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.

Friday, January 09, 2009

Magic dominate Atlanta to complete home-and-home sweep

The Hawks scored the first two points of the game; after that, the Magic put on one of their most impressive displays in a number of years as their lead swelled to FIFTY points 101-51 with 2:46 remaining in the third. All the reserves played in the fourth as the Magic cruised to a 121-87 victory.

Six Magic players scored in double figures, and 11 of the 12 players scored. The Magic bolted out to a 22-4 lead, and led after one 41-18, and 71-33 after the first half. The Magic shot 60% in the first half while the Hawks were a miserable 25%. The Magic led 103-60 after three quarters before Coach Van Gundy emptied the bench for the fourth.

Magic leading scorers

Hedo Turkoglu: 21 points (6 of 9 field goals), 6 rebounds, 4 assists
Dwight Howard: 16 points (6 of 9 field goals), 10 rebounds, 4 blocks
J.J. Redick (bench): 15 points (4 of 5 three point field goals)
Jameer Nelson: 14 points (5 of 8 field goals), 9 assists, 0 turnovers

Atlanta leading scorers

Acie Law: 16 points
Joe Johnson: 11 points

Overall Game Statistics

FG%: ORL 48.2% (40 of 83) ATL 35.0% (28 of 80)
3 PT FG%: ORL 57.1% (16 of 28) ATL 40% (8 of 20)
FT%: ORL 78.1% (25 of 32) ATL 69.7% (23 of 33)
REB: ORL 55 (15 offensive) ATL 38 (10 offensive)
AST/TO: ORL 28/11 ATL 16/10
BENCH: ORL 46 ATL 45

Other game notes and stats:

-The Magic made 11 of their first 12 shots and their first six three point field goal attempts
-The Magic starters outscored the Hawks' starters 75-42 on 24 of 39 shooting compared to 15 of 48 shooting for the Hawks' starters
-Only one Hawks' starter (Johnson) scored in double figures
-The Magic starting frontline outscored the Hawks' starting frontline 50-24 and outrebounded them 20-12
-No Magic starter played more than 27 minutes (Howard)
-Redick's 15 points established his season high
-Keith Bogans was the only Magic player not to score
-Nelson had a 9/0 assist/turnover ratio
-Marcin Gortat's 12 rebounds off the bench led the team

The Magic are now in second place in the East with Cleveland's big win over the struggling Celtics. The Magic lead the Celtics by half a game and trail the Cavaliers by only a game.

The Magic now embark on a tough four game road trip as they take on San Antonio Sunday and also play the LA Lakers and Denver on successive nights later next week.

For the complete box score, click here

posted by Mike from Illinois @ 11:45 PM  

5 Comments:

  • At 3:55 AM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    Wow... I really thought this was going to be a close game, with the Hawks really ticked that the Magic beat them on their home floor Wednesday. That just shows how far they have to go to get to the same caliber of the Magic; the Magic stepped on the gas and didn't let up.

    I guess it's safe to say that Turk is out of his brief two game slump, as he has had two really good games in a row. Five for five on threes for Turk... outstanding! And how about that lob from midcourt to Howard for the slam... wow!

    I'll say it again... Turk's versatile offensive skills far outweigh any of his defensive shortcomings; no one is gonna change my mind on that!

    Big road trip coming up... (at SA, SAC, LAL, DEN). The way the Magic are playing, a 3-1 record on the trip is certainly a realistic possibility.

     

  • At 4:22 AM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    From Kyle Hightower of OrlandoSentinel.com...

    No tinkering planned

    Magic General Manager Otis Smith said he doesn't expect there to be any shuffling on Orlando's roster prior to the Feb. 19 trade deadline.

    "Probably not," Smith said. "I always look and listen, but I like the chemistry we have now."

    If there is a move, it would be for a third point guard or another big man

    No complaints from me! I agree with Otis about the team chemistry, it is so good right now. If the Magic can somehow pick up a serviceable third point guard or extra big man, without having to give up much, great; but I'll take my chances with the roster the way it is now; there's no question the Magic are better than last year's 52-win team. Whether it's good enough to beat a Detroit, Cleveland or Boston in the playoffs remains to be seen. If the Magic can play the way they played against the Hawks Friday, I like their chances!

     

  • At 11:48 AM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    Solid whuppin! Cant complain about anything when the team plays like that. I wish we could take some of that into the next stretch of games!

     

  • At 12:09 PM, Blogger WeRDevos said…

    fascinating fact: not a single Magic player took more than 9 shots last night.

     

  • At 8:10 PM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    I missed that... good observation.

     

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