Howard, Carter power Magic past Bobcats 93-81

Dwight Howard had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Vince Carter scored 15 points in his return from a sprained ankle, and the Orlando Magic bounced back from an ugly loss to beat the Charlotte Bobcats 93-81 on Tuesday night.

Two nights after losing by 28 points in Oklahoma City, the Magic built a big lead with the help of Carter, who had missed four of the past five games. Brandon Bass scored 12 of his 14 points in the first quarter as Orlando tuned up for Wednesday's home game with Cleveland, a rematch of the Eastern Conference finals.

Raymond Felton had 18 points and Boris Diaw added 14 for Charlotte, which cut a 22-point first-half deficit to six early in the fourth quarter but could get no closer in its second straight loss.

After Flip Murray's driving layup cut Orlando's lead to 81-75, Marcin Gortat had a three-point play and Matt Barnes hit a fadeaway in a 7-0 run for the Magic. Carter hit two free throws with 3 minutes left to give Orlando a 91-79 lead.

Carter was just 5 of 16 from the field, but provided a boost off the bench in his surprise return.

He participated some in Monday's practice, then sat out the morning shootaround and was ruled out by coach Stan Van Gundy. But Carter said he started feeling better in the afternoon and worked out before the game, working on his lateral movement.

Cleared to return minutes before tipoff, Carter watched from the bench in the first quarter as the Magic shot 70 percent, led by Bass' 6-of-6 from the field, and led 35-23.

Carter checked in to start the second quarter. He missed a 3-pointer on his first touch, but later hit three 3s, the last giving Orlando a 52-33 lead late in the first half.

It was a much better performance for the Magic, who were criticized by Van Gundy after allowing the Thunder to shoot 57 percent Sunday.

The Bobcats couldn't keep big men on the court to guard Howard. Starting center Tyson Chandler picked up two fouls in 3 minutes and sat out the rest of the first half. Backup Nazr Mohammed had three fouls in 6 minutes, and DeSagana Diop entered only to commit turnovers on consecutive possessions.

The Bobcats weren't helped by their 2-of-17 shooting from 3-point range and Gerald Wallace's continued shooting woes.

Wallace entered the night as the NBA's top rebounder and had 13 points and nine rebounds. But he was 5 of 12 from the field and missed two dunks.

Howard, fined $15,000 before the game for criticizing the officials on his blog after a Nov. 3 loss at Detroit, added six assists one night before his matchup with Shaquille O'Neal.

NOTES: There were several questionable calls, including a flagrant foul on Murray that could be rescinded. Chandler, Vladimir Radmanovic and Barnes were all hit with technical fouls. ... Van Gundy said F Ryan Anderson (ankle) got out of a boot Tuesday but won't be ready to return until next week at the earliest. ... Former NBA player Robert Parish sat behind one basket. ... Van Gundy declined to criticize the NBA for a scheduling quirk that has the Magic playing the Cavaliers on a back-to-back with Cleveland entering after a four-day break. "Those kind of things happen," he said.