Magic make it 2 in a row with win over GS
The Magic had another good team effort Saturday night, as five players scored in double figures to lead the Magic to a 103-92 win, their first two game winning streak since late January. The Magic lead was as much as 19 in the fourth quarter, but GS cut it down to a 95-91 lead with a minute and a half left; however, the Magic outscored GS 8-1 the rest of the way.
HTurkoglu had an outstanding game, with 21 pts, 14 rebs, and 8 assists. KDooling (13 pts), JNelson (12 pts 7 assists), DHoward (10 pts 9 rebs), and Darko (10 pts) also contributed. GS was led by Derek Fisher (20 pts), and Baron Davis, who scored 17 pts off the bench. Jason Richardson, who scored 44 pts against MIA, was held to 11 pts by the Magic.
The Magic had another outstanding game shooting, as they shot 58.6% on 41 of 70 FG shooting. GS was held to 46.8% FG shooting. Even though the Magic shot only 69.2% from the FT line, they outscored GS 18-8 from the line. GS only attempted 9 FTs the whole game, compared to the Magic's 26 FT attempts. The Magic outrebounded GS 37-26. Even though the Magic had 18 TOs, they did have 24 assists, which showed they are running the offense better. GS had a similar 23-17 assist-to-turnover ratio. The Magic bench did well once again, bettering the GS bench 42-39. Bo Outlaw had another nice effort with 6 pts on 3 of 3 shooting in 15 minutes.
Nice job by the Magic winning back-to-back games. Now if only we can break that long 13 game road road losing streak on Monday against the Pacers.
HTurkoglu had an outstanding game, with 21 pts, 14 rebs, and 8 assists. KDooling (13 pts), JNelson (12 pts 7 assists), DHoward (10 pts 9 rebs), and Darko (10 pts) also contributed. GS was led by Derek Fisher (20 pts), and Baron Davis, who scored 17 pts off the bench. Jason Richardson, who scored 44 pts against MIA, was held to 11 pts by the Magic.
The Magic had another outstanding game shooting, as they shot 58.6% on 41 of 70 FG shooting. GS was held to 46.8% FG shooting. Even though the Magic shot only 69.2% from the FT line, they outscored GS 18-8 from the line. GS only attempted 9 FTs the whole game, compared to the Magic's 26 FT attempts. The Magic outrebounded GS 37-26. Even though the Magic had 18 TOs, they did have 24 assists, which showed they are running the offense better. GS had a similar 23-17 assist-to-turnover ratio. The Magic bench did well once again, bettering the GS bench 42-39. Bo Outlaw had another nice effort with 6 pts on 3 of 3 shooting in 15 minutes.
Nice job by the Magic winning back-to-back games. Now if only we can break that long 13 game road road losing streak on Monday against the Pacers.
posted by Mike from Illinois @ 11:35 PM
4 Comments:
At 9:51 AM,
WeRDevos said…
I was at the game last night, way up in the cheap seats with the Upward basketball. Here are some random observations. (After reviewing what I wrote it seems pretty critical. I should note the game was a lot of fun and the Magic dominated nearly the entire game.)
The place was empty, at a minimum 40% empty seats. Scalpers were everywhere trying to sell their tickets. Lower bowl seats would have been easy to get for $10 each, maybe even $5.
The same starting 5 as ever. Golden State is not on it's game but the teams trade baskets. Near the end of the 1st they are tied at 26 although it feels like the Magic should be leading by 10. During the second period the Magic build a 9 point lead and pretty much keep it in that range until they let GS creep back into the game during the last 5 minutes.
Howard got hit with two cheap offensive fouls in the first 6 minutes. The black ref spent much of the game wearing a Golden State uniform.
Darko was the first off the bench but cuts his finger on his shooting hand. Game stops, gloves come out, he is pulled from the game. Later comes back with a huge bandage on his finger that we can see from the top of the stadium.
Darko is the real deal. From so far up you can watch him move without the ball, switch on defense, move teammates around. Before the game he was shooting long range and not missing. When his stroke is right he doesn't miss. I could instantly tell whether his shot was going in or not as the ball left his hands. His entry passes into the lane are high accurate bullets. Defensively his presence as a shot blocker changes Golden States interior game. At one point one of their guards simply throws the ball out of bounds rather than try for the layup when Darko had rotated towards him. My wife commented that she thought he was the best player on the court by far.
Jameer buzzes around everywhere but has some weakness in his game. GS posted him up every chance they got and the Magic defense rarely rotates to help. It's how Fisher got most of his points. GS was constantly putting a body on Jameer at both ends of the court. He had multiple attempted passes into the lane blocked away or stolen. His speed and quickness allow him to get open for uncontested shots.
Arroyo gets huge applause when he enters. 10 PR flags instantly appear. He is fun to watch and along with Darko seems to be the only Magic player who believes in the bounce pass. He is much quicker live. And very confident.
Dooling blew three fast breaks by holding onto the ball and not tossing to the wing or trailing man. The third time his shot was blocked on a 3 on 1 break that would have put the Magic up 19. Instead it energized GS who eventually got within 3 before Turk put the game away for good.
Howard had 4 or 5 thunderous dunks but was otherwise kind of subdued. He still has much to learn, particularly on offense. Where Darko seems to naturally try to set picks and roll to the basket you don't see Howard set picks much. Same with setting up to take an entry pass. There isn't much movement or rolling around screens to gain space to set up and receive the pass. When he actually learns how to play he will be a top 5 NBA player. The summer Olympics practices should really help him.
Turk was everywhere and the announced "energy player of the night." He clearly had the best game of the starting 5 and did it all. I'm not sure if it was Dunleavy or some other white stiff guarding him but he dominated offensively all night long without making any glaring errors.
With about 6 minutes to go in the game the team was up 14 to 17 points and the starting 5 came in. Stevenson and Battie are back up quality players. The starting 5 does not play good defense. On nearly every defensive set it seems someone is lured or drifts out of position. Defensive rotation is slow or non-existant. On almost every set there is a Golden State player standing alone at the 3 pt circle. Fortunately GS rarely makes the extra pass to take advantage.
At 10:25 AM,
Big Figure said…
Finally,we're running on a consistent basis,and it allows us to play with the lead,thank the lord for otis making the trades,b/c steve wouldnt let carlos and keyon play so many minutes without making a big stink about it,and weR your right about all your observations,hopefully we can make the negative's better,while focusing on the positive things we do!
At 2:36 PM,
Mike from Illinois said…
Very interesting observations about the Magic, WeR. You can really see and notice a lot of things about the game way up there in the "cheap seats".
I remember you telling us that you won free tix for the March 15th game against Utah. Let us know how that goes.
At 10:53 PM,
Matt said…
Sorry that I missed you all for the last 5 days being out of town for business but I was able to catch up with the events. I appreciate WeRDevos' detailed observation. It is nice to see Darko and Arroyo fitting in nicely. I feel the same as many of you have noted about Dwight ... his progress has, at least, slowed down, if not stopped. I understand that you all have credited the players for the recent victories, and none to the coach, but rather despite the coach. I am still gravely concerned with the damage that Brian Hill may cause in many areas, amongst which, the development of young talents and the possibility of attracting big free agents, this Summer or next.
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