Magic barely hang on to give BOS first loss
The Magic started off quickly against BOS, and held a 58-41 halftime lead. After the Magic increased their lead to 20 early in the third qtr, the Celtics (8-1) began a furious comeback that ended with Paul Pierce's missed shot in the final seconds that allowed the Magic (9-2) to escape with a narrow 104-102 victory.
The "Big Three" of BOS combined for 61 pts: Pierce 28 pts (10 of 17 FGs); Ray Allen 19 pts (7 of 17 FGs); and Kevin Garnett 14 pts (7 of 13 FGs), 11 rebs before fouling out late in the game. Rajon Rondo contributed 18 pts (8 of 9 FGs). The Magic's "Big Three" held their own with 62 combined pts: DHoward 24 pts (7 of 9 FGs, 10 of 20 FTs), 6 rebs; RLewis 22 pts (6 of 11 FGs); and HTurkoglu 16 pts (7 of 13 FGs), 6 rebs. JNelson added 18 pts (6 of 15 FGs), 6 asts and KBogans (4 of 10 FGs) 10 pts. CArroyo led the bench with 5 pts.
The statistical breakdown:
FG... BOS 40 of 75 (53.3%) ORL 33 of 65 (50.8%) BOS 84 ORL 73
3 PT FG... ORL 7 of 25 (28%) BOS 4 of 16 (25%)
FT... ORL 31 of 44 (70.5%) BOS 18 of 26 (69.2%)
REB... BOS 41 ORL 28
AST/TO... BOS 17/19 ORL 14/14
BENCH... BOS 18 ORL 14
The Magic, despite being outshot and outrebounded by BOS, finally proved they could beat a quality team at home after big losses to DET and PHO. Magic have an extremely difficult 2 game road trip starting MON at NO and WED at SA.
The "Big Three" of BOS combined for 61 pts: Pierce 28 pts (10 of 17 FGs); Ray Allen 19 pts (7 of 17 FGs); and Kevin Garnett 14 pts (7 of 13 FGs), 11 rebs before fouling out late in the game. Rajon Rondo contributed 18 pts (8 of 9 FGs). The Magic's "Big Three" held their own with 62 combined pts: DHoward 24 pts (7 of 9 FGs, 10 of 20 FTs), 6 rebs; RLewis 22 pts (6 of 11 FGs); and HTurkoglu 16 pts (7 of 13 FGs), 6 rebs. JNelson added 18 pts (6 of 15 FGs), 6 asts and KBogans (4 of 10 FGs) 10 pts. CArroyo led the bench with 5 pts.
The statistical breakdown:
FG... BOS 40 of 75 (53.3%) ORL 33 of 65 (50.8%) BOS 84 ORL 73
3 PT FG... ORL 7 of 25 (28%) BOS 4 of 16 (25%)
FT... ORL 31 of 44 (70.5%) BOS 18 of 26 (69.2%)
REB... BOS 41 ORL 28
AST/TO... BOS 17/19 ORL 14/14
BENCH... BOS 18 ORL 14
The Magic, despite being outshot and outrebounded by BOS, finally proved they could beat a quality team at home after big losses to DET and PHO. Magic have an extremely difficult 2 game road trip starting MON at NO and WED at SA.
posted by Mike from Illinois @ 9:53 PM
8 Comments:
At 10:11 PM,
Mike from Illinois said…
If somebody had told me before the game that the Magic would make only seven 3 pt FGS on 28% 3 pt shooting and also get outrebounded by 13, I would have thought the Magic would have virtually no chance of winning this game, but wow, they managed to pull it out. No doubt the big 31-18 difference at the FT line in favor of the Magic was a big factor; also, the 19 BOS TOs, compared to 14 for the Magic.
Dwight made things interesting at the FT line, shooting just 10 of 20. The rest of the team shot an excellent 21 of 24 from the FT line, though that was a big miss by Lewis in the final seconds to give the Celts a chance there at the end.
Even with the 20 pt lead, I had a feeling the Celtics would go on a run to get back in the game, but I was hoping the Magic would be able to have enough to withstand them, and they did.
All the starters played heavy minutes for the Magic, ranging from 38-41 minutes. I don't know how they can win the game at NO MON night, but they can be happy with the win tonight, knowing they beat a top flight team without playing their best basketball.
At 8:04 AM,
WeRDevos said…
CLE-NJ-BOS 3-0 is huge.
NO might not play Paul in the next couple of games.
Go Magic!
At 11:56 AM,
Big Figure said…
Great win! Boy,wins like that do a whole lot for your confidence. We were already pretty confident coming in,i wonder how the guys feel right now. The good thing is there isnt a whole lot of time to celebrate,gotta get back to work tonight against the hornets. Two things from the game:(1)Just like i stated in my pre-game KG and Kendrick perkins would have a long night having to guard dwight and rashard. Like i thought dwight abused KP,and rashard was in attack mode and drove the ball by KG a few times to win that match-up with quickness. (2)The magic win again without shooting the ball well which is a sign of their toughness and willingness to get to the basket. Tonight even if the magic dont shoot well,the hornets still have to respect our inside outside game.
At 12:08 PM,
Big Figure said…
Last night the two teams with the best record in the east play on national TV when everybody can watch,and tonight the two team with the most wins in the league play each other and we cant watch! Crazy! I cant even get mad right now about the brighthose/fsn battle because im so giddy about the prospects of this team and their performance last night getting the W! After tonight either the magic or the hornets will lead the league in wins with 10,hopefully it will be the magic,prediction coming later.
At 2:00 PM,
Matt said…
What comes to my mind is that Magic won this with defense in the first half leading to that huge lead. They could not stop Pierce and Rajon in the second half but they still did a decent job on everybody else. If Magic's team defense gets in sync, watch out.
At 2:46 PM,
Mike from Illinois said…
I saw on the Sentinel blog that several people were upset with the officiating; they thought that the officials let the Celts get away with too much; but the Magic wound up having a huge 44-26 advantage in FT attempts, and a 31-18 advantage in FTs made, which wound up being the difference in the game.
Sure, the refs may have missed some additional calls, but when your team has a 44-26 advantage in FT attempts, it doesn't make any sense to complain about the officiating.
At 3:05 PM,
Mike from Illinois said…
ORl/NO preview
The Magic, coming off the 2 pt victory over BOS, go right back at it tonight at NO, who, like the Magic, are 9-2 and are tied for the league lead in wins. NO is coming off a 100-82 victory at MIN SAT night for their 5th straight win. Peja Stojakovic led with 22 pts, and star PG Chris Paul missed the game with an ankle injury and will likely sit the next few games as a precaution.
The probable starting lineup for NO:
G... Jannero Pargo (5.8 ppg)
G... Morris Peterson (10.3 ppg)
C... Tyson Chandler (11.4 ppg, 11.5 rebs)
F... Peja Stojakovic (13.9 ppg)
F... David West (19.6 ppg, 7.5 rebs)
Top reserves: Bobby Jackson (8.5 ppg); Rasual Butler (5.5 ppg); Melvin Ely (2.8 ppg)
Pargo scored 25 pts last season against the Magic in a 84-78 OT win at NO. Even though he isn't the caliber of Paul, the Magic can't take Pargo lightly.
The Hornets are trying for their first 6 game winning streak since 2003, and are slight 1 pt favorites (www.pinnaclesports.com).
NO is coming into the game with a day of rest, while the Magic are coming off a very tough, emotional win over the Celts in which the starters all played heavy minutes. If the Magic are to have a chance at winning tonight, the bench is going to have to be more of a factor, as the starters can't be expected to play as many minutes as they did against BOS and play as effectively.
I just don't feel too good about the game... I hope the Magic can prove me wrong, but I'll say Hornets by 6.
At 6:08 PM,
Big Figure said…
I like the magic in this one. The problem for the hornets is they dont have a player who can break down the defense from the wing,the magic have two in turk and rashard. Mo pete and peja arent really gonna get by people so they have to rely on outside shooting,this should be a night where keith and hedo can lock some folks down challenging outside shots. West will probably get his,but i expect the magic to hold the rest of the starters in check. Magic win!
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