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Strong First Half Not Enough For Nets in Orlando

The Nets had their moments Friday night in Orlando, but with their best player struggling against his toughest matchup in the league, they didn't have the firepower to keep up with the Magic. The Nets led by as many as 10  in the second quarter and by three at the half, but Orlando took control in the third, winning the period 32-16, and cruised to a 105-90 victory.

Dwight Howard (30 points and 16 rebounds) dominated Brook Lopez, who missed his first 13 shots of the game and finished with just 10 points on 3-for-17 from the field. Derrick Favors also had a quiet night, scoring four points and grabbing just one rebound in 17 minutes. On the positive side, Travis Outlaw recovered from a couple of poor games to lead the Nets with 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting. Kris Humphries, taking Johan Petro's back-up minutes, scored 13 on 6-for-7 shooting and grabbed 4 boards in 17 minutes.

The Nets shot 10-for-22 from 3-point range and only turned the ball over 12 times, but they attempted just nine free throws (to Orlando's 32) and were outrebounded 50-31.