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.

Sunday, November 01, 2009

Game review: Magic (3-0) 125, Raptors (1-2) 116

Despite missing starters Vince Carter (ankle), Mickael Pietrus (flu-like symptoms) and Rashard Lewis (suspension), the Magic had four players score 20+ points with a career game from J.J. Redick, an All-Star performance from Jameer Nelson, and spectacular free throw shooting from Dwight Howard and the rest of the team for the 125-116 victory over Toronto.

The Magic led 36-28 after one quarter, and had their largest lead of the game at 54-32 in the second quarter before settling for a 64-53 lead at the half, with Redick scoring 18 first half points. The Magic maintained their lead after three quarters at 99-89. The Raptors made a comeback attempt in the final quarter, getting as close as 115-111 with just over four minutes remaining, but could get no closer.

Magic leading scorers

Jameer Nelson: 30 points (5 of 9 3 PT FG), 5 assists, 2 steals
J.J. Redick: 27 points (5 of 8 3 PT FG), 6 rebounds, 5 assists
Dwight Howard: 24 points (14 of 16 FTs), 11 rebounds
Ryan Anderson: 20 points (5 of 8 3 PT FG), 6 rebounds
Matt Barnes: 12 points, 9 rebounds, 6 steals, 2 blocks

Overall Game statistics:

FG%: TOR 54.1% (40 of 74) ORL 43.9% (36 of 82)
3 PT FG%: TOR 58.8% (10 of 17) ORL 53.1% (17 of 32)
FT%: ORL 87.8% (36 of 41) TOR 74.3% (26 of 35)
REB: TOR 38 (9 offensive) ORL 37 (14 offensive)
AST/TO: ORL 24/9 TOR 19/14
BENCH: TOR 18 ORL 10

Other game stats and notes:

-Chris Bosh led Toronto with 35 points and 16 rebounds, but missed 6 of 19 free throws
-Former Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu scored 19 points on 8 of 13 shooting, along with 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 blocks
-The Raptors' Andrea Bargnani scored 22 of his 26 points in the second half
-Brandon Bass led the Magic's bench with 6 points
-Jason Williams and Anthony Johnson each had 3 assists off the bench
-J.J. Redick's 27 points was a career-high (previous career-high 18 pts); Ryan Anderson's 20 points tied his second-best career output, and Jameer Nelson's 30 points was 2 points off his career-high
-Matt Barnes' 6 steals was a career high
-The Magic were 19 of 50 on two point FGs, compared to 17 of 32 on three pointers

Here is the complete recap and box score from nba.com

posted by Mike from Illinois @ 11:58 PM  

4 Comments:

  • At 4:41 AM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    I don't think there's any other team in the NBA who could miss three starters yet still score 125 points!

    Kudos to D12 and the rest of the team for doing such a great job from the FT line; the Magic could have lost this game if they didn't shoot such a high percentage from the line.

    Making 17 three pointers really helped matters, too.

    The Raptors made their run in the fourth quarter, but the Magic didn't buckle and were able to withstand the Raptors' run.

    Great to see Redick get rewarded with a career game for all the hard work and patience he has shown.

    Getting Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson from the Nets will go down as one of the best trades in Magic franchise history.

    Anderson is only 21 years old, and look how well he's doing!

     

  • At 10:39 AM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    Yea i agree mike. When you look at what we gave up in alston,lee and battie the trade now looks like a complete heist. I think the low turnover numbers were another reason the magic were able to keep their lead throughout and ultimately win the game. Great play from the magic PG's from start to finish.

     

  • At 12:52 PM, Blogger WeRDevos said…

    I didn't like their chances at all missing VC and Pietrus. If I was told in advance Redick had to play 45 minutes, and Anthony Johnson would play 11 minutes at Shooting Guard I would have bet on a Toronto win.

    Redick did a great job stepping up, getting his open shots. The Celtic series seems to have made him a confident and tenacious defender who deserves playing time.

    Bargnani kind of owned Anderson, but Bass and Barnes are tough guys.

    Nelson had a great game. Williams passing is amazing.

    Hope we don't have to see too much of both Howard and Gortat on the floor together. At least without VC, Lewis and Nelson out there to give the team offense. They seemed lost playing with each other.

    Superman had perfect elbow position on each free throw. He looked like a robot on an assembly line hitting his free throws. If he keeps that up he is going to win the league MVP.

    Great, entertaining game.

     

  • At 7:26 PM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    As Big Figure noted, the Magic's low number of turnovers was a big key to the win.

    A 24/9 assist/turnover ratio is very impressive!

    I didn't like the way Matt Barnes played against NJ Friday night, but he really stepped up in his starting role against the Raptors. He was really hustling defensively, as his 9 rebounds, 6 steals, and 2 blocks can attest to.

     

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