodala said. “They did all the little things. They hit a big 3. They got all the little loose balls. They made the shots. They got all the rebounds. They did a great job of sealing the game this time.”
Heat even series 1-1
ATLANTA – Remember how bad Dwyane Wade and his Miami teammates looked in Game 1 of the playoffs? They were that good in Game 2.
Wade scored 33 points, 13 straight to close the first half, before he banked in a 3-pointer with 2 1/2 minutes left to finish off the Atlanta Hawks in a 108-93 victory Wednesday night that evened the series before it headed to south Florida.
After scoring only 19 points to open the best-of-seven series Sunday in a 90-64 blowout loss, Wade eclipsed his point total by halftime.
“He set the tone,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Before I came out to talk to the team, right before the game, there was some joking and laughing in the locker room and I heard him tell everybody to shut up and get their minds on the game.”
Ex-UA Wildcat Mike Bibby led the Hawks with 18 points, but the home team shot only 44 percent from the field and struggled at the foul line, making 19-of-30.
Game 3 is Saturday in Miami.
Notable
• Derrick Rose, who led his hometown Bulls to the playoffs and restored hope to a franchise in disarray, was the runaway pick as the NBA’s rookie of the year. Rose became the third Bulls player to win the award Wednesday, joining Michael Jordan and Elton Brand. He received 111 first-place votes and 574 points from a national panel of sports writers and broadcasters; runner-up O.J. Mayo of the Memphis Grizzlies received five first-place votes and 127 points.
• The Washington Wizards said Wednesday that Flip Saunders will be their new coach, confirming one of the worst-kept secrets of the NBA. Saunders and the team reached an oral agreement more than a week ago, and the 54-year-old coach signed an $18 million, four-year deal Tuesday night.