Yet another impressive road win for the Magic as they beat Spurs
In a tense game that saw 18 ties and 29 lead changes, the Magic held San Antonio scoreless for the final minute of the game as the Spurs missed their final five shots and the Magic, behind 14 three point field goals and with three players over 20 points, withstood 31 points from G Tony Parker and beat the Spurs 105-98.
The Magic led 34-28 after one, then had their largest lead of the game at 40-32 in the second before going into the half with a 55-50 lead. It was 74-72 Magic going into the final quarter, as the Magic increased their lead to 85-79 before the Spurs came back on a 7-0 run to take the lead. It was 97-96 Magic with 2:18 remaining before the Magic scored eight of the final ten points for the final margin of victory, as the Magic (29-8) sweep the season series from the Spurs (24-12).
Magic leading scorers
Dwight Howard: 24 points (9 of 12 field goals), 14 rebounds, 2 blocks
Jameer Nelson: 22 points (7 of 18 field goals), 5 assists
Hedo Turkoglu: 21 points (7 of 12 field goals), 5 assists, 5 rebounds
Rashard Lewis: 15 points (5 of 12 field goals), 5 rebounds
San Antonio leading scorers
Tony Parker: 31 points, (13 of 22 field goals), 6 assists
Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili: 18 points
Overall Game Statistics
FG%: SAS 50.6% (39 of 77) ORL 48.6% (36 of 74)
3 PT FG%: ORL 63.6% (14 of 22) SAS 23.1% (3 of 13)
FT%: SAS 100% (17 of 17) ORL 86.4% (19 of 22)
REB: SAS 38 (6 offensive) ORL 33 (6 offensive)
AST/TO: SAS 23/11 ORL 22/13
BENCH: SAS 30, ORL 18
Other game notes and stats:
-Even though the Spurs made three more field goals than the Magic and shot two percentage points better, the Magic outscored the Spurs 86-81 from the field thanks to the 14 three point field goals to just three for the Spurs
-The Magic shot just 22 of 52 from two point range
-The Magic starting frontline outscored the Spurs' starting frontline 60-32 and outrebounded them 24-20
-The Magic used a nine-man rotation with J.J. Redick leading the reserves with 12 points on 4 of 6 three point field goals; Redick is now 16 for his last 27 on threes
-Battie, Cook, and Foyle did not see action
-The "Big Three" of Parker, Duncan, and Ginobili combined for 67 points on 25 of 49 shooting; the other six Spurs who played scored just 31 points
The Magic stay a half-game ahead of Boston in the East and trail Cleveland by just a half game.
The Magic play the second game of their road trip Tuesday at Sacramento.
For the complete box score, click here
posted by Mike from Illinois @ 1:29 AM
10 Comments:
At 1:48 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
What can you say... another great win for the guys on the road against a veteran team like the Spurs.
I thought Nelson really stepped up in the fourth quarter with several big shots after struggling the first three quarters and picking up his fifth foul in the fourth.
Turk had another outstanding game offensively, and I was impressed with his defense in the final minute against Michael Finley; Finley tried to get off a three but Hedo had a hand right in his face as Finley attempted the shot and missed badly as a result.
Even the Spurs announcers (I watched the game on NBA TV) were impressed about how the Magic defended in the final few minutes.
The Spurs had a slight edge in many statistical categories, but the Magic had the huge edge on threes and that made the difference.
Magic also had one of their best nights shooting free throws at over 86% while making 19, even though the Spurs did not miss in 17 attempts.
I give Bogans credit for hitting a big three in the fourth quarter also. It seems like everyone is contributing in some way... a true definition of a team.
At 4:58 AM,
OVERWADED said…
This was a hell of a basketball game.
Howard was "the big steady". He played solid, and caused Duncan problems throughout.
Nelson and Turk took over the game when we really needed it. Turk kept us in the game single handedly in the 3rd quarter. While Nelson hit some huge shots down the stretch. We do not get this win this game without Turk and Nelson.
At 9:37 AM,
WeRDevos said…
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/powerranking
Wow. Great win. Link above is ESPN calling Magic #2 in the entire League.
Right now this team simply knows how to win as a team.
Currently 7 games ahead of last year after 38 games. Last year Magic did not hit win #30 until game 48.
At 10:38 AM,
Big Figure said…
Yea that was impressive! I called out jameer and hedo in my pre-game and boy were they ever big. I also knew dwight had an opportunity to give duncan fits defensively and he did just that. We're not even at full strength and we are STILL winning games.
At 11:34 AM,
WeRDevos said…
Couldn't resist adding the picture Duncan and Howard side by side. It's like a complete mirror opposite. Howard looks like he owns the world, and so does Duncan.
At 11:40 AM,
WeRDevos said…
Alright. I haven't really paid much attention to shot distribution this year, but last night the big 3 frontline all took 12 shots.
Nelson took 18, Lee took 5. So the starting 5 averaged 12 shots apiece.
Great teamwork.
At 2:30 PM,
OVERWADED said…
The way Turk played last night was exact reason I love his game so much.
We got to see his patient side where he took what the defense gave him. Then we got to see him play point guard when Nelson checked out of the game. And finally we got to see him take over the game in the 3rd quarter when we needed someone to do so to keep us in the game.
Turk just brings something to this team that nobody else on (our roster) can.
Yeah, I'm a Turkoglu "fan boy"...
Also, for the first time ever Redick has a place on this team. I’m not sure why it took so long, or even if it’ll last; but he has found his shot, and has shown he can be a deadly weapon off the bench. I hope he keeps it up.
You got to give Otis Smith tons of credit. While we all have questioned some of his moves, or lack there of at times, he’s done a hell of a job putting this team together. He’s known when to be patient, and when not be by letting “dead weight” go.
Call me crazy, but in my opinion, this is as good as Magic Basketball has looked in 20 years. I say this knowing the Shaq and Penny teams were great. But I really think this team is playing at that level if not higher. The S&P team had stronger individual play from the 2 stars; but our group right now really plays team basketball. I think they’re stronger mentally, and more confident individually and as a whole. We continue to find ways to win. Having the best road record in the league is no joke. I also think the depth and coaching of this team is superior to that of the S&P team.
Of course what really matters is what happens in the playoffs; but I’m getting really excited to see what this team can do in the postseason.
At 6:49 PM,
OVERWADED said…
WeRDevos posted a nice link to the Hollinger power rankings. To add to that, here is a link to a column Hollinger wrote today.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=PERdiem-090112
He explains why he considers the Magic one of the "elite teams" in the league, and that Orlando "needs to be taken seriously" as one of the four teams that have a legit chance to win the NBA title.
Quote of the day:
Coach SVG: "If you don't think we're good, that's fine."
My thoughts exactly...
At 7:29 PM,
Mike from Illinois said…
Great links, guys, and nice picture add WeR!
If the Magic can win two out of their next three games, they will have finished the first half of the season at 32-9 and be on pace for a 64-18 record, which would be a 12 game improvement over last year's 52 win season.
At 8:40 PM,
Mike from Illinois said…
Don't want to slight Dwight Howard at all... he was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games ending January 12th.
He becomes the second Magic player to win player of the week in the last month, along with Jameer Nelson.
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