Re: Magic, Howard throw-down Nuggets

Guess Stan Gundy's benching of Dwight Howard following Orlando's loss to the Cavaliers worked some Magic after all. Howard, apparently motivated by being called out by Van Gundy for his lack of defensive prowess, went wild on Denver, posting 23 points and 24 boards in a 109-98 whipping at Amway Arena. He was an unstoppable force Wednesday night, blocking shots, rebounding at will and hammering Denver's weak front line with thunderous dunks. The Nuggets simply have no post player to match up with Howard, save for Kenyon Martin, who was ineffective against the 6-foot-10 tower of power. Next stop for Dwight: the NBA All-Star Game, where he will start at center for the first time. Rashard Lewis also played well, pouring in 25 points. But, he still needs to work on consistency. The Magic paid him $118 million to make the 3s, not miss them. Denver's Carmelo Anthony had 32 points, but didn't play well, defensively. He fouled out, too. Teammate Marcus Camby had only eight rebounds, allowing Howard to pass him up for the NBA rebounding lead. Camby is simply too thin to hang with Howard in the low post. While a good scoring team, Denver doesn't have the defense or tough inside game to win the whole thing this year. The Nuggets are a first- or second-round playoff team, at best.