ORLANDO, Fla. – Dwight Howard had 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Orlando Magic past the Charlotte Bobcats, 100-86 on Sunday night.
Brandon Bass added 17 points and Gilbert Arenas chipped in 16, making four 3-pointers to break out of a recent shooting slump.
Orlando won for the fourth time in five games and 12th in 14 meetings with Charlotte. The Bobcats had a two-game winning streak snapped and remained a half-game behind Indiana in the chase for the East's final playoff spot.
Stephen Jackson led Charlotte with 35 points, followed by D.J. Augustin and Boris Diaw with 11 apiece.
The Bobcats continue a four-game road trip at Denver on Wednesday. The Magic host New York on Tuesday night.
After struggling against opponents with winning records before the All-Star break, the Magic now have a chance at redemption this week with consecutive games against New York, Miami and Chicago.
The Bobcats began their road trip Sunday in adjustment mode after shuffling their roster at the trade deadline.
Charlotte acquired Joel Przybilla, Dante Cunningham and Sean Marks from Portland in exchange for Gerald Wallace, who was the Bobcats' second-leading scorer. They also traded Nazr Mohammed to Oklahoma City for D.J. White and Morris Peterson.
Przybilla, Cunningham and White all saw their first action as Bobcats on Sunday.
All of them had modest debuts. Przybilla, who is expected to get the most use in the rotation going forward, racked up three fouls in the first half in just over five minutes of action. He went scoreless for the game. White finished with four points and White two.
The Magic led by as 15 points in the first half and held around a 10-point cushion for most of the second half.
The Bobcats cut it to 87-79 on a basket by Jackson with 6:42 to play. But the Magic answered with a jumper by Arenas and 3-pointer by J.J. Redick to push it 92-79 at the 5:46 mark.
Charlotte was unable to get any closer.
Magic coach Stan Van Gundy was looking for offensive consistency from his team following Friday's decisive win over Oklahoma City.
Orlando delivered it in the first half Sunday, shooting 64 percent from the field, making 45 percent of its 3-pointers and building a 59-51 halftime advantage.
The Bobcats had no answers for Howard early, as he dropped in 14 points in the opening 24 minutes. But the Magic defense also didn't do much to slow down Jackson, who led all scorers with 20 first-half points.
Notes: Cunningham and White practiced as members of the Bobcats for the first time on Saturday. ... The morning shootaround Sunday was Przybilla's first team activity with Charlotte before the game. ... Marks and Peterson were both inactive. ... Arenas' 3-pointer in the second quarter snapped a streak of six consecutive games without a make beyond the arc. He was just 3 for 38 during the stretch, including 18 straight misses. ... Daniel Whitney (Larry the Cable Guy) was in attendance for Sunday's game.
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