Dwight Howard had 25 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Orlando Magic past the Charlotte Bobcats 96-89 Tuesday night for their fifth straight win.

Jameer Nelson scored 17 points, Hedo Turkoglu had 15 and Von Wafer 13 as the Magic won for the 10th time in 12 games.

Gerald Henderson had 22 points for Charlotte, which has lost eight of its last nine. The Bobcats are also winless in their last five trips to Orlando.

Charlotte stayed close throughout and pulled within a basket late in the fourth quarter before Ryan Anderson’s 3-pointer extended Orlando’s lead to 86-81 with 1:33 to play.

Turkoglu and Wafer scored eight points each in the decisive fourth quarter.

CHARLOTTE (89) — Henderson 7-10 8-10 22, Thomas 2-10 3-4 7, Mullens 4-10 0-0 8, Augustin 6-12 0-1 13, Walker 6-13 0-0 15, Diaw 4-8 0-0 9, Biyombo 5-5 1-2 11, Higgins 0-3 0-0 0, Brown 2-5 0-0 4, Carroll 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 36-77 12-17 89.

ORLANDO (96) — Turkoglu 5-8 3-4 15, Anderson 4-13 3-4 13, Howard 11-18 3-8 25, Nelson 5-8 6-7 17, Redick 2-9 0-0 5, Davis 3-9 0-1 6, Q.Richardson 1-4 0-0 2, Duhon 0-1 0-0 0, Wafer 5-8 2-2 13. Totals 36-78 17-26 96.

3-Point Goals—Charlotte 5-17 (Walker 3-7, Diaw 1-4, Augustin 1-4, Brown 0-1, Mullens 0-1), Orlando 7-22 (Turkoglu 2-5, Anderson 2-9, Redick 1-1, Wafer 1-2, Nelson 1-3, Q.Richardson 0-1, Duhon 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Charlotte 50 (Biyombo 10), Orlando 47 (Howard 17). Assists—Charlotte 23 (Walker 6), Orlando 19 (Howard, Nelson 4). Total Fouls—Charlotte 22, Orlando 14. Technicals—Diaw, Charlotte defensive three second, Howard, Turkoglu. A—18,846 (18,500).

HEAT 120, SPURS 98: LeBron James scored 33 points, Chris Bosh added 30 and Miami used a historic third-quarter turnaround to erase a big deficit and beat San Antonio, snapping a three-game slide.

Miami outscored San Antonio 39-12 in the third quarter — the second-largest differential for any quarter in Heat history, and the second-worst differential for a period in Spurs history. The Heat trailed 52-35 late in the second quarter.

SAN ANTONIO (98) — Jefferson 0-3 0-0 0, Duncan 4-10 0-0 8, Blair 6-10 1-2 13, Parker 7-12 4-4 18, Leonard 5-12 0-0 12, Splitter 1-1 2-2 4, Joseph 2-4 0-0 4, Green 7-11 0-2 20, Bonner 1-3 0-0 3, Anderson 0-1 3-4 3, Neal 5-12 1-1 12, Thomas 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 38-80 12-17 98.

MIAMI (120) — James 12-21 5-9 33, Bosh 14-22 2-4 30, Anthony 3-3 0-0 6, Chalmers 4-8 1-2 13, Jones 0-3 3-3 3, Haslem 2-4 0-0 4, Battier 2-3 0-0 5, Miller 6-6 0-0 18, Cole 3-8 1-1 8, Harris 0-0 0-0 0, Gladness 0-0 0-0 0, Howard 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 46-79 12-19 120.

3-Point Goals—San Antonio 10-25 (Green 6-7, Leonard 2-5, Bonner 1-2, Neal 1-5, Parker 0-1, Joseph 0-2, Jefferson 0-3), Miami 16-26 (Miller 6-6, Chalmers 4-6, James 4-6, Battier 1-2, Cole 1-2, Bosh 0-1, Jones 0-3). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—San Antonio 45 (Duncan 7), Miami 42 (Bosh 8). Assists—San Antonio 21 (Jefferson 5), Miami 24 (James 10). Total Fouls—San Antonio 18, Miami 19. Technicals—Duncan. A—19,600 (19,600).

WARRIORS 105, CAVALIERS 95: David Lee scored a season-high 29 points — 13 in the fourth quarter — and Nate Robinson added 17 points, leading Golden State past road-worn Cleveland.

Lee scored seven straight points midway through the final period to help the Warriors pull away from the Cavs, who were coming off a seven-game road trip.

GOLDEN STATE (105) — D.Wright 4-11 2-2 10, Lee 13-20 3-4 29, Biedrins 1-1 0-0 2, Jenkins 2-4 0-0 4, Ellis 2-12 6-8 10, Robinson 6-15 2-3 17, Udoh 1-4 0-0 2, Rush 6-11 0-0 14, K.Thompson 5-9 0-0 14, McGuire 1-7 1-2 3. Totals 41-94 14-19 105.

CLEVELAND (95) — Casspi 3-8 4-6 11, Jamison 7-14 3-3 19, Varejao 4-11 2-4 10, Irving 7-13 4-6 18, Gibson 2-7 0-0 6, Sessions 3-9 2-2 8, Gee 1-3 2-2 4, Erden 6-8 2-2 14, T.Thompson 2-9 1-3 5. Totals 35-82 20-28 95.

3-Point Goals—Golden State 9-19 (K.Thompson 4-4, Robinson 3-5, Rush 2-3, Lee 0-1, Jenkins 0-1, Ellis 0-2, D.Wright 0-3), Cleveland 5-15 (Jamison 2-3, Gibson 2-5, Casspi 1-4, Irving 0-3). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Golden State 54 (Biedrins 11), Cleveland 59 (Varejao 13). Assists—Golden State 26 (Robinson 10), Cleveland 16 (Irving 5). Total Fouls—Golden State 24, Cleveland 16. A—13,056 (20,562).

NUGGETS 105, BUCKS 95: Corey Brewer scored a season-high 22 points as Denver started its five-game road trip by beating Milwaukee.

Brandon Jennings scored 12 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and first-round pick Tobias Harris came off the bench for 14 for the Bucks.

DENVER (105) — Gallinari 5-12 2-2 14, Nene 3-6 8-10 14, Mozgov 2-6 0-0 4, Lawson 3-10 5-7 11, Afflalo 4-11 0-0 11, Miller 1-5 6-6 8, Harrington 5-9 2-2 16, Andersen 1-2 3-6 5, Brewer 8-14 3-4 22. Totals 32-75 29-37 105.

MILWAUKEE (95) — Jackson 0-6 2-2 2, Leuer 4-6 3-3 11, Bogut 1-5 0-0 2, Jennings 13-22 1-2 30, Delfino 3-12 1-2 10, Gooden 2-6 1-1 5, Ilyasova 4-12 0-0 9, Harris 5-10 4-4 14, Udrih 1-4 0-0 2, Livingston 4-6 0-0 8, Sanders 1-1 0-0 2, Brockman 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 38-91 12-14 95.

3-Point Goals—Denver 12-25 (Harrington 4-6, Afflalo 3-4, Brewer 3-6, Gallinari 2-6, Lawson 0-3), Milwaukee 7-23 (Jennings 3-6, Delfino 3-9, Ilyasova 1-3, Harris 0-1, Leuer 0-1, Udrih 0-1, Jackson 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Denver 54 (Nene 9), Milwaukee 52 (Ilyasova 11). Assists—Denver 27 (Miller 11), Milwaukee 21 (Jennings 6). Total Fouls—Denver 15, Milwaukee 27. Technicals—Denver defensive three second 2. A—11,322 (18,717).

ROCKETS 97, PISTONS 80: Samuel Dalembert had 14 points and 12 rebounds and Luis Scola also scored 14 as Houston beat Detroit for its fourth straight victory.

Kyle Lowry had 13 points, five rebounds and five assists for Houston.

DETROIT (80) — Prince 10-22 0-0 20, Wallace 0-1 0-0 0, Monroe 2-9 0-0 4, Knight 7-16 0-0 15, Gordon 7-15 3-3 18, Jerebko 2-8 3-4 7, Stuckey 6-11 2-2 16, Maxiell 0-0 0-0 0, Wilkins 0-1 0-0 0, Macklin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-83 8-9 80.

HOUSTON (97) — Parsons 3-7 0-0 7, Scola 5-12 4-6 14, Dalembert 7-12 0-0 14, Lowry 5-11 0-0 13, Martin 4-12 2-2 11, Lee 2-4 1-2 6, Patterson 5-7 2-2 12, Hill 0-0 0-0 0, Budinger 3-6 0-0 7, Dragic 5-9 0-0 11, Adrien 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 40-81 9-12 97.

3-Point Goals—Detroit 4-13 (Stuckey 2-4, Knight 1-2, Gordon 1-3, Prince 0-2, Jerebko 0-2), Houston 8-19 (Lowry 3-7, Parsons 1-1, Lee 1-2, Budinger 1-2, Dragic 1-2, Martin 1-4, Scola 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Detroit 41 (Monroe 11), Houston 53 (Dalembert 12). Assists—Detroit 17 (Monroe 6), Houston 16 (Lowry, Dragic 5). Total Fouls—Detroit 16, Houston 18. A—9,318 (18,043).

BULLS 118, SUNS 97: Carlos Boozer scored 26 of his season-high 31 points in the first half, leading short-handed Chicago past Phoenix.

Boozer hit 12 of 15 shots in the opening half and scored eight points during a 12-point burst that opened up a 20-point lead for Chicago.

PHOENIX (97) — Hill 4-7 0-0 8, Frye 2-7 0-0 4, Gortat 5-7 4-5 14, Nash 10-13 2-3 25, Dudley 3-7 1-1 7, Morris 1-7 2-2 4, Brown 4-10 0-0 9, Price 2-4 0-0 5, Warrick 1-2 0-0 2, Lopez 6-7 4-4 16, Redd 0-3 3-4 3. Totals 38-74 16-19 97.

CHICAGO (118) — Deng 4-9 6-6 15, Boozer 14-21 3-3 31, Noah 6-10 1-2 13, Watson 8-12 4-4 23, Hamilton 5-11 0-0 11, Asik 5-6 1-3 11, Brewer 2-6 2-2 6, Korver 0-3 0-0 0, Gibson 3-5 1-2 7, Lucas 0-4 0-0 0, Butler 0-0 1-2 1, Scalabrine 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 47-88 19-24 118.

3-Point Goals—Phoenix 5-11 (Nash 3-3, Price 1-1, Brown 1-1, Dudley 0-1, Redd 0-1, Morris 0-2, Frye 0-2), Chicago 5-10 (Watson 3-3, Deng 1-1, Hamilton 1-2, Korver 0-1, Lucas 0-1, Noah 0-1, Brewer 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Phoenix 40 (Gortat 15), Chicago 45 (Noah 12). Assists—Phoenix 19 (Nash 9), Chicago 31 (Hamilton, Korver 6). Total Fouls—Phoenix 17, Chicago 17. Technicals—Chicago defensive three second. A—21,347 (20,917).

The founder of the StayDwight.com campaign is urging fans to stand and cheer Dwight Howard in unison at specified times when the Orlando Magic host the Miami Heat tonight.

Ryan Totka tweeted: “With 2 minutes left in each quarter in tonight’s game, stand and cheer ‘STAY-DWIGHT, STAY-DWIGHT!’ Spread the word to 19,000 strong.”

Reached by phone by the Orlando Sentinel this afternoon, Totka said he wants all the fans to be “on the same page.”

“I don’t know about decibel levels, but I think it’s probably going to be the loudest Amway’s ever been for a game,” Totka said.

That remains to be seen, of course.

The Magic have announced sellouts at 120 consecutive regular-season and postseason games.

Still, the lower bowl at Amway Center often was only half-full early during the third quarters of games last season.

Magic officials have said part of the problem is that the new arena had so many offerings.

Still, players have noticed all those empty seats early in the second halves of games, and Magic fans — at least those in the lower bowl — are risking a reputation as a wine-and-cheese crowd.

About 6,400 people attended last Saturday’s free, open-to-the-public scrimmage at the arena, and fans overwhelmingly cheered for Howard.

Follow Josh Robbins on Twitter at @JoshuaBRobbins and e-mail him at jrobbins@orlandosentinel.com. Subscribe to our Orlando Magic newsletter at OrlandoSentinel.com/joinus.

[Updated at 12:05 p.m.]

There’s been a change in Stan Van Gundy’s plan.

Van Gundy just met with the team’s athletic trainer, Keon Weise, and it’s been determined that Hedo Turkoglu will not play when the Orlando Magic host the Miami Heat at 7 tonight at Amway Center.

Turkoglu participated in the full Magic shootaround this morning, and Van Gundy initially expected to have Turkoglu start at small forward and Ryan Anderson at power forward.

So Van Gundy said he will now start Jameer Nelson, Jason Richardson, Quentin Richardson, Anderson and Dwight Howard.

Turkoglu crashed to the court Sunday night and bruised his left hip.

Follow Josh Robbins on Twitter at @JoshuaBRobbins and e-mail him at jrobbins@orlandosentinel.com. Subscribe to our Orlando Magic newsletter at OrlandoSentinel.com/joinus.

The Orlando Magic nearly acquired Dwyane Wade the night he was drafted. (Lynne Sladky/Associated Press)

Dwyane Wade in Orlando? Almost, says former Magic coach Doc Rivers.

Rivers went on a New York radio station and told the story of how the Magic worked out Wade and nearly traded for the Heat’s No. 5 pick on draft night in 2003.

Here’s the story, in Rivers’ words:

“Dwyane came in to work out with us when I was coaching the Magic and he really shouldn’t have. I think we were the 15th pick or the 14th pick. He had no business coming. He just came because of the Marquette connection.

“We had a workout. We had Keith Bogans and a couple of other guys. He dominated that workout more than I have seen any player dominate a workout to a point where we were scrambling trying to make a trade to get him in the draft and move up. We felt a lot of people didn’t know it.

“We had a deal with the Miami Heat if their guy didn’t come up the pick was ours.

“Well when the pick came to Miami . . . and Dwyane Wade, we thought that we had him because we didn’t know that Miami liked him and then they called us right before they were about to pick and they said, ‘We’re sorry. We have our guy.’

And they picked Dwyane Wade.”

Of course, during Wade’s rookie year, the Magic tanked. Doc Rivers was fired, the team won only 21 games and Tracy McGrady openly asked for his departure. The tumultuous season rewarded the Magic with the No. 1 pick, however, and they selected Dwight Howard — not a bad consolation prize.

If the Magic had acquired Wade, it’s unlikely they would’ve turned out with the No. 1 pick. A team with T-Mac and Wade is probably making the playoffs, and if they didn’t make the playoffs… well, butterfly effect and all that.

But it’s still interesting to know the Magic were that close to acquiring Wade. The NBA’s entire landscape would be different.

zmccann@orlandosentinel.com

The Orlando Magic nearly acquired Dwyane Wade the night he was drafted. (Lynne Sladky/Associated Press)

Dwyane Wade in Orlando? Almost, says former Magic coach Doc Rivers.

Rivers went on a New York radio station and told the story of how the Magic worked out Wade and nearly traded for the Heat’s No. 5 pick on draft night in 2003.

Here’s the story, in Rivers’ words:

“Dwyane came in to work out with us when I was coaching the Magic and he really shouldn’t have. I think we were the 15th pick or the 14th pick. He had no business coming. He just came because of the Marquette connection.

“We had a workout. We had Keith Bogans and a couple of other guys. He dominated that workout more than I have seen any player dominate a workout to a point where we were scrambling trying to make a trade to get him in the draft and move up. We felt a lot of people didn’t know it.

“We had a deal with the Miami Heat if their guy didn’t come up the pick was ours.

“Well when the pick came to Miami . . . and Dwyane Wade, we thought that we had him because we didn’t know that Miami liked him and then they called us right before they were about to pick and they said, ‘We’re sorry. We have our guy.’

And they picked Dwyane Wade.”

Of course, during Wade’s rookie year, the Magic tanked. Doc Rivers was fired, the team won only 21 games and Tracy McGrady openly asked for his departure. The tumultuous season rewarded the Magic with the No. 1 pick, however, and they selected Dwight Howard — not a bad consolation prize.

If the Magic had acquired Wade, it’s unlikely they would’ve turned out with the No. 1 pick. A team with T-Mac and Wade is probably making the playoffs, and if they didn’t make the playoffs… well, butterfly effect and all that.

But it’s still interesting to know the Magic were that close to acquiring Wade. The NBA’s entire landscape would be different.

zmccann@orlandosentinel.com

The Orlando Magic nearly acquired Dwyane Wade the night he was drafted. (Lynne Sladky/Associated Press)

Dwyane Wade in Orlando? Almost, says former Magic coach Doc Rivers.

Rivers went on a New York radio station and told the story of how the Magic worked out Wade and nearly traded for the Heat’s No. 5 pick on draft night in 2003.

Here’s the story, in Rivers’ words:

“Dwyane came in to work out with us when I was coaching the Magic and he really shouldn’t have. I think we were the 15th pick or the 14th pick. He had no business coming. He just came because of the Marquette connection.

“We had a workout. We had Keith Bogans and a couple of other guys. He dominated that workout more than I have seen any player dominate a workout to a point where we were scrambling trying to make a trade to get him in the draft and move up. We felt a lot of people didn’t know it.

“We had a deal with the Miami Heat if their guy didn’t come up the pick was ours.

“Well when the pick came to Miami . . . and Dwyane Wade, we thought that we had him because we didn’t know that Miami liked him and then they called us right before they were about to pick and they said, ‘We’re sorry. We have our guy.’

And they picked Dwyane Wade.”

Of course, during Wade’s rookie year, the Magic tanked. Doc Rivers was fired, the team won only 21 games and Tracy McGrady openly asked for his departure. The tumultuous season rewarded the Magic with the No. 1 pick, however, and they selected Dwight Howard — not a bad consolation prize.

If the Magic had acquired Wade, it’s unlikely they would’ve turned out with the No. 1 pick. A team with T-Mac and Wade is probably making the playoffs, and if they didn’t make the playoffs… well, butterfly effect and all that.

But it’s still interesting to know the Magic were that close to acquiring Wade. The NBA’s entire landscape would be different.

zmccann@orlandosentinel.com

Stan Van Gundy hasn’t been shy about the Miami Heat this season. (Jacob Langston, Orlando Sentinel)

The Heat provided plenty of entertainment to NBA fans during last night’s 92-84 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

The subject of the Heat has provided plenty of entertaining dialogue from the Orlando Magic all season long.

It began before LeBron James even made his decision. The day before the draft, outspoken Magic coach Stan Van Gundy didn’t mince words about James’ hour-long special.

“It’s gotten ridiculous I think. It’s really I mean it’s almost like a parody of itself this whole situation now. Come on, an hour long? It takes 15 seconds to say I’ve decided to stay in Cleveland but we’ve got another 59 minutes and 45 seconds to, what? Promote LeBron James? As if we don’t do that enough.”
–Van Gundy

In the same interview, Van Gundy took a shot at Chris Bosh, who seemed insistent on playing with Wade. When asked about Bosh’s decision, Van Gundy responded with:

“Well, he’s been following him around for two weeks like his lapdog. So that doesn’t really surprise me.”
–Van Gundy

Then, when James decided to take his talents to South Beach, the floodgates opened. Opinions were flowing all over the NBA, as the superfriends teaming up in South Florida was one of the biggest offseason stories in years.

Magic GM Otis Smith’s words stood out among the masses with a simple, yet direct, message.

“I was surprised that he went [to Miami]. I thought he was, I guess, more of a competitor.”
–Smith

The Magic’s biggest star, Dwight Howard, didn’t even want to address the Heat. He wouldn’t talk about them till media day, when he was cordial.

“Please, no questions about the Miami Heat.”
–Howard

With the entire NBA community — which now spans the globe — talking about the three amigos in Miami for months, Heat president Pat Riley responded to Smith’s and Van Gundy’s quotes specifically. Van Gundy, of course, used to coach the Heat before being replace by Riley during the 2005-06 season. And the Magic are the Heat’s only in-state rival and primary competition in the Southeast Division.

“When Otis Smith made a point about LeBron’s competitiveness because he didn’t stay in Cleveland, I thought it was an absolutely stupid remark.”
“I don’t know what happened to some of these guys along the way.”
–Riley

The first quote was (obviously) meant for Smith, and the second for Van Gundy.

Van Gundy went off on Riley when he heard the quotes.

“He goes into Charles Barkley, me and Otis and then says he doesn’t worry about what people say. Wait, you called the press conference, you went off and everybody and you don’t care what people say? Clearly, he cares a great deal about what people say. I was laughing when I saw that. … Pat getting onto people for making moral judgments made me laugh. I was with Pat when we had all of those Knicks series and he had no problem making moral judgments on my brother. What I read into that was that I guess Pat is the only one allowed to make those moral judgments and the rest of us can’t do that. I guess we didn’t realize that Pat’s the only allowed to do that.”
–Van Gundy

That’s a shortened version of the quote. Van Gundy, as we all know, isn’t shy. That was the end of the media sniping, however, for a little while.

And then came training camp, and Magic newcomer Quentin Richardson gave perhaps the most poignant, thought-out quotes of the season.

“Bleep the Heat.”
-Richardson

No other training camp quote could live up to Richardson’s self-censored declaration.

Before the Heat and Magic played on Oct. 29, Marcin Gortat expressed his annoyance at the Heat and the media’s coverage of the Heat.

“Honestly, I’m sick of listening every hour about Miami. Miami this, Miami that, how great they are, how good they are, what kind of record they’re going to have…”
–Gortat

Things quieted down for a few months after that, mostly because the Magic were involved with their own season and the Heat never really came up.

But in early January, James joked that his team should be called the “Heatles” because of their ability to sell out arenas.

Van Gundy took exception to the nickname.

“They’re pretty impressed with themselves. Maybe some places that’s what turns out. I know here it’s not. We’re selling out no matter who we play, so we don’t need to bring them in to get people into our arena.”
–Van Gundy

And to top off a season full of zingers, Van Gundy took to Miami again on March 7 when he said something about the Heat that had the nation nodding in agreement.

This quote came a day after Dwyane Wade said the world is happy his team is losing.

“I do chuckle a little bit when they sort of complain about the scrutiny when they get. My suggestion would be if you don’t want the scrutiny, you don’t hold a championship celebration before you’ve even practiced together. It’s hard to go out yourself and invite that kind of crowd and celebration and attention, and then when things aren’t going well, sort of bemoan the fact that you’re getting that attention. To me, that doesn’t follow.”
–Van Gundy

Unfortunately, the Heat and Magic never met in the playoffs. It would’ve been very interesting to see what would’ve been said between the two entertaining teams in a playoff series. But it didn’t happen.

All in all, this post is just a diversion. If you’re a Heat fan, I hope you resist the urge to go into the comments and say something along the lines of, “WE SHUT VAN DUMBY UP, GO HEATZZZ.” We get it. You’re in the NBA Finals. The Magic are not.

But as an observer, I’m thankful the Heat exist for their ability to provide constant material for Van Gundy and the Magic.

zmccann@orlandosentinel.com