Magic too strong for Atlanta

ORLANDO, Florida - Showing no rust after an eight-day rest, the Orlando Magic routed Atlanta 114-71 on Tuesday in the opener of their NBA Eastern Conference second-round best-of-seven series.

Dwight Howard scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and Vince Carter had 20 points for the Magic, who benefited from an extended break while the Hawks had barely had two days' rest since eliminating Milwaukee in round one.

"The challenge is not to get carried away with the score," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "It was one of those nights where everything just snowballed."