Game review: Magic (13-4) 100, Bucks (8-7) 98
In similar fashion to Thursday night's game against Atlanta, the Magic had a poor first half, but then regrouped in the second half, led by Dwight Howard. Unlike the Hawks, though, Milwaukee came back in the fourth but the Magic were able to hold on.
The Magic led 13-9 in the first quarter before the Bucks went on a 17-8 run and led after one 26-21. The Bucks, thanks to rebounding and hot three point shooting, increased their lead to 53-36 with under three minutes left in the second quarter before a closing Magic run cut the Bucks' lead to 56-47 at the half. The Bucks got their lead back up to 68-53 with under 7 minutes remaining in the third quarter before the Magic went on a 20-3 run to close the quarter and led going into the fourth quarter 73-72. The Magic increased their lead to 91-81 with 5 and a half minutes remaining, but the Bucks went on a 14-4 run to tie the game at 95. It was tied at 98 when Rashard Lewis's jumper gave the Magic a 100-98 lead with 44.7 seconds remaining. The Bucks missed a three pointer and a jumper on their ensuing possession, and the Magic were able to run the clock out thanks to key offensive rebounding by Howard.
Magic leading scorers
Dwight Howard: 25 points (10 of 15 FGs), 20 rebounds, 4 blocks, 6 turnovers
Vince Carter: 25 points (10 of 23 FGs), 6 rebounds
Rashard Lewis: 14 points (6 of 9 FGs), 9 rebounds, 2 blocks
Jason Williams: 12 points (4 of 7 FGs), 10 assists, 0 turnovers
Overall Game Statistics
FG%: ORL 50.6% (39 of 77) MIL 41.1% (37 of 90)
3 PT FG%: MIL 57.9% (11 of 19) ORL 36.4% (8 of 22)
FT%: MIL 76.5% (13 of 17) ORL 56% (14 of 25)
REB: ORL 50 (13 offensive) MIL 44 (15 offensive)
AST/TO: MIL 19/6 ORL 18/17
BENCH: MIL 46 ORL 24
Other game notes and stats:
-The Bucks had four players in double figures, led by Ersan Ilyasova with 20 points and 16 rebounds and Luke Ridnour off the bench with 20 points and 6 assists
-The Bucks were without three regulars due to injury; Andrew Bogut, Luc Mbah a Moute, and Michael Redd
-In addition to Howard's 25/20 game, Jason Williams had a brilliant 10/0 AST/TO ratio
-J.J. Redick led the Magic reserves with 9 points
-Brandon Bass, seeing his first action in several games, scored 8 points along with 4 rebounds in 9 minutes off the bench for the Magic
-During a 7 1/2 minute span of the third quarter and early in the fourth quarter, the Magic outscored the Bucks 22-4
-During that span, the Magic hit on 10 of 11 FGs while the Bucks went 2 of 13
-The Bucks hit 7 of 8 three pointers in the first half
-Mickael Pietrus went scoreless in 26 minutes, shooting 0 for 5
-The Magic now lead the SE by 1/2 game over Atlanta
Here is the complete box score and recap from nba.com
The Magic led 13-9 in the first quarter before the Bucks went on a 17-8 run and led after one 26-21. The Bucks, thanks to rebounding and hot three point shooting, increased their lead to 53-36 with under three minutes left in the second quarter before a closing Magic run cut the Bucks' lead to 56-47 at the half. The Bucks got their lead back up to 68-53 with under 7 minutes remaining in the third quarter before the Magic went on a 20-3 run to close the quarter and led going into the fourth quarter 73-72. The Magic increased their lead to 91-81 with 5 and a half minutes remaining, but the Bucks went on a 14-4 run to tie the game at 95. It was tied at 98 when Rashard Lewis's jumper gave the Magic a 100-98 lead with 44.7 seconds remaining. The Bucks missed a three pointer and a jumper on their ensuing possession, and the Magic were able to run the clock out thanks to key offensive rebounding by Howard.
Magic leading scorers
Dwight Howard: 25 points (10 of 15 FGs), 20 rebounds, 4 blocks, 6 turnovers
Vince Carter: 25 points (10 of 23 FGs), 6 rebounds
Rashard Lewis: 14 points (6 of 9 FGs), 9 rebounds, 2 blocks
Jason Williams: 12 points (4 of 7 FGs), 10 assists, 0 turnovers
Overall Game Statistics
FG%: ORL 50.6% (39 of 77) MIL 41.1% (37 of 90)
3 PT FG%: MIL 57.9% (11 of 19) ORL 36.4% (8 of 22)
FT%: MIL 76.5% (13 of 17) ORL 56% (14 of 25)
REB: ORL 50 (13 offensive) MIL 44 (15 offensive)
AST/TO: MIL 19/6 ORL 18/17
BENCH: MIL 46 ORL 24
Other game notes and stats:
-The Bucks had four players in double figures, led by Ersan Ilyasova with 20 points and 16 rebounds and Luke Ridnour off the bench with 20 points and 6 assists
-The Bucks were without three regulars due to injury; Andrew Bogut, Luc Mbah a Moute, and Michael Redd
-In addition to Howard's 25/20 game, Jason Williams had a brilliant 10/0 AST/TO ratio
-J.J. Redick led the Magic reserves with 9 points
-Brandon Bass, seeing his first action in several games, scored 8 points along with 4 rebounds in 9 minutes off the bench for the Magic
-During a 7 1/2 minute span of the third quarter and early in the fourth quarter, the Magic outscored the Bucks 22-4
-During that span, the Magic hit on 10 of 11 FGs while the Bucks went 2 of 13
-The Bucks hit 7 of 8 three pointers in the first half
-Mickael Pietrus went scoreless in 26 minutes, shooting 0 for 5
-The Magic now lead the SE by 1/2 game over Atlanta
Here is the complete box score and recap from nba.com
posted by Mike from Illinois @ 3:38 AM
3 Comments:
At 5:12 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
The Magic were able to overcome another poor first half and poor free throw shooting overall.
Great effort by D12 in the second half; he dominated. His 6 TOs are a concern, of course, but his rebounding and scoring more than made up for it.
Another brilliant effort from Jason Williams at the point... 10 assists, 0 TOs along with 12 points. He has the best AST/TO ratio in the NBA! What a pickup he was in the off-season!
I'm starting to lose my patience with Pietrus as a starter. He did respectable his first few starts, but his last few games have been awful from an offensive standpoint.
Matt Barnes could be used as a starter instead; at least he can rebound well even if his offense isn't that good. Pietrus could be used a spark off the bench; I think that role would serve him and the Magic better.
Wonder how long Van Gundy will wait before he makes a change there.
Anyway, nice comeback win by the Magic, and they were able to hold off a comeback in the final few minutes from the Bucks.
At 10:30 PM,
Matt said…
I disagree with MP's move to the bench. He is a better defender and shooter than MB (remeber BOS's game?). His inconsistency and lack of discipline is nothing new. He needs true coaching to instill discipline in him. That's all.
At 4:06 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
Matt, as long as the Magic keep winning, I'll try and be more patient when it comes to Pietrus.
I really like him as a player, and he was tremendous in the playoffs last season.
I just wish he could be more consistent.
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