Without Howard, Magic ease past Pistons 119-89

First Posted:

(AP) Jason Richardson hit six 3-pointers and scored 22 points, J.J. Redick had 20 points and the Orlando Magic eased past the Detroit Pistons 119-89 Monday night.

Glen Davis added 16 points and 16 rebounds starting in place of center Dwight Howard, who missed his third game in two weeks with back spasms.

All five Orlando starters reached double figures in the Magic’s first win over the Pistons this season.

The Magic also were playing without backup point guard Chris Duhon, who was suspended for the game for conduct detrimental to the team.

Tayshaun Prince led Detroit with 21 points and eight rebounds.

The Pistons lost their third straight game since a three-game winning streak. Detroit concludes its four-game road trip at Charlotte on Thursday.

With both Howard and Hedo Turkoglu (out for the regular-season with a facial fracture) missing from the starting lineup, Magic coach Stan Van Gundy inserted Davis and Redick into the lineup.

Neither player disappointed early, with Redick connecting from the outside and scoring eight first-quarter points, and Davis reaching double-double status just minutes into the second period.

Orlando also got an instant boost from the return of Ryan Anderson, who had missed the three previous games with a sprained right ankle.

Even seldom-used point guard Ish Smith got into the act, making the most of his extra minutes playing in place of Duhon. Smith had five of his seven assists in just six minutes of action.

The Magic led by as many as 23 in the first half and the lead ballooned above 30 early in the third quarter. It didn’t hurt that they also connected on 15 of their 28 3-pointers for the night.

It got almost comical how easily the ball was falling through the net for the Magic, with Richardson getting a high and very favorable bounce on a rushed 3-pointer in the second half.

They shot 53 percent for the night from the field.

The only sore spot was reserve forward Earl Clark getting ejected with 7.5 seconds to play in the game by referee Scott Foster.

Orlando did catch Detroit playing its fourth game in five nights, but with each of its remaining games holding potential playoff seeding implications, the Magic will take wins where they can get them.

They began the night in the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference, behind division mate Atlanta.

The Magic scored 64 points and led by 21 at the half with a balanced attack that saw four of their five starters reach double figures.

Orlando shot 53 percent (10 for 19) from the 3-point line and 51 percent (22 for 43) from the field overall. It also scored 12 points off seven Detroit turnovers.

The Pistons shot 43 percent in the half, but were mostly stagnant offensively except for Prince’s 15 points.

Notes: The Magic improved to 22-4 this season when scoring at least 100 points. ... Redick made his 14th start this season. ... Pistons G Rodney Stuckey banged his knee at the end of the first half and did not return. ... Van Gundy said that the NBA office got back to the team about footage they sent showing what they believed was Dallas C Brendan Haywood punching Howard in the back while in the post during a recent game. Officials didn’t find intentional malice on Haywood’s part though. “They’re saying that his fist was closed, but I guess they see it as a normal basketball play,” Van Gundy said. “But I understand the difficulty for officials. There’s so much contact and guys are so big and strong.” ... Detroit coach Lawrence Frank said Pistons’ center Greg Monroe should be in the running for the Most Improved Player Award this season. “He’s able to play different positions, not necessarily in terms of forward-center, but in different spots on the floor,” he said. “He’s a very aggressive rebounder, got a very good nose for the ball. Write it in. Give me the ballot.”