ORLANDO (NBA) - The Orlando Magic rode the back of Dwight Howard and beat Atlanta on Tuesday night to level their Eastern Conference play-off series at 1-1.
 
Boston and Dallas have respective 2-0 leads against New York and Portland after claiming second consecutive victories in those first-round ties.
 
Howard, named as the NBA's top defensive player for a third year in a row this week, had 33 points, 19 rebounds, two steals and a block as the Magic prevailed 88-82.
 
The Team USA big man had 24 points and 11 boards in the first half.
 
After playing 45 minutes in Game 1, Howard played all 48 minutes on Tuesday.
 
"It's tough," he said.  "But you can't think about that while you're on the court. You can't think about any pains. You just have to fight through it.
 
"As much as I get hit and beat on during the game, I just think about what we're trying to accomplish."
 
Jamal Crawford scored 25 points for the Hawks.
 
Boston won for the second straight time in thrilling fashion, 96-93, over the Knicks.
 
Kevin Garnett hit a go-ahead jump hook over Jared Jeffries with 14 seconds left and then, after forcing Knicks star Carmelo Anthony to give the ball up to Jeffries instead of allowing him to take a shot, Garnett turned defensive stopper.
 
Jeffries attempted to pass and Garnett reacted quickly to come up with the steal.
 
New York overcame the loss of two key players to stay in the game.
 
Without injured point guard Chauncey Billups, New York also lost center Amare Stoudemire when he went down with an ailing back in the first half.
 
Anthony carried the Knicks with 42 points and 17 rebounds while Rajon Rondo poured in 30 points for the Celtics.
 
In Dallas, the Mavs got some help from Serbian veteran Peja Stojakovic with 21 points in a 101-89 triumph over Portland.
 
Stojakovic drilled five three-pointers.
 
Germany's Dirk Nowitzki had a game-high 33 points for Dallas, 14 in the fourth quarter to keep the Blazers at bay.
 
On Wednesday evening, the two-time defending champions Los Angeles Lakers will try to get back on level terms when they host New Orleans in Game 2, and San Antonio will also be at home and attempt to pull even with Memphis.
 
Oklahoma City are at home with a 1-0 lead against Denver.

Here are the top five plays from Tuesday night's games

 
FIBA