Associated Press
ORLANDO, Fla. ó The Orlando Magic built a big lead and avoided another meltdown ó barely.
Rookie Courtney Lee had 24 points, Hedo Turkoglu scored 16 and the Magic blew another 18-point lead before beating the Philadelphia 76ers 96-87 on Wednesday night to even the series at a game apiece.
Dwight Howard had 11 points and 10 rebounds but fouled out late, and Rashard Lewis made a pair of big jumpers in the final minutes to help Orlando get its fourth win in five chances against Philadelphia this season.
Andre Miller had 30 points, and Andre Iguodala scored 20 of his 21 points in the second half for the Sixers, who closed the gap to 5 points and almost erased the same deficit they faced in the series opener. Game 3 is Friday in Philadelphia.
Howard and Lee led a second-half charge that seemed to put the game away.
The two played an inside-out game that highlighted a 16-5 third quarter spurt, a series of put-back dunks from Howard and jumpshots from Lee that overwhelmed Philadelphia. Howard soared high on a missed layup by Alston, reaching with one hand for a furious dunk that he finished with a roar to put Orlando ahead by 18 points midway through the period.
Philadelphia came within five points in the fourth quarter on an uncontested layup by Louis Williams.