Magic break open game in second half to cruise past SAC
Going into the half tied with SAC (26-29) at 46, the Magic (36-22, 16-11 home) shot 25 of 43 in the second half (58.1%), including 6 of 12 on threes, on their way to a 112-93 win.
Six players scored in double figures for the Magic, led by DHoward with 26 pts (10 of 13 FGs), 10 rebs; RLewis 16 pts (5 of 12 FGs), 7 rebs; MEvans 14 pts (7 of 10 FGs); KDooling of the bench 14 pts (5 of 9 FGs); BCook off the bench with 14 pts (4 of 5 3 pt FGs); and HTurkoglu 13 pts (4 of 9 FGs), 5 rebs. Even though JNelson scored just 6 pts (1 of 11 FGs), he added 7 asts with just 1 TO.
Only three SAC players scored in double figures, led by Ron Artest with 23 pts and Kevin Martin with 21 pts.
The statistical breakdown:
FGs... ORL 40 of 83 (48.2%) SAC 35 of 81 (43.2%) ORL 91 SAC 76
3 PT FGs... ORL 11 of 22 (50%) SAC 6 of 15 (40%)
FTs... ORL 21 of 29 (72.4%) SAC 17 of 26 (65.4%)
REBs... ORL 42 SAC 42
AST/TO... ORL 24/8 SAC 19/15
BENCH... ORL 37 SAC 28
Magic have now won 4 of their last 5 games and move a season-high 14 games over .500. Next game is TUE night at NJ.
Six players scored in double figures for the Magic, led by DHoward with 26 pts (10 of 13 FGs), 10 rebs; RLewis 16 pts (5 of 12 FGs), 7 rebs; MEvans 14 pts (7 of 10 FGs); KDooling of the bench 14 pts (5 of 9 FGs); BCook off the bench with 14 pts (4 of 5 3 pt FGs); and HTurkoglu 13 pts (4 of 9 FGs), 5 rebs. Even though JNelson scored just 6 pts (1 of 11 FGs), he added 7 asts with just 1 TO.
Only three SAC players scored in double figures, led by Ron Artest with 23 pts and Kevin Martin with 21 pts.
The statistical breakdown:
FGs... ORL 40 of 83 (48.2%) SAC 35 of 81 (43.2%) ORL 91 SAC 76
3 PT FGs... ORL 11 of 22 (50%) SAC 6 of 15 (40%)
FTs... ORL 21 of 29 (72.4%) SAC 17 of 26 (65.4%)
REBs... ORL 42 SAC 42
AST/TO... ORL 24/8 SAC 19/15
BENCH... ORL 37 SAC 28
Magic have now won 4 of their last 5 games and move a season-high 14 games over .500. Next game is TUE night at NJ.
posted by Mike from Illinois @ 10:31 PM
2 Comments:
At 4:15 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
Nice to see that the Magic are now making it a habit of beating the teams they should be beating. With only six games remaining against teams with a winning record, a fifty win season is looking more and more like reality.
In the last four Magic wins, they are averaging 112 pts a game while allowing just 94 pts. Aside from the hiccup in TOR, it looks like the Magic are finally learning that if they focus on their defense, good things will happen.
The Magic wound up dominating this game statistically... they won just about every major stat. They outshot SAC from the field (48.2% to 43.2%); from 3 pt range (50% to 40%); and from the FT line (72.4% to 65.4%). The Magic also had a superb AST/TO ratio of 24/8.
Nelson did not have a good offensive game, shooting just 1 of 11 for 6 pts. However, he did have 7 asts to just 1 TO in 27 mins, so he did his job there. Dooling came in and did an excellent job in Nelson's place with 14 pts. Between the two PGs, they had 11 asts to just 1 TO... not bad!
Lewis and Turkoglu had rather quiet nights offensively, combining for just 29 pts (2 less than Turk by himself FRI night), but they both contributed in other areas, combining for 12 rebs, 6 asts, and 3 blocks (the three blocks all going to Lewis).
Nice to see Redick getting some action in garbage time, even though he missed on all three shots. Arroyo was the only player to get a DNP-CD. Hope he's not getting discouraged, because if anything happens to Nelson or Dooling, he'll be getting meaningful minutes again.
The bench did really well, with Dooling and Cook each scoring 14 pts. I knew Cook was a decent 3 pt shooter for a big man, but I didn't think he would be this good (4 out of 5 on threes against the Kings). What a spark off the bench he, Dooling, and Bogans are. Foyle also did an acceptable job in 14 mins giving Howard rest.
Even though I like the trade CLE made at the deadline and will make them better, I believe the Magic are just as good, if not better, and will hold them off, along with TOR, for the third spot in the East. Anyone with me on that?
At 1:02 PM,
Big Figure said…
I agree. The magic playing alot of games early combined with the fact that most of them were good teams means we should have an easier schedule left than cleveland. Toronto doesnt win at a high enough pace even though theyve been playing well lately. The last two wins were big and tonight is no different,beating the teams we should while protecting/getting better at winning our home floor is all we have to do now.
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