ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 16 -- Shaquille O'Neal scored 19 of his 31 points in the first quarter Friday night when the Orlando Magic matched the record for the best home start in league history, picking up their 27th straight at home with a 121-91 rout of the Milwaukee Bucks. The 1946-47 Washington Capitols opened the season with 27 consecutive home wins. Dating back to last season, the Magic have won 34 consecutive regular season home games. Orlando has a 46-game home regular season winning streak against Eastern Conference opponents. An 18-0 first quarter run staked the Magic to a 25-9 lead. O'Neal had two layups and a dunk and Horace Grant hit a jumper and a pair of free throws in the spurt. But the Bucks responded with a 14-4 run to pull within 29-23. The Magic then closed the quarter with an 11-2 spurt to open a 40-25 lead. O'Neal capped the quarter with a 32-foot three-pointer at the buzzer. Orlando hit 17-of-21 shots in the quarter. Orlando had a 64-48 halftime advantage and increased the lead to 23 points, 88-65, after three quarters. The Magic led by as many as 32 points in the fourth quarter. Orlando shot 60.3 percent from the field (47-for-78) for the game. O'Neal also had 10 rebounds for his 17th double-double of the year. He hit 13-of-21 shots from the field, but only 4-of-12 from the free throw line. O'Neal was coming off a 30-point, 12-rebound game in a 121- 93 win over Denver Tuesday.
Penny Hardaway had 24 points and 10 assists and Grant added 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Magic. Benoit Benjamin and Marty Conlon led the Bucks with 13 points apiece. Orlando held Milwaukee stars Glenn Robinson and Vin Baker to a combined 21 points. Robinson scored 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field and Baker had 10 points on 5-of-13 shooting. The Magic have won eight straight games against Milwaukee.
