The Spurs built an 18-point first half lead in Orlando Friday night but it all came down to an improbable play by Dwight Howard. The Spurs saw their advantage disappear in the third quarter when the Magic outscored them 32-21. The teams began the fourth quarter tied at 80 and with .8 seconds left in the game the teams were tied at 104. That was before Dwight Howard slammed down an inbounded lob pass to defeat the Spurs.
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Anyone watching the finish in Orlando was left stunned by Dwight Howard's late game performance. After blocking Tony Parker's shot in the lane, he throws down the dunk in the final second to get his team the win.
The first game-winning basket of Dwight Howard's career was so impressive, even the losers were amazed by it. Howard leaped high over Tim Duncan to grab a long inbounds pass from Hedo Turkoglu with one hand and dunk it with 0.2 seconds left, giving the Orlando Magic a 106-104 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night. "Dwight had to go up and touch the clouds over Timmy and get it one-handed and put it in,'' the Spurs' Brent Barry said. "It was a remarkable play.'' It was the first game-winning shot of Howard's career at any level and finished off a night in which he scored 30 points and had eight rebounds.
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Jameer Nelson recorded 31 points to help the Magic erase an 18-point deficit for the win.
"Thank God we have an unbelievable athlete capable of making an unbelievable play like that,'' Magic coach Brian Hill said. "Everything had to be perfect, starting with the pass and Dwight just finished it off the way only he can.'' Magic rookie J.J. Redick added a season-high 16 points, including a critical three-point play in the final minute. "That was just freak athleticism,'' Redick said of Howard's play. "We've all seen spectacular lobs and dunks, but I told him after the game: 'Dude, I've never seen anything like that in that situation.'''
Added Spurs coach Gregg Popovich: "That was a fantastic catch by a really dynamic young player. But Dwight was great the whole night. It was a fantastic win for Orlando.''
Freak athleticism? You can't humanly catch and shoot the ball in 0.8 seconds. The only possible play was a lob. Where were our giants guarding the rim? That just shouldn't have happened.
Jameer Nelson puts up a shot in front of San Antonio forward Tim Duncan during a game in Orlando, Fla., Friday, Feb. 9, 2007.
Orlando Magic guard J.J. Redick, right, puts up a shot over Spurs guard Manu Ginobili in Orlando, Fla., Feb. 9, 2007.
Howard Flushed A Stunning Dunk
Johnny Ludden Express-News
ORLANDO, Fla. — If the Spurs have indeed "turned the corner," as their coach has suggested in recent days, they would have been wise not to pick one that led directly into the barrel-sized chest of Orlando center Dwight Howard. Howard flushed a stunning dunk over Tim Duncan with .2 seconds left on an out-of-bounds play, completing the Spurs' equally surprising 18-point collapse and handing the Magic a 106-104 victory Friday night at Amway Arena. Two nights after recording one of their most impressive victories, the Spurs trudged out the locker room here looking more dazed than ever with three more games still left on a trip that coach Gregg Popovich said could potentially define the team's season. "This," Tony Parker said, "was a tough one."
Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard celebrates after his dunk against San Antonio in Orlando, Feb. 9, 2007.
For those who have arrived late and need a primer on the Spurs' turbulent season, they can simply cue up the last 18 or so minutes from Friday: Spurs surrender 18-point lead; Spurs put themselves back in position to win; Spurs can't get necessary stops; Spurs watch someone younger, stronger and more athletic jump over them to take the ball, then the game, from their reach. Howard pounded the Spurs for 30 points — two shy of the career-high he established two nights earlier in a loss in Toronto — while making 11 of 14 shots, none more impressive than the last.
Howard also started the game-turning sequence on the other end of the floor by swatting Parker's shot into the arms of Jameer Nelson with .8 of a second left. The Magic called timeout, during which coach Brian Hill told Hedo Turkoglu to throw the ball at the rim and "Dwight's going to get it." With Francisco Elson fronting Turkoglu on the sideline, Howard set a screen that led Duncan to feint at Nelson and put him a step behind Orlando's center. It was a costly step, too. Howard flashed back toward the rim and caught Turkoglu's inbounds lob a good 2 feet above the basket with his arm cocked behind his head, then jammed the ball through in windmill fashion. Duncan jumped, but not nearly high enough.
Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard scores on a last-second dunk against the Spurs in Orlando, Fla., Friday, Feb. 9, 2007.
If this was one of those proverbial "passing of the torch" moments between big men, the 21-year Howard essentially extinguished the torch in Duncan's grill. That could explain why Duncan, whose own stellar 24-point, 16-rebound, six-assist performance went wasted, quickly left the locker room without speaking to reporters. "One out of 10 times that's going to work," said Brent Barry, who made four 3-pointers and scored 21 points. "Dwight Howard had to go up and touch the clouds over Timmy and get it one-handed and put it in. "It was a remarkable play and the one that made the difference."
Howard received considerable help from Nelson. The Magic point guard scored 24 of his 31 points in the second half, tying the game on a 13-foot pull-up jumper with 5.9 seconds left. "Jameer," Popovich said, "got hotter than a firecracker."
Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard (12) is congratulated by Jameer Nelson after scoring a last-second dunk.
"It Was A Bad Pass," Finley Said
Johnny Ludden Express-News
ORLANDO, Fla. — While Gregg Popovich and Tony Parker both praised former Spurs guard Hedo Turkoglu for the inbounds pass he made to Dwight Howard for the winning basket, Michael Finley saw it differently. "It was a bad pass," Finley said. The pass appeared to be too high and Orlando coach Brian Hill said he also thought it was "a little to the outside." "But being the athlete that Dwight is he was able to get it under control and dunk the ball," Finley said. "It was a special play on his part."
Orlando Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu, of Turkey, drives past San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, of Argentina
Parker said the Spurs talked "a little" about watching for the lob in the preceding timeout. "I knew that was the only way they could score," Finley said. "A catch-and-shoot would be tough in that situation. "Two things had to happen: You have to have an athlete who can catch the ball, which they had; and you had to have a perfect pass, which I thought was a bad pass. But they executed it and got a win."
San Antonio Spurs guard Brent Barry, right, puts up a shot in front of J.J. Redick.
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Jameer Nelson puts up a shot in front of San Antonio forward Tim Duncan during a game in Orlando, Fla., Friday, Feb. 9, 2007. 
Orlando Magic guard J.J. Redick, right, puts up a shot over Spurs guard Manu Ginobili in Orlando, Fla., Feb. 9, 2007. 
Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard celebrates after his dunk against San Antonio in Orlando, Feb. 9, 2007. 
Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard scores on a last-second dunk against the Spurs in Orlando, Fla., Friday, Feb. 9, 2007.
Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard (12) is congratulated by Jameer Nelson after scoring a last-second dunk.
Orlando Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu, of Turkey, drives past San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, of Argentina
San Antonio Spurs guard Brent Barry, right, puts up a shot in front of J.J. Redick. 
