Dwight Howard passed Wilt Chamberlain as the youngest NBA player to reach 5,000 rebounds as the Orlando Magic withstood Dwyane Wade’s 42 points for a 101-95 road victory over the Miami Heat on Monday.
The 23-year-old Howard collected 22 points and 18 rebounds to boost his career total to 5,007. Chamberlain, the all-time NBA rebound leader with 23,924, was 25 when he reached 5,000.
“The big guy was really aggressive,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters.
PHOTO: AP
Rashard Lewis added 21 for Orlando (55-18), who won their sixth consecutive game to stay percentage points ahead of Boston (56-19) for second place in the Eastern Conference.
Wade now has 12 40-point games this season.
“Wade is great every night,” Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said.
However, the NBA’s leading scorer found little help, with Mario Chalmers scoring 13 points and Jermaine O’Neal 10.
The loss left fifth-placed Miami (39-35) just a game ahead of Philadelphia (37-35) in the East.
Wade’s layup gave Miami a 92-91 lead with 2:51 to play, but the Magic scored six consecutive points — on a free throw by Howard, Lewis’ three-pointer and a layup by Howard — to take control.
BUCKS 107, NETS 78
At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Richard Jefferson had 29 points and 10 rebounds against his former teammates as the Milwaukee Bucks snapped a season-high, five-game losing streak.
Charlie Villanueva added 20 points for the Bucks, who kept their slim hopes for a playoff berth alive by snapping a seven-game road losing streak and sending the Nets to their fifth straight loss, matching their season’s longest losing streak.
The win was only the fifth in 19 games for Milwaukee, which is four games behind Chicago in the race for the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. The Bucks (32-43) have seven games left.
JAZZ 112, KNICKS 104
At Salt Lake City, Utah, Deron Williams had 24 points and 13 assists for the Jazz, who rallied after blowing a huge lead at home for the second straight game.
The Jazz led by 24 early in the third quarter, but fell behind by a point in the fourth before regrouping and closing on a 20-11 run.
GRIZZLIES 114, WARRIORS 109
At Oakland, California, O.J. Mayo scored 24 points and had a career-high 10 assists and Rudy Gay added 21 points as the Memphis Grizzlies rallied from nine points down in the fourth quarter to beat the short-handed Golden State Warriors.
Mayo struggled with his shot most of the night, but made a pair of free throws on technical fouls in the fourth quarter and added a driving layup with 2 minutes left to cap a 25-5 run for Memphis.
Mike Conley added 21 points and six rebounds for the Grizzlies (19-54), who won for just the fourth time in 22 games.
Monta Ellis had 29 points for Golden State, who suited up just eight players for the second straight game and lost their fifth in a row.
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