ATLANTA — Al Horford scored 24 points and the Atlanta Hawks rolled to a 91-81 victory over Dwight Howard and the reconstructed Orlando Magic on Monday night.
Orlando, which hasn't had time to practice since acquiring Gilbert Arenas, Jason Richardson and Hedo Turkoglu on Saturday, struggled to find an offensive flow all night.
After setting a season low with 14 points in the first quarter, the Magic were held without a field goal for the first 8 minutes of the final period. The Hawks led by 17 when Richardson finally ended the drought with Orlando's first basket of the period.
Howard had 19 points and 20 rebounds, but too little help. Jameer Nelson scored 18 points but Arenas made only 2-of-11 shots for 10 points. Richardson had nine points and Turkoglu eight.
Arenas, playing as a reserve, sank a 3-pointer in the first period on his first shot with the Magic but couldn't build off the strong start. Brandon Bass had 13 points.
The Hawks had better balance with five scorers in double figures. Joe Johnson had 17 points, including 13 in the second half. Mike Bibby scored 15 points while hurting Orlando with three 3-pointers. Josh Smith had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Marvin Williams had 12 points and nine rebounds.
Horford grabbed 11 rebounds as Atlanta claimed a 51-38 advantage on the boards.
The Magic shot only 25 percent from the field in the first quarter and finished at 35.2 percent for the game.
The game was the first chance for coach Stan Van Gundy to have his new team together on the court since two trades on Saturday provided a dramatic facelift.
Arenas was acquired from Washington. Richardson, Turkoglu and Earl Clark were acquired from Phoenix on Saturday.
The Magic lost Rashard Lewis, Vince Carter, Mickael Pietrus and Marcin Gortat, plus a 2011 first-round draft pick, in the deals.
The Magic couldn't even practice before the game. Plans for a morning shootaround were scrapped because the new players had to take physicals. All passed.
Richardson and Turkoglu started. Clark did not play.
Van Gundy said before the game he hoped the new players would not play tentatively as if afraid to make a mistake while fitting in with the Magic.
The easy answer for the newcomers in the first half was to defer to Howard. Howard and Bass combined for 20 points in the first half.
Turkoglu missed each of his two shots from the field in the first half and finally sank a 3-pointer in the third quarter for his field goal.
The Hawks led by 11 in the third period. Orlando rallied to pull even at 55-all on Howard's dunk, but the Magic couldn't take the lead. Atlanta closed the period with a 10-3 run to lead 65-58 entering the final period.
Notes: Orlando F Malik Allen limped off the floor an apparent leg injury with 44 seconds remaining in the third quarter. He was taken to the locker room. ... Hawks G Jamal Crawford missed his fourth straight game with back spasms. ... Howard blocked two shots by Smith in the first period. ... The Hawks have won seven straight home games.
Hawks beat up on new-look Magic, 91-81
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