Magic send Mavs to third loss in a row
Despite a monster game from Dirk Nowitzki (38 pts 15 rebs), the Magic gave DAL their first three-game losing streak this season with a 108-99 win. The Magic opened a 17 pt lead after 3 quarters, saw DAL close to within 5 in the fourth, but thanks to 13 of 15 FT shooting in the fourth, the Magic held on for their seventh home win in a row and 9 out of 13 overall.
JNelson and HTurkoglu led the Magic with 27 and 25 pts respectively, on a combined 18 for 28 FG shooting (5 for 10 on threes). DHoward added 14 pts and 10 rebs, and CArroyo added 12 pts off the bench. In addition to Nowitzki's 38, Jason Terry had 23 pts, Jerry Stackhouse 14 pts and Josh Howard 10. Former Magic G Darrell Armstrong had 3 pts and 3 assists off the bench.
The Magic continue their torrid shooting pace at home, outscoring DAL from the field 83-78 on 55.7% shooting. DAL shot just 44.4%. The Magic also outscored DAL from the FT line 25-21 on 83.3% FT shooting. Magic grabbed one more rebound 34-33, and the bench outscored the Mav's bench 30-11. One of the negatives was that the Magic had more TOs than assists (14 TOs 13 assists). Their torrid shooting made up for that, though. DAL had 17 assists to 12 TOs.
Another good job by the Magic, with this late-season surge, playing spoiler as they sent DAL further back in the race for the best record in the West, and further harmed the Mavs chances of catching San Antonio. Great game by Jameer after scoring just 6 against MIN.
JNelson and HTurkoglu led the Magic with 27 and 25 pts respectively, on a combined 18 for 28 FG shooting (5 for 10 on threes). DHoward added 14 pts and 10 rebs, and CArroyo added 12 pts off the bench. In addition to Nowitzki's 38, Jason Terry had 23 pts, Jerry Stackhouse 14 pts and Josh Howard 10. Former Magic G Darrell Armstrong had 3 pts and 3 assists off the bench.
The Magic continue their torrid shooting pace at home, outscoring DAL from the field 83-78 on 55.7% shooting. DAL shot just 44.4%. The Magic also outscored DAL from the FT line 25-21 on 83.3% FT shooting. Magic grabbed one more rebound 34-33, and the bench outscored the Mav's bench 30-11. One of the negatives was that the Magic had more TOs than assists (14 TOs 13 assists). Their torrid shooting made up for that, though. DAL had 17 assists to 12 TOs.
Another good job by the Magic, with this late-season surge, playing spoiler as they sent DAL further back in the race for the best record in the West, and further harmed the Mavs chances of catching San Antonio. Great game by Jameer after scoring just 6 against MIN.
posted by Mike from Illinois @ 10:47 PM
14 Comments:
At 11:21 PM,
Mike from Illinois said…
Matt, Big Figure, and Omar: good calls on your pre-game analysis, emphasizing that the Magic needed to control the other guys on DAL while conceding that Nowitzki is going to get his points; and also for predicting good offensive games from Jameer and Hedo.
At 12:00 AM,
Matt said…
Jameer and Hedo did exactly what needed to win this one...they attacked Howard and Terry, and they did it so brilliantly that exceeded my expectation. Darko was a monster again...he and the second unit were detrimental in expanding the lead in the second quarter. I can see now the validity of some of the postings about Darko's stamina. What would he do when he gets in excellent shape. While at Drako, I would like to see him start a couple of games towards the end of the season. He needs confidence builders like that so that he could finish the season on a high note looking forward to the start of the next.
At 6:14 AM,
Ken said…
I think that was pretty much the strategy other teams used against the Magic during the Shaq years. Shaq was unstoppable, and everyone knew it, so why fret over something you really had no control over, standing in front of a oncomming truck was only slightly more dangerous, that's why he is the superstar.
Then just focus on the players you could control. And the Magic executed it almost flawlessly.
At 6:18 AM,
Ken said…
Great game by everyone on the floor. Our 2nd unit really keeps amazing the crap outta me. Its as though they have played together for years.
At 1:00 PM,
Big Figure said…
Now thats the jameer nelson i know,thats the reason why i went out on a limb and picked the win over dallas,a team with 50plus wins,b/c this is a different team,with jameer at the helm we finally have a future,a leader,we can bounce back from bad games and get right back on track with a win no matter "WHO" we are playing against!I think the fact that BSH is playing a 9 man rotation is smart also,it shows that when guys get injured they have to work to get back on the floor,notice pat aint getting any minutes,the 9 guys that are playing well in specific roles,are getting all the minutes,the 5 starters,and carlos,keyon,trevor & darko off the bench,while using dwight or battie with the second unit depending on the foul/fatigue situation,i think two things are happening,(1)for a not so talented coach the trades made it easier to decifer specific roles,so now the substitution pattern is better,and (2)the players are buying into playing BSH's defensive system (which is a good one)for four quarters,and finding their own way on offense b/c we have talented enough guys that can create their own shot's,bottom line is those two things will make you a ball club that can compete with anyone on any given night,after the minnesota game i knew the guys would be ready to whup somebody in our building,dallas just happened to be next,"line'em up we'll take on anybody in our house" (not an actual quote),thats the type of confidence their playing with!! And trust me,they're going to keep given poeple hell in these last couple weeks!!!!
At 9:15 PM,
Matt said…
Big Figure, while agreeing with basically your entire statement, due to lack of a system (and I go as far as saying on both offensive and defensive ends, although it's not as bad on defense) the team is not playing consistently well, and they have a lot of peaks and valleys. What do you all think about my suggestion that Darko should start for a couple of games towards the end of the season?
At 5:35 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
Matt, I don't think there's anything wrong with your idea of starting Darko for a few games at the end of the year. That would reward him for his outstanding play so far, and like you said, really give him confidence going into next season.
His stamina seems to be getting better, and I can't wait until he plays 30-35 minutes a game next season and shows us all what he can do, based on what he's shown us so far in the minutes he's playing off the bench. I guess I was foolish expecting Darko to play heavy minutes in games this season since the trade, as it's only fair to allow him to develop the stamina to be effective while playing that many minutes.
If Coach Hill still chooses to start Battie the rest of the season, I won't complain, because Darko has been playing a consistent 25 minutes or so off the bench the last couple weeks, and, with 9 wins in 13 games, this starting lineup and bench rotation seem to be really clicking, as Big Figure and Omar have mentioned. And since Jameer has come back as the starting point guard with Carlos backing him up, geez what a difference in the team.
At 10:58 AM,
Big Figure said…
Well matt,since you pose the question we can look at it two ways,(1)Do "i" think he should start? (2)Is It "honestly Important" to the team's success right now,to put him in the starting line-up? OK first thing first,"Yes" i think darko should get some starts under his belt,main reason is giving next years starting five some time "this year" to get used to each other's game,after were mathematically eliminated though,jameer,deshawn,hedo,dwight & darko will probably be our starting line-up next year,so why not let those guys play together! But the importance level "In My Opinion" isnt there,is it "honestly important for the team success"?"Probably not",b/c the fact is 9 wins in the last 13 says they are starting to find consistency even with battie as the starter,'i'm sure any coach would say that with summer basketball,training camp & pre-season,there will be plenty of time for the guys to play together while darko's the starter,so like mike said if battie remains the starter for the rest of this season,i wont complain either,putting darko in the starting line-up would change his role while our playoff chances are still there,while were playing well there's no reason to make changes to the line-up,if we were mathematically eliminated then i'd say "put him in now,and start'em the rest of the way",but coach hill is gonna do whats important for the team obviously,and not anything that resembles "all of our opinion's",but while were playing well i dont think anything should be changed,any coach will tell you the old saying "if it aint broke" you know the rest!
At 11:00 AM,
Matt said…
Well said, Mike. It was not unrealistic at all to think of Darko playing long minutes since nobody was aware of his low stamina in a fast paced game. As for starting him for a couple of games, in my view, attention to such details is where coaches and organizations are set apart, as opposed to other generalities where they all converge.
I agree that this group of players show outstanding camaraderie playing with each other, part of which is the byproduct of winning and the other part is b/c, as Big Figure has pointed out, they are playing a fast paced offense that doesn't resemble the offense that Hill is used to enforcing. In practice they are, Jameer and Keyon in particular, defying Hill's offensive system, and that suits the team from a players' make up standpoint. My concern is that this is allowed by Hill at this time since the season is practically over, and come the next season, limitations and restrictions lifted for now would be put back in place.
At 11:08 AM,
Matt said…
Big Figure, I have posted my comment before I got to read yours. I am not advocating to start Darko now, but rather at the end when all dust settled, and merely as a confidence booster to a kid whose confidence was shattered at DET and may need as much boosting as we could give him.
At 11:10 AM,
Big Figure said…
Then we agree,the day were mathematically eliminated,no matter how many games are left darko should start them all,we'd still have "playing spoiler" to play for!
At 11:15 AM,
Big Figure said…
And your right about one thing,due to the fact that we dont have an offensive system,that could come back to haunt us one day,if the players get into a game like the one in minnesota,where shots arent falling,who are the players gonna look to? BSH just keeps telling them to get to the basket,but gives no guidance on how to get there!
At 12:02 PM,
Matt said…
Big Figure, you are right to the point on matters related to the lack of an offensive system. I would like to add that right now the way the team is playing on offense, they are covering some defensive liabilities, as well like Jameer's size. Now, if Hill imposes his slow-paced half-court offense that advantage would be lost and Jameer's size, as well as the lack of getting to the shooters, especially 3-point shooters, that has caused a lot of losses for us this year, would be exposed.
At 12:22 PM,
Big Figure said…
Your right,if dwight and darko werent behind him all night changing shots,he'd be much more of a liability,he's (Jameer) able to at least even things out when he has nights of 20 pts or more which is encouraging for the rest of his career,but if BSH tries to slow things down next year,he'd be showing he has no clue on how to identify whats best for the team,The trades otis made might be covering up that fact b/c the moves helped us so much,obviously cato wasnt giving us anything!
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