ORLANDO — Dwight Howard, seemingly dejected, stared quietly at the box score.
The row of numbers next to his name indicated he had one of the best playoff performances in Magic history. Yet the column with the final score favored the Hawks, 103-93, after Saturday's Game 1 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series.
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Howard had lived up to his Superman persona, but it didn't matter. Questions about Howard's long-term future with the Magic are a source of angst for the team's fans. That uncertainty along with Howard's post-game demeanor had to be unnerving for them.
“I wasn't frustrated,” Howard said Sunday. “I was just mad because I hate losing, especially to the Hawks.”
Why does he dislike losing to the Hawks in particular? “Come on,” Howard said, “you know the answer to that.”
Howard later said it's because the Hawks are his hometown team. But Howard, a Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy product, sounded as if he doesn't have much regard for the Hawks in general or the Hawks players who defended him in particular.
Howard handled them all, from Jason Collins to Zaza Pachulia to Etan Thomas and Josh Powell. He scored over them and around them. They fouled him and he made free throws.
The Hawks stayed attached to Howard's teammates and they dumped the ball to him in the post. Howard scored a playoffs career-high 46 points, made 16 of 23 shots and collected 19 rebounds — more than all of Atlanta's centers and forwards combined.
According to ESPN Stats and Info, it's just the sixth time in league history a player had at least 45 points and 15 rebounds in a playoffs loss. It hadn't happened since 1987, when Hakeem Olajuwon's dominant game went for naught.
“I could have scored 100 points and we still could have lost, so it's not about me,” Howard said.
The man in charge of building the Magic, general manager Otis Smith, is under pressure to keep Howard content. Howard can leave as a free agent after next season and reports already have surfaced that he wants to play for the Lakers in 2012.
That speculation, plus Howard's noncommittal stance, prompted one Magic fanto start a website, StayDwight.com. Recently a billboard with the same message went up in the city.
Smith has tried to improve the team through trades. In December, he traded away forwards Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis, who were key scorers during Orlando's four-game sweep of the Hawks by an NBA record margin101 points last spring.
As part of those trades the Magic got back Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu and Gilbert Arenas. All three were ineffective scorers in Game 1, leaving Howard and Jameer Nelson as Orlando's only reliable threats.
“He can score 50 and this team loses so obviously we didn't do something right,” Smith said of Howard. “A bunch of other guys have to step up and play. We have to get more balanced scoring.”
Smith's statement illustrates the strange circumstances faced by the Magic for Tuesday's Game 2.
They have the best center of his generation, who was almost a sure thing to score when he got the ball in Game 1. Yet they are looking for other ways to score because Howard's career game wasn't enough.
“It might frustrate him a little bit more,” said Hawks forward Josh Smith, an Atlanta native who has been friends with Howard since childhood. “I don't know how a guy comes out and plays differently because he's so aggressive and so dominant in the post. I don't know if, from that standpoint, you can change it up.”
Howard said he's not concerned about Orlando's offense. He kept citing the defense as an issue after the Hawks used balanced scoring to keep the Magic scrambling.
“They had a great shooting night,” Howard said. “I just have to continue to play and motivate my teammates. It's one game. That's why it's called as series. It's not like college, one game and you are done.”
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