Game review: Magic (12-4) 93, Hawks (11-4) 76
Atlanta was in control of the game 57-44 and dominating statistically with under 10 1/2 minutes remaining in the third quarter and looked like they would cruise to an easy victory over a listless, uninspired Magic team coming off an emotional loss the night before. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, the Magic surged as the tide of the game turned dramatically in the Magic's favor. The Magic went on to outscore the Hawks 49-19 the rest of the way as their tough defense challenged every Hawks' shot and limited the Hawks to making just 8 of their final 40 shots.
The Magic led by as many as 4 points early in the first quarter before the Hawks went on a 13-2 run and had their largest lead of the quarter at 7 points before settling for a 25-23 lead over the Magic after one. The Magic had their last lead of the first half at 36-35 before the Hawks went on a 16-3 tear to lead going into the half 51-39. The Hawks had their largest lead of the game at 53-39 early in the third quarter and had the 57-44 lead before Dwight Howard and Anthony Johnson off the Magic bench led the dramatic Magic turnaround.
Magic leading scorers
Dwight Howard: 22 points (9 of 14 FGs), 17 rebounds, 4 blocks, 5 turnovers
Vince Carter: 21 points (7 of 18 FGs), 9 rebounds
Anthony Johnson (bench): 17 points (6 of 10 FGs), 3 assists, 0 turnovers
Rashard Lewis: 14 points (6 of 16 FGs), 5 rebounds
Overall game statistics
FG%: ORL 43.8% (35 of 80) ATL 38.8% (33 of 85)
3 PT FG%: ATL 36.8% (7 of 19) ORL 32.3% (10 of 31)
FT%: ORL 65% (13 of 20) ATL 42.9% (3 of 7)
REB: ORL 53 (13 offensive) ATL 41 (11 offensive)
AST/TO: ATL 18/13 ORL 15/13
BENCH: ORL 31 ATL 22
Other game notes and stats:
-Four Hawks scored in double figures, led by Joe Johnson's 22 points; Josh Smith added a double/double of 13 points, 13 rebounds
-The Magic starting frontcourt (Carter, Lewis, Howard) outscored the Hawks' starting frontcourt (Williams, Smith, Horford) 57-22 and outrebounded them 31-23
-The Hawks' starting backcourt (Bibby, Johnson) outscored the Magic starting backcourt (Williams, Pietrus) 32-5
-Williams and Pietrus shot a combined 2 for 10, including 1 for 8 on threes
-Anthony Johnson scored 15 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter
-The Magic outscored the Hawks in the second half 54-25
-The Magic outrebounded the Hawks in the second half 34-16
-During a 12 1/2 minute stretch spanning the third and fourth quarters, the Hawks made just 3 of 25 shots
-Matt Barnes, despite not scoring, grabbed 11 rebounds and added 3 assists and a steal in 22 minutes off the bench
-Only 3 Hawks shot free throws as they attempted just 7 overall
-Hawks were whistled for 20 fouls, the Magic 12 fouls
-The Magic now lead the Hawks by 1/2 game in the SE
Here is the complete box score and recap from nba.com
The Magic led by as many as 4 points early in the first quarter before the Hawks went on a 13-2 run and had their largest lead of the quarter at 7 points before settling for a 25-23 lead over the Magic after one. The Magic had their last lead of the first half at 36-35 before the Hawks went on a 16-3 tear to lead going into the half 51-39. The Hawks had their largest lead of the game at 53-39 early in the third quarter and had the 57-44 lead before Dwight Howard and Anthony Johnson off the Magic bench led the dramatic Magic turnaround.
Magic leading scorers
Dwight Howard: 22 points (9 of 14 FGs), 17 rebounds, 4 blocks, 5 turnovers
Vince Carter: 21 points (7 of 18 FGs), 9 rebounds
Anthony Johnson (bench): 17 points (6 of 10 FGs), 3 assists, 0 turnovers
Rashard Lewis: 14 points (6 of 16 FGs), 5 rebounds
Overall game statistics
FG%: ORL 43.8% (35 of 80) ATL 38.8% (33 of 85)
3 PT FG%: ATL 36.8% (7 of 19) ORL 32.3% (10 of 31)
FT%: ORL 65% (13 of 20) ATL 42.9% (3 of 7)
REB: ORL 53 (13 offensive) ATL 41 (11 offensive)
AST/TO: ATL 18/13 ORL 15/13
BENCH: ORL 31 ATL 22
Other game notes and stats:
-Four Hawks scored in double figures, led by Joe Johnson's 22 points; Josh Smith added a double/double of 13 points, 13 rebounds
-The Magic starting frontcourt (Carter, Lewis, Howard) outscored the Hawks' starting frontcourt (Williams, Smith, Horford) 57-22 and outrebounded them 31-23
-The Hawks' starting backcourt (Bibby, Johnson) outscored the Magic starting backcourt (Williams, Pietrus) 32-5
-Williams and Pietrus shot a combined 2 for 10, including 1 for 8 on threes
-Anthony Johnson scored 15 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter
-The Magic outscored the Hawks in the second half 54-25
-The Magic outrebounded the Hawks in the second half 34-16
-During a 12 1/2 minute stretch spanning the third and fourth quarters, the Hawks made just 3 of 25 shots
-Matt Barnes, despite not scoring, grabbed 11 rebounds and added 3 assists and a steal in 22 minutes off the bench
-Only 3 Hawks shot free throws as they attempted just 7 overall
-Hawks were whistled for 20 fouls, the Magic 12 fouls
-The Magic now lead the Hawks by 1/2 game in the SE
Here is the complete box score and recap from nba.com
posted by Mike from Illinois @ 2:46 AM
2 Comments:
At 5:56 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
When the Hawks were up 13 in the third, I didn't have much hope that the Magic would come back, to be honest. I attributed the dismal Magic performance to a strong, rested Atlanta team dominating a tired Magic team that was coming off an emotional, hard-fought loss the night before. All of a sudden... WHAM... it was like someone flipped on a switch and the Magic completely turned the game around and played their best half of the year defensively; heck, that had to be one of the best defensive performances in a half in Magic franchise history!
I really liked the passion and intensity Howard played with in the second half; that was the most confident I've seen him in a while, and he didn't get frustrated after he picked up that technical; he continued to focus on his game instead of complaining to the refs and losing focus.
How about Anthony Johnson? He was the co-MVP of the game along with D12. The Magic really needed AJ's performance, considering how Jason Williams just didn't have it tonight.
I won't even complain that Stan Van Gundy didn't use Brandon Bass at all again; every move SVG did in the second half was the right one.
Just a terrific comeback and a terrific second-half performance by the Magic; this is a win they can really build on the rest of the way; what a confidence builder!
At 1:40 PM,
Big Figure said…
Very good win! I was happy to see SVG use some different line-ups and get the players that werent contributing out of the game,to me that was the biggest difference in the game. Dwight staying out of foul trouble for a change was also huge,like mike said he was able to temper his frustrations and keep focus so kudos to dwight. And AJ,wow what a performance. With Jwill,MP and rashard struggling SVG went with AJ,MB and ryan anderson and played them for the rest of the game pretty much which is what i was asking SVG for during my pre-game comments. If guys dont have on any given night,find someone on your bench that does. Good job by SVG in playing the guys that wanted to play hard & take good shots. JJ was a big part of that too during the second and third quarters,the magic started off taking horrible shots but in that second half they ran sets very effectively and played inside out through dwight. I liked what i saw from the guys that played.
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