ORLANDO – Dwight Howard scored 21 points and grabbed 23 rebounds, and the Orlando Magic survived a tough shooting performance for a 92-80 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.

Jameer Nelson added 17 points and nine assists, and J.J. Redick had 15 points as Orlando had all five starters in double figures.

Kobe Bryant scored 30 points and Pau Gasol chipped in 13 for the Lakers, who lost their second straight and posted a season low in points to drop to 1-6 on the road this season.

The Magic led by as many as 23 points, helped by Los Angeles’ second consecutive night shooting under 40 percent.

Orlando, which was slightly better at 41 percent but connected on 12 3-pointers, has now beaten the Lakers in six of their last nine regular-season meetings.

The Magic played their fourth game in five nights and Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy did some lineup shuffling to give his team some fresher legs against the Lakers’ big front line.

With forward Hedo Turkoglu sitting out, Van Gundy opted to start Redick in his place — forming a three-guard lineup with Jason Richardson and Nelson at the point.

It did help neutralize the Lakers’ height advantage and led to several fast break opportunities for Orlando.

It’s always unfortunate when a Broadway show is without one of its major
cast members.

That scenario could unfold not far away at Madison Square Garden in a
star-studded matchup on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

It’s unclear if Carmelo Anthony will be available to join Amare Stoudemire
and the New York Knicks as they take on Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic on
Monday.

Anthony missed Saturday’s 104-92 loss at Oklahoma City because of a sprained
right ankle and injured left wrist. The Knicks top scorer at 25.5 points per
game could still be out for the opener of a four-game homestand.

Without him, New York (6-6) gave up 70 points in the first half Saturday and
never threatened in its second straight loss.

“The great thing about the NBA is that we’ve got a game coming up soon so we
can try to redeem ourselves against Orlando,” Stoudemire said.

Getting back on track against Howard could be difficult. The Orlando center
leads the NBA in rebounding with a career-high 15.2 per game, and enters off a
monster performance in his last one.

Howard finished with 45 points and 23 rebounds and broke Wilt Chamberlain’s
nearly 50-year-old NBA record for most free throw attempts in a game, making 21
of 39 in a 117-109 victory over Golden State on Thursday. He’s the first player
with at least 40 points and 20 rebounds since Shaquille O’Neal had 48 and 20
against the Celtics on March 1, 2003.

“I just tried to be aggressive and get to the line. I didn’t care if I
missed 30,” Howard said. “I was still going to go up there and shoot the next
one with confidence.”

The Magic (8-3) come to New York as a well-rested team after winning three
straight on the West Coast. Howard totaled 18 points and 17 rebounds in the
first two games before his huge effort against the Warriors.

“All I want to do is win,” Howard said. “It didn’t matter how we got it
done, we got it done. That’s the bottom line.”

Howard has posted nine straight double-doubles against the Knicks, averaging
25.4 points on 64.0 percent shooting and 14.4 rebounds in those games.

It will up to a New York frontcourt that includes Stoudemire and newcomer
Tyson Chandler to provide some resistance to Howard. The Knicks are searching
for answers defensively after their first-half effort against the Thunder.

“It will get better. Definitely has to get better,” Chandler said. “We gave
up way too many points. Tonight our offense did a better job moving the ball and
scoring points but we had a letdown defensively.”

Stoudemire went 11-1 against the Magic with Phoenix from 2002-09 before
averaging 23.3 points and 5.5 rebounds against them last season as New York went
1-3.

He had 14 points on 7-of-19 shooting Saturday, but believes that the Knicks’
offense is on the right track. New York is among the NBA’s worst teams in
shooting percentage (.417) and assists per game (18.3).

“We stayed focused, we had great pep talks, we implemented a better
offensive scheme and tonight was the first night of that,” Stoudemire said. “We
did a good job of moving the ball.”

J.J. Redick practiced with his Orlando Magic teammates this morning at Amway Center and appears to be on track to play when his team opens its first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night.

“I did the whole practice with no limitations, no issues,” Redick said. “I made it through.

“I’m still under evaluation,” he added. “We’re going to see how it responds as today goes on and tomorrow morning. But, hopefully, if all goes well, I’ll be available for tomorrow night.”

The Magic did some fullcourt scrimmaging, and Redick said his “wind was better than I expected. I’m not saying if I play tomorrow then it’s going to be great. But my legs felt good. Obviously, I’ve had some time off.”

The Magic host the Hawks in Game 1 of their best-of-seven series on Saturday night.

Redick, the team’s backup shooting guard, missed Orlando’s last 17 regular-season games.

He strained a muscle in his lower abdomen during a Magic shootaround March 11 and hadn’t participated in any workouts with teammates until this past Wednesday, when he took part in a portion of the Magic’s shootaround that day.

Coach Stan Van Gundy said he would play Redick on Saturday if Redick doesn’t experience any setbacks.

“I thought he looked good,” Van Gundy said. “He shot the ball well. It looked like he was getting up and down the floor well. He looked like he was moving. He and I just talked. The big thing now, and the thing you sort of have to wait and see on is what it’s going to feel like tomorrow morning coming in after his first real go at it in five weeks. What’s going to feel like? We’ll just have to wait and see tomorrow morning.

“If he can go, I’m going to go back to him,” Van Gundy added.

jbrobbins@tribune.com. Read his blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/magicblog. Subscribe to our Orlando Magic newsletter at OrlandoSentinel.com/joinus.