Howard powers Magic past Bulls

Grant Hill scored 19 points for the Magic, who won their season opener. Jameer Nelson added 21 points and Hedo Turkoglu notched 11 points and seven boards.

Ben Gordon scored 24 points for the Bulls, who opened the 2006-07 season with a 108-66 rout of Miami at American Airlines Arena Tuesday. Kirk Hinrich netted 14 points and rookie Thabo Sefolosha contributed 13 points.

Chicago swingman Tyrus Thomas broke his nose during a collision in the second half of Chicago’s season opener in Miami and returned to Chicago to get a mask specially made for him on Wednesday. He did not play though against Orlando.

Orlando opened the game with a 12-3 run capped by a pair of Hill free throws with 7:33 left. The Magic continued to control the game down the first-quarter stretch and led 32-20 heading into the second.

Orlando went on a 15-6 spurt midway through the second capped by a Nelson layup with 3:44 remaining and outscored the Bulls by six points in the quarter for a 63-45 halftime advantage.

With a 12-point lead in the third quarter, Orlando took off on a 15-2 run capped by a pair of Darko Milicic free throws with 4:39 left.

Malik Allen then scored a layup that sparked a 10-1 Bulls spurt and Chicago managed to shave two points off its deficit in the third to trail 86-70 heading into the fourth.

Chicago outscored Orlando by just one point in the final period, however, as the early Magic lead proved insurmountable.

The Magic won despite committing 23 turnovers compared to just 15 by Chicago.

Game Notes

The Magic have dropped six of eight and nine of the last 12 meetings with Chicago. They also ended a five-game home losing streak in the series.