The Orlando Magic kept a promise Friday night, giving the Seattle SuperSonics what Shaquille O'Neal & Co. felt was a well-deserved beating.
O'Neal made 16 of 19 shots, scored 38 points and grabbed 20 rebounds, leading a 124-93 rout of the team with the NBA's best record.The victory was the third straight for the Magic, who were embarrassed by the SuperSonics in a 24-point loss on Dec. 14 - a game in which O'Neal was ejected for committing a flagrant foul on the Sonics' Shawn Kemp.
"We played a great game," said O'Neal, who's averaged 37 points and 22 rebounds in two outings since the All-Star game, which was the source of the Magic's hostility.
While O'Neal shrugged off being double- and triple-teamed and scoring just eight points last Sunday in Minneapolis, some Orlando players felt Seattle's participants tried to make O'Neal look bad.
"I was motivated, but Penny (Anfernee Hardaway) was real motivated," O'Neal said. "He was mad. There were tears in his eyes (last week). He said, `those guys tried to embarrass you. When we play them, I'll get you the ball 50 times. You'll get 50 dunks."
The SuperSonics had a five-game winning streak snapped at Miami on Thursday night. They fell behind the Magic by 28 in the first quarter and never got closer than 19 the rest of the way.
Kendall Gill led Seattle with 20 points, but Kemp, the SuperSonics' All-Star forward, was held to only three on 1-for-9 shooting.
In other games it was New Jersey 113, Washington 110; Milwaukee 106, Charlotte 99; Cleveland 85, Minnesota 78; Denver 109, Chicago 84; Phoenix 113, L.A. Lakers 96; Atlanta 97, L.A. Clippers 91; Portland 109, Philadelphia 93.