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.

Monday, December 01, 2008

Celtics pull away in second half in rout of Magic

The Magic only had one lead in this game over Boston, and that was 2-0. The Celtics led after one quarter 28-18, as the Magic shot only 6 of 23 in the first. The Celtics extended their lead to 37-22 in the second, but then the Magic made their run as they hit 10 of 18 shots in the quarter to pull within 48-46 at the half. The Celtics took control in the third, as they led 77-65 after three. The Magic (13-5) could get only as close as 77-67 early in the fourth as the Celtics (17-2) then pulled away for a 107-88 victory, their ninth in a row.

Magic leading scorers

Rashard Lewis: 30 points (11 of 23 field goals), 5 rebounds
Hedo Turkoglu: 19 points (7 of 16 field goals), 7 rebounds
Dwight Howard: 14 points (5 of 12 field goals), 15 rebounds, 4 blocks
Tony Battie (bench): 9 points (4 of 5 field goals), 7 rebounds

Boston leading scorers

Paul Pierce: 24 points
Ray Allen: 21 points
Rajon Rondo: 16 points, 12 assists

Game Statistics

FG%: BOS 54.1% (40 of 74) ORL 42.0% (34 of 81)
3 PT FG%: BOS 46.2% (6 of 13) ORL 19.2% (5 of 26)
FT%: BOS: 87.5% (21 of 24) ORL 60% (15 of 25)
REB: BOS 43 (9 offensive) ORL 40 (16 offensive)
AST/TO: BOS 20/12 ORL 14/11
BENCH: BOS 23 ORL 15

Other game notes and stats:

-The "Big Three" of Boston (Kevin Garnett, Pierce, and Allen) combined for 60 points on 22 of 37 shooting and 12 of 14 free throw shooting with 17 rebounds
-The "Big Three" of the Magic (Howard, Lewis, and Turkoglu) combined for 63 points on 23 of 51 shooting and 14 of 21 free throw shooting with 27 rebounds
-The Magic starting guards, Redick and Johnson, combined for only ten points on 4 of 16 shooting, and 2 of 8 on threes with 7 assists
-Add in reserve Courtney Lee, and the Magic guards combined for 16 points on horrendous 7 of 25 shooting (28%)
-The Celtics' starting guards, Rondo and Allen, combined for 37 points on 14 of 23 shooting, and 3 of 7 on threes with 14 assists
-The Magic were thoroughly beaten in most statistical categories, as the Celtics outshot the Magic from the field, from three point range, and the free throw line in addition to outrebounding the Magic and having the better assist/turnover ratio
-The Magic used just a 7 man rotation, as Lee and Tony Battie were the only reserves to see action
-Turkoglu, Lewis, Johnson, and Lee combined to shoot 3 of 21 on threes
-At one time, the Magic had a 19-5 advantage at free throw attempts over the Celtics; the Celtics then got 19 of the final 25 free throw attempts
-Eight technical fouls were called in the game, five on Boston and three on the Magic

The Magic next play at home Wednesday night against Minnesota

For the complete box score, click here

posted by Mike from Illinois @ 11:18 PM  

4 Comments:

  • At 12:17 AM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    I don't think that anyone thought the Magic, without three key players, had a serious chance of beating the defending World Champs at their place, so I won't lose too much sleep over this game.

    The Big Three of the Magic were able to play on even terms with the Big Three of Boston, but the Celtics' guards badly outplayed the Magic guards.

    I won't be too hard on Anthony Johnson, because he did a nice job his previous three starts in place of Nelson. He just didn't have it against the Celtics, with the poor shooting and low assist total.

    Redick attempted just 5 shots in over 31 minutes; a starting shooting guard has to shoot much more than that.

    I wonder how long SVG will stick with the 7 man rotation; it'll be really tough on the guys playing so many minutes every game, especially with the 5 game Western swing coming up.

    Get well soon Jameer (and Pietrus and Bogans too, for that matter)!

     

  • At 10:07 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I'm wondering if Redick's shooting slump is affecting him taking more shots. He's passed up or hesitant to shoot when open opting instead to pass. His rebounds and assists are nice, but if he can get his shot going, I'd rather take the points he can contribute. With that said, I can count on both hands the times he was WIDE open each game this past week, and was not passed the ball. It seems as if it's 4-on-4 on offense for Orlando as he disappears on the offensive end. If that's the case, he might as well be on the bench. Why does SVG even have him camp out in the corner when that's not the best way to utilize him?

    I would like Lee to get more minutes as PG (more than AJ). Also, Hedo really needs to stop waiting till there's only a few seconds left on the shot clock and chucking up shots.

     

  • At 12:02 PM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    This game only proved that the celtics can handle a half strength magic team. To be honest i wasnt that impressed by the celts bench which could come back to haunt them this year. JJ not getting shots has to be credited to the defense the celts played,they were locking up our guys starters on starters and it wasnt until doc went to his bench in the second quarter that we starterd to be competitive. In a game like that against the best you need all your weapons.

     

  • At 7:39 PM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    Interesting comments about Redick, Anonymous.

    I agree the other players need to do a better job of passing the ball to Redick when he's open.

     

Post a Comment

<< Home