Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic made sure the Atlanta Hawks don’t have illusions about their strong start.

All it took was Magic coach Stan Van Gundy challenging Howard to play smarter and harder.

“I came out in the second half and just trusted my teammates,” Howard said. “They made some open shots and I tried to dominate the paint. It doesn’t matter if we’re down 20, we’re going to continue to fight.”

Howard had 22 points and 17 rebounds, Vince Carter added 21 points and the Magic beat Atlanta 93-76 on Thursday night.

The Hawks dropped to 11-4 in a failed bid to tie Phoenix for the NBA’s best record. They also missed a chance to improve to 8-0 at home for the first time since 1993-94.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

Orlando Magic Sports Memorabilia
and other Orlando Magic Gifts and Collectibles
Below are links to memorabilia available for Dwight Howard.

First, there was Hack-a-Shaq.

Now, there’s Smack-a-Superman.


Teams are fouling Orlando Magic C Dwight Howard when he has the basketball near the basket and looks like he’s ready to shoot. Howard concedes that he sometimes fights frustration when teams employ the tactic.

“I think I’ve just got to play through it,” Howard said. “Coach, he allows guys to do the same thing in practice, so I’ve just got to get used to it. It’s tough, because you’ve got people hanging on you, pulling at you, slapping at you, whatever, the whole game. You try to stay calm, but sometimes you just want to react. But you’ve got to do what’s best for the team.”

Howard is shooting 50.7 percent from the free-throw line this preseason.


Click here to read the full article – By Josh Robbins of orlandosentinel.com

Orlando Magic Sports Memorabilia
and other Orlando Magic Gifts and Collectibles
Below are links to memorabilia available for Dwight Howard.

Orlando assistant coach Patrick Ewing stood underneath the hoop, took the ball after it swished through the net and passed it back to Dwight Howard standing at the free throw line.

The All-Star center has surprisingly hit as many as 28 straight free throws in practice during Orlando’s training camp. The work is all part of his goal to rid his free-throw woes after missing a costly pair in the waning seconds in Game 4 of the NBA finals, a blown opportunity that still haunts Howard.

“It’s not gone yet. Every day I wake up and I think about what happened,” Howard said. “Every day I get a reminder when I turn on the TV … first thing I see is Kobe (Bryant) putting up the championship sign. You think about it, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since we lost. I put some of the moments away, but losing something when you’re so close, it hurts. So you don’t want to go through that experience again.”


Click here to read the full article – By ANTONIO GONZALEZ of newschief.com

Orlando Magic Sports Memorabilia
and other Orlando Magic Gifts and Collectibles
Below are links to memorabilia available for Dwight Howard.