Howard returns as Magic top Spurs
Bolstered by the return of Dwight Howard and a strong second half by Jameer Nelson, the Magic led for all except for the first four minutes of a 90-78 win over San Antonio.
Both teams started out slow, as the Magic only hit 1 of their first 9 shots in falling behind the Spurs 9-3 but led 19-13 after one quarter. The Magic extended their lead to 44-29 at the half, as the Spurs shot just 28% for the first half. The Magic had their largest lead at 54-31 in the third quarter before the Spurs made their run, outscoring the Magic 34-17 to cut the Magic lead to 71-65 with 7 minutes remaining, but San Antonio could draw no closer as the Magic stretched their lead back out to 17 points before the final margin.
Magic leading scorers
Jameer Nelson: 24 points (11 of 18 field goals), 7 assists
Rashard Lewis: 15 points (5 of 15 field goals), 5 rebounds
Dwight Howard: 14 points (6 of 12 field goals), 13 rebounds, 2 blocks
Hedo Turkoglu: 11 points (5 of 12 field goals), 4 rebounds
Courtney Lee (bench): 10 points (4 of 9 field goals)
San Antonio leading scorers
Tim Duncan: 19 points
Tony Parker: 10 points
Manu Ginobili: 10 points
Overall Game Statistics
FG%: ORL 44.7% (38 of 85) SA 37.5% (30 of 80)
3 PT FG%: SA 40% (8 of 20) ORL 24.0% (6 of 25)
FT%: ORL 80% (8 of 10) SA 76.9% (10 of 13)
REB: ORL 44 (6 offensive) SA 39 (7 offensive)
AST/TO: ORL 16/13 SA 15/15
BENCH: SA 30 ORL 18
Other game notes and stats:
-After shooting 1 for 5 in the first half for 3 points, Nelson shot 10 for 13 in the second half for 21 points
-The Spurs' Tony Parker had a miserable night, shooting just 3 of 17
-The Magic starters outscored the Spurs' starters 72-48, with the Spurs' starters shooting just 18 of 52 from the field
-Lewis and Turkoglu combined for 26 points on 10 of 27 shooting, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks
-The Magic used a 9 man rotation with Lee, Johnson, Cook, and Gortat seeing action off the bench
-Battie, Foyle, and Redick all registered a DNP-CD.
-Keith Bogans was the only starter not to score in double figures, but he wound up with 8 points and 9 rebounds
The Magic (20-6) now enjoy a 4 1/2 game lead over Atlanta in the SE, with the Los Angeles Lakers coming to Orlando on Saturday night.
For the complete box score, click here
Both teams started out slow, as the Magic only hit 1 of their first 9 shots in falling behind the Spurs 9-3 but led 19-13 after one quarter. The Magic extended their lead to 44-29 at the half, as the Spurs shot just 28% for the first half. The Magic had their largest lead at 54-31 in the third quarter before the Spurs made their run, outscoring the Magic 34-17 to cut the Magic lead to 71-65 with 7 minutes remaining, but San Antonio could draw no closer as the Magic stretched their lead back out to 17 points before the final margin.
Magic leading scorers
Jameer Nelson: 24 points (11 of 18 field goals), 7 assists
Rashard Lewis: 15 points (5 of 15 field goals), 5 rebounds
Dwight Howard: 14 points (6 of 12 field goals), 13 rebounds, 2 blocks
Hedo Turkoglu: 11 points (5 of 12 field goals), 4 rebounds
Courtney Lee (bench): 10 points (4 of 9 field goals)
San Antonio leading scorers
Tim Duncan: 19 points
Tony Parker: 10 points
Manu Ginobili: 10 points
Overall Game Statistics
FG%: ORL 44.7% (38 of 85) SA 37.5% (30 of 80)
3 PT FG%: SA 40% (8 of 20) ORL 24.0% (6 of 25)
FT%: ORL 80% (8 of 10) SA 76.9% (10 of 13)
REB: ORL 44 (6 offensive) SA 39 (7 offensive)
AST/TO: ORL 16/13 SA 15/15
BENCH: SA 30 ORL 18
Other game notes and stats:
-After shooting 1 for 5 in the first half for 3 points, Nelson shot 10 for 13 in the second half for 21 points
-The Spurs' Tony Parker had a miserable night, shooting just 3 of 17
-The Magic starters outscored the Spurs' starters 72-48, with the Spurs' starters shooting just 18 of 52 from the field
-Lewis and Turkoglu combined for 26 points on 10 of 27 shooting, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks
-The Magic used a 9 man rotation with Lee, Johnson, Cook, and Gortat seeing action off the bench
-Battie, Foyle, and Redick all registered a DNP-CD.
-Keith Bogans was the only starter not to score in double figures, but he wound up with 8 points and 9 rebounds
The Magic (20-6) now enjoy a 4 1/2 game lead over Atlanta in the SE, with the Los Angeles Lakers coming to Orlando on Saturday night.
For the complete box score, click here
posted by Mike from Illinois @ 12:54 AM
3 Comments:
At 1:12 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
Jameer Nelson after the game, from the NBA.com recap:
"We've got to play with the great surge, because nobody believes in us, everybody doubts us, Nelson said. "We have to play for the fans, and each other, and everything will be fine."
From the Spurs' Tim Duncan:
"They made shots when they needed to," Duncan said. "Jameer was great, obviously. He always seems to play great against us. They moved the ball well and hit big 3s to set us back."
A lot of people are starting to notice Jameer Nelson now. He significantly outplayed one of the best point guards in the game in Tony Parker with more than twice as many points, three more assists, and one less turnover.
Another nice game from Lee off the bench, as he was the Magic's top reserve.
I'm sure many of the so-called "experts" still aren't impressed with the Magic; they'll say that the Spurs were coming off a difficult game against the Hornets and got into Orlando late.
Well, what about the Magic? On their just-completed road trip out West, the Magic had two sets of back-to-backs, and won both games, one of them without Dwight Howard!
Should be a great crowd at Amway Arena Saturday night to hopefully see a Magic win over the Lakers.
At 6:30 AM,
Ken said…
Great win by the Magic. Super job by Nelson against one of the premier guards in the league.. Nice to see DH back and even better to watch him dunking over Duncan.
As much fun as this game was to watch though, I hate that it was a TNT game. Can the halftime clowns (Barkley, Smith et al) care any less about the Magic. I may have missed it, but did they give any props at to the Magic? I only saw them making excuses for the Spurs ad nauseam. They use to at least mention Howard once in a while, but I don't recall even hearing that last night. I guess they are to busy on the Celts Cavs bandwagon to be bothered.
At 7:35 PM,
Mike from Illinois said…
If the Magic can beat the Lakers Saturday night, I'm sure it'll be termed a "fluke" by the experts (like the win against the Spurs), because the Lakers will have played in Miami Friday night while the Magic were resting.
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