CASPER
New member
The Portland Trail Blazers overcame the Orlando Magic 97-83 on Thursday despite a dominant effort from All-Star big man Dwight Howard.
Howard scored 39 points and grabbed 15 rebounds but the Blazers (11-11) locked down defensively on his team mates to win their third straight game.
Andre Miller returned from a one-game suspension with 22 points and eight assists, while Wesley Matthews added 20 for Portland.
Miller was penalized by the NBA for excessive and unnecessary contact at the weekend when he barged into Los Angeles Clippers rookie Blake Griffin, in retaliation for an earlier play.
His absence snapped his consecutive games played streak at 632.
"It's real messed up what happened, I was out there being aggressive. I had my chance to take a shot, I did that, and I have to deal with the consequences," Miller told reporters.
"We need everybody. We want to create easy baskets and however the game plays out we're good with it."
The Blazers fell behind by 14 in the first half where Howard sizzled with 26 points, but closed the gap to just 46-45 at halftime before sending Orlando (15-7) to its third straight loss.
Portland outscored the Magic 52-37 in the second half to take control.
Orlando has been dealing with a flu bug that has affected much of the team over the past week.
Jameer Nelson returned from a three-game absence with illness, while J.J. Redick, Mickael Pietrus and Howard all missed previous time.
Howard scored 39 points and grabbed 15 rebounds but the Blazers (11-11) locked down defensively on his team mates to win their third straight game.
Andre Miller returned from a one-game suspension with 22 points and eight assists, while Wesley Matthews added 20 for Portland.
Miller was penalized by the NBA for excessive and unnecessary contact at the weekend when he barged into Los Angeles Clippers rookie Blake Griffin, in retaliation for an earlier play.
His absence snapped his consecutive games played streak at 632.
"It's real messed up what happened, I was out there being aggressive. I had my chance to take a shot, I did that, and I have to deal with the consequences," Miller told reporters.
"We need everybody. We want to create easy baskets and however the game plays out we're good with it."
The Blazers fell behind by 14 in the first half where Howard sizzled with 26 points, but closed the gap to just 46-45 at halftime before sending Orlando (15-7) to its third straight loss.
Portland outscored the Magic 52-37 in the second half to take control.
Orlando has been dealing with a flu bug that has affected much of the team over the past week.
Jameer Nelson returned from a three-game absence with illness, while J.J. Redick, Mickael Pietrus and Howard all missed previous time.