Orlando Magic Blog

Group Blog talking about the NBA 2009 Eastern Conference Champions. Due to the amazing success of the 2009 playoff run comments are now frequently deleted to kill offensive comments, incoherence, or asininity. Comments can no longer be anonymous and require either a Blogger or OpenID account.

Friday, April 07, 2006

Magic edge Pistons in thriller

Jameer Nelson, who was suffering through his second straight sub-par game, turned out to be the hero for the Magic. He hit two huge clutch shots in the final minute of the game, the first of which tied the game and the second with 6 seconds left that was the game-winner, as the Magic edged DET, who was playing without Rip Hamilton due to a death in his family, 89-87. The Magic held a 15 pt halftime lead, but DET made their run in the second half.

Four players scored in double figures for the Magic, led by HTurkoglu, who continues to play well, with 26 pts on 10 of 13 shooting. DHoward added 12 pts and 15 rebs, TBattie 11 pts, and CArroyo with 10. Darko added 8 pts and 4 rebs. Jameer finished with 8 pts. Three players scored in double figures for DET; CBillups (25 pts 12/12 FTs), Tony Delk (18 pts) but who missed the potential game-tying FTs with 3 seconds left, and Tayshaun Prince (15 pts).

The Magic outscored DET 73-66 from the field on 52.9% FG shooting. DET shot 45.6%. The Pistons shot 21 of 31 from the FT line (67.7%), while the Magic shot 16 of 21 (76.2%). Magic led in rebounds 39-30, but the Pistons had the better assist-to-turnover ratio of 14-9, compared to 15-15 for the Magic. The Pistons bench outscored the Magic bench 36-24.

Granted, the Pistons were without Hamilton, but still, a great win for the Magic. Nine home wins in a row, and 11 out of 15 overall.

posted by Mike from Illinois @ 10:35 PM  

12 Comments:

  • At 11:49 PM, Blogger Matt said…

    Great win for the Magic and a good character builder for the future. It was nice to see them come back again after losing a large points advantage. As Mike mentioned, Jameer who was uncharacteristically off for the second game in a row, but hit two huge shots as calmly as an assassin.

     

  • At 2:05 AM, Blogger Ken said…

    Great win indeed... I think a big reason for the recent Magic success is they can run the ball and play up-tempo, or slow it down and grind it out in a half court game. They seem to play both styles equally well. Jameer had another sub par game, but with the talent so evenly spread out with our deep bench, the weight of the team is not just on one players shoulders, where as, if the only scorer on the team goes down, the rest of the team suffers (Lakers, Cav's, Heat etc).. Sure they made some mistakes, but they did more good things than bad ones, way to many for me to list right now.. I could have accepted the Magic loosing this game as long as they put-up a good fight, they did, and more. This team is doing something we haven't seen around here in a long time...... keeping good composure and closing out games, they aren't intimidated by anyone....

     

  • At 3:14 PM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    Jameer wasnt college player of the year for nothing,4 years of college means we can expect greatness from jameer "NOW",horrible game but comes up "HUGE" when we need him the most,thats a true example of a "leader and winner"!This was another example of the magic playing so well early,that the pistons had 2 quarters to chip at the lead,they went to a half court press defensively with a 2-3 zone behind it,and boy did that hurt us offensively in the second half,we just didnt attack it well (the players),which is why they were able to get back into the game,i remember saying to myself "if they (the magic) can just hold on" during the fourth,and they did to my surprise,when the pistons took that 81-77 lead off of prince's three pointer,i thought it was over,but cool and calm,jameer comes down and drain's a basket,what a great win and confidence builder,as if they needed any more confidence,these guys are sitting on top of the basketball world,boy i wish we had another 40 games to play!

     

  • At 4:19 PM, Blogger Matt said…

    Well put, Big figure. I think that if we were going into playoffs with this mindset, we could have reached to the second round, at least. Don't you think so?

     

  • At 5:51 PM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    Matt,i would guarantee the second round,b/c we could have had a 5-7 seed if the trades had been earlier in the season,maybe it wasnt untill late that the pistons started shopping darko and carlos,but whatever the case,i "guarantee" playoffs next year too,and i would be down right "shocked" if we didnt beat up on somebody in the first round next year,even if they were a higher seed!Detroit,miami,new jersey & indiana are the only real heavy weights in the east (cleveland and chicago close,but no cigar),the magic have a real chance to include themselves in that group,realistically darko & dwight are already handfulls for opposing players,"IMO" we might have the best frontcourt in the league next year with dwight and darko the way they compliment each other(starting together hopefully),and add in a host of good young guards and forwards,we have a ready made playoff team!

     

  • At 6:00 PM, Blogger Matt said…

    I would have a huge compliment for Otis if he signs Ariza right now. What are they waiting for? This guy can go nowhere but up.

     

  • At 6:10 PM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    We might as well keep the grant hill talk up too,b/c i was reading the sentinel sports page and happened to take a glance at the "old sentinel blog" (which i dont usually do),and i quickly remebered why i left it in the first place,but anyhow another grant hill trade rumor was floating around in there,but obviously i know you cant take much speculation seriously,but we can add them to a list of possible scenario's though,and this one was kinda close to what brian schmitz proposed so it had me intrigued,grant hill and our first round pick for Rashard Lewis or Ray Allen! Now it would make since for seattle to move lewis,b/c next year he'll be a free agent and be able to walk,allen's still under contract,but would be an unbeleivable replacment for deshawn at the two if we could steal him away,ahhh,isnt it fun to be able to get rid of stuff you dont even need,and still improve the quality of your team? I'd take either one,b/c grant is at the end of his career(and trevor's playing well enough that we dont need the pick),while lewis and allen have lots of "prime" years left (lewis more than allen)! So seattle & minnesota could possibly be destination's for "mr.GRANT/nice guy/smiles all the time/never plays/breaking our pockets/needs to retire/HILL"!

     

  • At 6:28 PM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    Yeah i agree about ariza,he should be signed very soon,thats another no-brainer "IMO",who knew he was such a good defender/rebounder and freethrow shooter that take's it to the basket(we can teach him to be a better shooter)which puts tons of pressure on the defense,teams cant double our bigs as much b/c they know,when the ball is rotated b/c of the double team,trevor doesnt settle for jumpshots (primarily b/c he cant shoot,hahahaha),he takes the ball to the basket and draws fouls on bigs,after opposing bigs start getting in foul trouble,opposing coaches are less likely to double team,this makes trevor very valuable to your second team!

     

  • At 8:45 PM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    I agree with Matt and Big Figure about signing Ariza ASAP. He's a valuable part of our talented young core.

    As much as I like and respect Grant Hill, if Otis could trade his expiring contract and our lottery pick in the draft for an established shooting guard, as Big Figure was saying, we could easily finish in the top 4 in the East next season. I don't think you can call Indiana a powerhouse any more with all their problems.

    If something can't be worked out in regards to trading Grant, a 100% healthy Grant would be a big boost for the Magic also. Either way, it's a winning deal for the Magic!

    Just think how much better this team can get with a whole training camp together!

     

  • At 9:20 PM, Blogger Matt said…

    I tend to agree with the Grant's trade but it has to be done with careful due diligence since we can use the money freed up only once. The pro is that if we get promising young talents (or a mix thereof youth and experience) we will be set for years to come. The con is that if any thing goes wrong, instead of getting that salary off the book by next year, we will have it strapped around our necks for many more years to come.

     

  • At 9:35 PM, Blogger Matt said…

    I want all of you to please read my last post under "Magic blow lead..." on the issue of "To Foul or Not to Foul".

     

  • At 11:08 AM, Blogger OVERWADED said…

    It was a great win. It happened pretty much exactly how I expected; all besides the Wallace boys sitting out in the end with "back pain". Still, Billups and Prince kept them right in it, along with the refs putting them on the line, and still, the Magic stayed calm, and pulled out a big win. Huge confidence builder, and we'll need it against Miami...

    It's hard for me to say that G Hill is bad for this team. I think he'd be the perfect vet to come off the bench. But he absolutely cannot have a starting position. The whole in and out factor breaks our team apart. One night he starts, and the guys expect something from him, and the day after, he's gone again. It just doesn't work. Notice, Hedo did start playing a little more consistent as of late once Hill was done for the season. It's like once Hedo knew that he had the starting spot, and he was better able to prepare himself mentally because his spot and minutes weren't up and down because of Hill coming in and out game to game. I don't know if that came out right, but Hill either needs to have a bench role next year, or move on. At the same time, like Matt said, they have to be careful if they do get rid of him in the sense of money. But after the way Otis handled the Francis deal, I'm confident that he'll make a good decision.

     

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