Without Howard, Magic use big second half to stun Utah
Dwight Howard missed the first game of his career due to his sore knee from the Phoenix game Friday night. He had played in 351 regular-season games in a row. PF Carlos Boozer was sitting out for the Jazz along with starting G Ronnie Brewer.
The Magic, after a lackluster first half which saw them trailing 56-46, suddenly came to life in the third quarter as they outscored the Jazz 34-12 to take a 80-68 lead going into the fourth. The Magic had their largest lead at 89-74 before the Jazz went on a 13-3 run to come within 92-87 with just over three minutes remaining, but that's as close as they would get, as the Magic (18-6) went on to a 103-94 victory.
Magic leading scorers
Rashard Lewis: 27 points (10 of 17 field goals), 9 rebounds
Hedo Turkoglu: 23 points (6 of 15 field goals), 5 assists, 3 steals
Jameer Nelson: 17 points (6 of 12 field goals), 6 assists, 5 turnovers
Keith Bogans: 10 points (3 of 5 field goals), 5 rebounds
Brian Cook (bench): 9 points (3 of 4 three point field goals), 2 steals
Utah leading scorers
Deron Williams: 17 points, 11 assists
Andre Kirilenko (bench): 17 points
Paul Millsap: 14 points, 14 rebounds
Overall Game Statistics
FG%: ORL 48.0% (36 of 75) UT 43.4% (33 of 76)
3 PT FG%: ORL 51.9% (14 of 27) UT 44.4% (8 of 18)
FT%: ORL 73.9% (17 of 23) UT 69.0% (20 of 29)
REB: UT 45 (16 offensive) ORL 33 (11 offensive)
AST/TO: UT 25/22 ORL 18/18
BENCH: UT 39 ORL 22
Other game notes and stats:
-Ten players saw action for the Magic and all scored; only Adonal Foyle and Jeremy Richardson did not see any action
-Marcin Gortat, starting for Howard, scored 4 points with 4 rebounds and 4 blocks in 30 minutes along with 5 fouls
-Nelson and Bogans, after scoring just 2 combined points in the first half, scored 25 combined points in the second half to wind up with 27 points on 9 of 18 shooting
-One night after scoring just 33 combined points, Lewis and Turkoglu combined for 50 points on 16 of 32 shooting, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, and 4 steals with 7 turnovers
-The Magic shot 19 of 35 from the field in the second half compared to 10 of 33 for Utah
-The Jazz shot just 3 of 15 in the third quarter
-The Magic starters outscored the Jazz starters 81-55, including a 54-33 starting frontcourt advantage
-Kirilenko and Kyle Korver (15 points) combined for 32 points off the Utah bench
The Magic will play the final game of their season-long five game road trip Monday night against Golden Stater; it's not known whether Howard will be able to play.
For the complete box score, click here
The Magic, after a lackluster first half which saw them trailing 56-46, suddenly came to life in the third quarter as they outscored the Jazz 34-12 to take a 80-68 lead going into the fourth. The Magic had their largest lead at 89-74 before the Jazz went on a 13-3 run to come within 92-87 with just over three minutes remaining, but that's as close as they would get, as the Magic (18-6) went on to a 103-94 victory.
Magic leading scorers
Rashard Lewis: 27 points (10 of 17 field goals), 9 rebounds
Hedo Turkoglu: 23 points (6 of 15 field goals), 5 assists, 3 steals
Jameer Nelson: 17 points (6 of 12 field goals), 6 assists, 5 turnovers
Keith Bogans: 10 points (3 of 5 field goals), 5 rebounds
Brian Cook (bench): 9 points (3 of 4 three point field goals), 2 steals
Utah leading scorers
Deron Williams: 17 points, 11 assists
Andre Kirilenko (bench): 17 points
Paul Millsap: 14 points, 14 rebounds
Overall Game Statistics
FG%: ORL 48.0% (36 of 75) UT 43.4% (33 of 76)
3 PT FG%: ORL 51.9% (14 of 27) UT 44.4% (8 of 18)
FT%: ORL 73.9% (17 of 23) UT 69.0% (20 of 29)
REB: UT 45 (16 offensive) ORL 33 (11 offensive)
AST/TO: UT 25/22 ORL 18/18
BENCH: UT 39 ORL 22
Other game notes and stats:
-Ten players saw action for the Magic and all scored; only Adonal Foyle and Jeremy Richardson did not see any action
-Marcin Gortat, starting for Howard, scored 4 points with 4 rebounds and 4 blocks in 30 minutes along with 5 fouls
-Nelson and Bogans, after scoring just 2 combined points in the first half, scored 25 combined points in the second half to wind up with 27 points on 9 of 18 shooting
-One night after scoring just 33 combined points, Lewis and Turkoglu combined for 50 points on 16 of 32 shooting, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, and 4 steals with 7 turnovers
-The Magic shot 19 of 35 from the field in the second half compared to 10 of 33 for Utah
-The Jazz shot just 3 of 15 in the third quarter
-The Magic starters outscored the Jazz starters 81-55, including a 54-33 starting frontcourt advantage
-Kirilenko and Kyle Korver (15 points) combined for 32 points off the Utah bench
The Magic will play the final game of their season-long five game road trip Monday night against Golden Stater; it's not known whether Howard will be able to play.
For the complete box score, click here
posted by Mike from Illinois @ 1:33 AM
2 Comments:
At 2:02 AM,
Jarhead Scott said…
Nice win without Howard but I really wish Courtney Lee would get more time. Thank god Boozer was out tonight.
At 5:27 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
I'm glad that Boozer missed the game for the Jazz also, but Paul Millsap is no slouch as he wound up with a double-double.
Courtney Lee played 20 minutes, scoring 5 points with an assist and a steal.
I think he's coming along very nicely and that SVG is doing a good job with his playing time.
It was an outstanding win for the Magic. That was great to see their third quarter explosion after such a lackluster first half.
I'm happy that SVG is using Brian Cook more, as Cook is proving that he can be a big spark off the bench like he was last season on several occasions. Even though he committed five fouls in just 15 minutes, his 3 of 4 three point shooting really spurred the Magic on in the third quarter.
Another outstanding game for Lewis and Turkoglu... I know that Matt has said on this blog that he thinks that the Magic's failure to have a true power forward will be their downfall come playoff time, but I have to disagree with that, because look at the matchup problems that Lewis and Turk give other teams; the Magic can use that to their advantage. Also, having an experienced veteran like Tony Battie coming off the bench, something the Magic didn't have last year, really helps.
Even though Turk isn't having quite the year he had last season, and could be a free agent at the end of this season, I highly doubt the Magic will trade him before the deadline; the team chemistry seems to be really, really good.
On to Golden State Monday night for a chance at a 4-1 road trip!
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