Bryant scores 41 but Magic hold on to beat Lakers
The Magic (21-6) were able to survive season highs in points from both Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher, 15 missed free throws, a nine-point halftime deficit, and four more turnovers than the Lakers with arguably their best win of the year 106-103 thanks to another tremendous game from Jameer Nelson and three other players in double figures.
The Lakers had the lead throughout most of the first half, as they led 24-23 at the end of one and then shot 63% in the second to take their largest lead at 51-41 and settled for a 58-49 halftime lead. The Magic then caught fire in the third, scoring 36 points, and led 85-84 going into the final quarter. The Magic had their largest lead at 91-86 but the Lakers came back and were able to forge a 101-101 tie in the final minute and a half. Thanks to clutch free throw shooting from Dwight Howard, the Magic were able to hold on for the final margin as Bryant just missed a long three at the buzzer.
Magic leading scorers
Jameer Nelson: 27 points (11 of 16 field goals), 5 assists
Rashard Lewis: 22 points (6 of 13 field goals), 5 rebounds
Dwight Howard: 18 points (10 of 15 free throws), 12 rebounds, 2 blocks
Hedo Turkoglu: 14 points (5 of 10 field goals), 7 assists, 5 rebounds
LA Lakers leading scorers
Kobe Bryant: 41 points (14 of 31 field goals), 8 rebounds
Derek Fisher: 27 points (9 of 16 field goals)
Overall game statistics
FG%: ORL 48.6% (35 of 72) LAL: 41.4% (36 of 87)
3 PT FG%: ORL 40% (12 of 30) LAL: 33.3% (7 of 21)
FT%: LAL 96% (24 of 25) ORL 61.5% (24 of 39)
REB: LAL 40 (11 offensive) ORL 40 (10 offensive)
AST/TO: ORL 20/15 LAL 14/11
BENCH: ORL 22 LAL 19
Other game notes and stats:
-Mickael Pietrus returned for the first time since injuring his thumb and scored 5 points on 2 of 10 shooting off the bench
-Former Magic forward Trevor Ariza played 24 minutes off the bench and scored 5 points along with 5 rebounds
-The Magic starting frontcourt outscored the Lakers' starting frontcourt 54-16 and outrebounded them 22-10
-Lakers' starting C Andrew Bynum had more fouls (5) than points (3) and rebounds (1) combined
-Turkoglu and Lewis combined for 36 points on 11 of 23 shooting, 10 rebounds, 11 assists, and 3 steals
-11 players played for the Magic with 10 scoring; only Brian Cook failed to score
-Only J.J. Redick failed to see action
-Battie and Gortat off the bench combined for 7 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks
-Only Pau Gasol missed a free throw for the Lakers
-Even though the Lakers made one more field goal than the Magic, the Magic made five more three pointers to outscore the Lakers 82-79 from the field, and were able to make as many free throws as the Lakers despite the Lakers 96% free throw shooting
The Magic have now won 4 games in a row, 17 of their last 20 games, and 21 of their last 25 games.
The Magic will try to continue those streaks against Golden State on Monday.
For the complete box score, click here
The Lakers had the lead throughout most of the first half, as they led 24-23 at the end of one and then shot 63% in the second to take their largest lead at 51-41 and settled for a 58-49 halftime lead. The Magic then caught fire in the third, scoring 36 points, and led 85-84 going into the final quarter. The Magic had their largest lead at 91-86 but the Lakers came back and were able to forge a 101-101 tie in the final minute and a half. Thanks to clutch free throw shooting from Dwight Howard, the Magic were able to hold on for the final margin as Bryant just missed a long three at the buzzer.
Magic leading scorers
Jameer Nelson: 27 points (11 of 16 field goals), 5 assists
Rashard Lewis: 22 points (6 of 13 field goals), 5 rebounds
Dwight Howard: 18 points (10 of 15 free throws), 12 rebounds, 2 blocks
Hedo Turkoglu: 14 points (5 of 10 field goals), 7 assists, 5 rebounds
LA Lakers leading scorers
Kobe Bryant: 41 points (14 of 31 field goals), 8 rebounds
Derek Fisher: 27 points (9 of 16 field goals)
Overall game statistics
FG%: ORL 48.6% (35 of 72) LAL: 41.4% (36 of 87)
3 PT FG%: ORL 40% (12 of 30) LAL: 33.3% (7 of 21)
FT%: LAL 96% (24 of 25) ORL 61.5% (24 of 39)
REB: LAL 40 (11 offensive) ORL 40 (10 offensive)
AST/TO: ORL 20/15 LAL 14/11
BENCH: ORL 22 LAL 19
Other game notes and stats:
-Mickael Pietrus returned for the first time since injuring his thumb and scored 5 points on 2 of 10 shooting off the bench
-Former Magic forward Trevor Ariza played 24 minutes off the bench and scored 5 points along with 5 rebounds
-The Magic starting frontcourt outscored the Lakers' starting frontcourt 54-16 and outrebounded them 22-10
-Lakers' starting C Andrew Bynum had more fouls (5) than points (3) and rebounds (1) combined
-Turkoglu and Lewis combined for 36 points on 11 of 23 shooting, 10 rebounds, 11 assists, and 3 steals
-11 players played for the Magic with 10 scoring; only Brian Cook failed to score
-Only J.J. Redick failed to see action
-Battie and Gortat off the bench combined for 7 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks
-Only Pau Gasol missed a free throw for the Lakers
-Even though the Lakers made one more field goal than the Magic, the Magic made five more three pointers to outscore the Lakers 82-79 from the field, and were able to make as many free throws as the Lakers despite the Lakers 96% free throw shooting
The Magic have now won 4 games in a row, 17 of their last 20 games, and 21 of their last 25 games.
The Magic will try to continue those streaks against Golden State on Monday.
For the complete box score, click here
posted by Mike from Illinois @ 12:42 AM
4 Comments:
At 1:34 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
Jameer Nelson's last 6 games:
@ POR: 21 pts 8/16 FGs 4/6 3s 6/1 ast/to
@ PHO: 16 pts 7/16 FGs 1/5 3s 6/2 ast/to
@ UT: 17 pts 6/12 FGs 3/6 3s 6/5 ast/to
@ GS: 32 pts 13/25 FGs 5/9 3s 4/3 ast/to
SA: 24 pts 11/18 FGs 1/3 3s 7/3 ast/to
LAL: 27 pts 11/16 FGs 4/6 3s 5/2 ast/to
That comes out to 22.8 ppg on 54.4% FG shooting, 51.4% 3 PT FGs, and a good 2.1/1 assist/turnover ratio.
Can you say Eastern Conference player of the week?
All of Otis Smith's critics jumped all over him for signing Nelson to the big contract extension in 2007. Well, thank goodness that Otis believed in Jameer when not many other people did and made sure that Nelson would be in a Magic uniform at least through 2013. Heck, the way Nelson is playing, he's worth way more than the 5.5 million he's getting this year.
GREAT MOVE OTIS!!
Other thoughts...
OVERWADED, I revisited your keys to the game...
1) Howard needs to stay out of foul trouble
Well, he picked up the three fouls in the first half along with a T but was a huge factor in the second half, especially his clutch free throw shooting.
2)We need to limit our turnovers
Magic had 15 turnovers, the Lakers 11 but the Magic wound up with the slightly better assist/turnover ratio of 20/15 compared to 14/11 for the Lakers
3)Knock down open shots
That the Magic did with 12 three pointers and 48% FG shooting
4)At least 2 out of 3 (Nelson, Lewis, and Turkoglu) need to have good games
All three did with a combined 63 points, 16 assists, 14 rebounds
Nice job on the keys to the game, OVERWADED!
Also, the Magic bench outscored the Lakers bench by three points, so a good effort by the reserves.
I can't believe how non-existent Andrew Bynum was in this game for the Lakers.
I believe the Magic are starting to get much-deserved attention now from the national media, especially after these last two wins against two quality teams from the West. A Christmas Day victory over New Orleans should really convince any non-believers at this point.
One more thing... after the Billy Donovan fiasco, could Otis have hired a better coach for this team than Stan Van Gundy?
ANOTHER GREAT MOVE OTIS!!
At 10:14 PM,
Mike from Illinois said…
One thing I should have mentioned in my recap and didn't was the fact that Kobe Bryant shot only 1 of 7 in the fourth quarter, and credit goes to Keith Bogans for doing a good job defensively on Bryant. Bogans didn't do much offensively with 3 points, but he more than made up for it with his clutch defensive effort in the fourth quarter.
At 9:36 AM,
WeRDevos said…
3 games ahead of last years great start.
4 recent quality wins over Portland, Utah, San Antonio and now the Lakers.
This is getting exciting.
At 3:33 PM,
Big Figure said…
What a game! The magic missing free throws and turning the ball over early made it seem like the lakers were much better than they really are. Jameer continues to play at a high level and if he can keep it up he may be voted in by the coaches as an all star reserve.
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