Game review: Pistons (2-2) 85, Magic (3-1) 80
Detroit came into the game missing two of their best players, Richard Hamilton (ankle) and Tayshaun Prince (back), which broke Prince's string of 496 straight games played. Vince Carter returned to the starting lineup for the Magic, while Mickael Pietrus (flu-like symptoms) remained out.
The Pistons kept their hex on the Magic, using an aggressive brand of offense while the Magic settled for mainly outside shots and three pointers, and missed the majority of those. Dwight Howard also had foul problems and shoulder problems that limited him to just 17 minutes in the Magic's first loss of the season, as the Magic failed to start 4-0 for the first time in franchise history.
The Magic started out slow, falling behind 15-6, before trailing at the end of one 19-14. The Magic came to life somewhat in the second quarter, outscoring the Pistons by eight to lead at the half 41-38. The Magic had their largest leads of the game at 47-41 and 55-49 in the third quarter, before the Pistons tied the game at 60 going into the fourth quarter. The Pistons led 71-64 three minutes into the fourth quarter before the Magic went on a 13-4 run for their final lead at 77-75 before the Pistons scored 10 straight points to put the game away before a consolation three by the Magic at the buzzer for the 85-80 final.
Magic leading scorers
Vince Carter: 15 points (6 of 16 FGs)
J.J. Redick: 14 points (4 of 12 FGs)
Matt Barnes: 11 points (5 of 9 FGs), 7 rebounds
Overall Game statistics
FG%: DET 37.5% (27 of 72) ORL 36.7% (29 of 79)
3 PT FG%: ORL 28.6% (10 of 35) DET 0% (0 of 6)
FT%: DET 81.6% (31 of 38) ORL 75% (12 of 16)
REB: DET 44 (9 offensive) ORL 42 (10 offensive)
AST/TO: ORL 18/15 DET 8/10
BENCH: ORL 29 DET 28
Other game notes and stats:
-Three Pistons scored 20 or more points: free agent signee Ben Gordon 23 points; Rodney Stuckey 20 points; and Will Bynum off the bench with 20 points
-Dwight Howard, with a double double in the first three games, did not even get a single double this game, finishing with 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 blocks before fouling out in 17 minutes
-Neither did Jameer Nelson, as he finished with 7 points, 6 assists, and 5 turnovers in 33 minutes
-Ryan Anderson finished 2 of 14 from the field and 1 for 11 from long range
-Backup center Marcin Gortat also fouled out, finishing with 4 points and 7 rebounds in 23 minutes
-Anderson, Nelson, and Redick shot a combined 9 of 37 from the field, while combining for 28 points; the trio had combined for 77 points Sunday against the Raptors
-Anderson, Carter, and Nelson shot a combined 5 of 24 on three pointers
-Magic outscored the Pistons 68-54 from the field, but were outscored 31-12 from the free throw line
-Magic were called for 30 fouls compared to 17 for the Pistons
-Pistons' starters Jonas Jerebko, Charlie Villanueva, and Rodney Stuckey combined to shoot 10 for 36 from the field
-Ben Wallace led the Pistons with 10 rebounds
-Jason Williams had 5 assists off the bench for the Magic
Here is the complete box score and recap from nba.com
The Pistons kept their hex on the Magic, using an aggressive brand of offense while the Magic settled for mainly outside shots and three pointers, and missed the majority of those. Dwight Howard also had foul problems and shoulder problems that limited him to just 17 minutes in the Magic's first loss of the season, as the Magic failed to start 4-0 for the first time in franchise history.
The Magic started out slow, falling behind 15-6, before trailing at the end of one 19-14. The Magic came to life somewhat in the second quarter, outscoring the Pistons by eight to lead at the half 41-38. The Magic had their largest leads of the game at 47-41 and 55-49 in the third quarter, before the Pistons tied the game at 60 going into the fourth quarter. The Pistons led 71-64 three minutes into the fourth quarter before the Magic went on a 13-4 run for their final lead at 77-75 before the Pistons scored 10 straight points to put the game away before a consolation three by the Magic at the buzzer for the 85-80 final.
Magic leading scorers
Vince Carter: 15 points (6 of 16 FGs)
J.J. Redick: 14 points (4 of 12 FGs)
Matt Barnes: 11 points (5 of 9 FGs), 7 rebounds
Overall Game statistics
FG%: DET 37.5% (27 of 72) ORL 36.7% (29 of 79)
3 PT FG%: ORL 28.6% (10 of 35) DET 0% (0 of 6)
FT%: DET 81.6% (31 of 38) ORL 75% (12 of 16)
REB: DET 44 (9 offensive) ORL 42 (10 offensive)
AST/TO: ORL 18/15 DET 8/10
BENCH: ORL 29 DET 28
Other game notes and stats:
-Three Pistons scored 20 or more points: free agent signee Ben Gordon 23 points; Rodney Stuckey 20 points; and Will Bynum off the bench with 20 points
-Dwight Howard, with a double double in the first three games, did not even get a single double this game, finishing with 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 blocks before fouling out in 17 minutes
-Neither did Jameer Nelson, as he finished with 7 points, 6 assists, and 5 turnovers in 33 minutes
-Ryan Anderson finished 2 of 14 from the field and 1 for 11 from long range
-Backup center Marcin Gortat also fouled out, finishing with 4 points and 7 rebounds in 23 minutes
-Anderson, Nelson, and Redick shot a combined 9 of 37 from the field, while combining for 28 points; the trio had combined for 77 points Sunday against the Raptors
-Anderson, Carter, and Nelson shot a combined 5 of 24 on three pointers
-Magic outscored the Pistons 68-54 from the field, but were outscored 31-12 from the free throw line
-Magic were called for 30 fouls compared to 17 for the Pistons
-Pistons' starters Jonas Jerebko, Charlie Villanueva, and Rodney Stuckey combined to shoot 10 for 36 from the field
-Ben Wallace led the Pistons with 10 rebounds
-Jason Williams had 5 assists off the bench for the Magic
Here is the complete box score and recap from nba.com
posted by Mike from Illinois @ 11:50 PM
8 Comments:
At 4:01 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
I know we all realized that the Magic would not finish 82-0, or shoot 50% on their three pointers every game. When the threes aren't falling, like they weren't against the Pistons, they need to find other ways to get the ball in the hoop; they didn't do that at all.
I know a lot of Magic fans are pretty ticked off at the officiating because of the disparity of fouls called and free throws attempted in favor of the Pistons, but how the heck do you expect the Magic to get to the free throw line when all they're doing is putting up 3 point misses after 3 point misses and other ill-advised outside shots.
The Pistons were rewarded for their aggressive play with numerous trips to the free throw line which was the difference in the game.
This is early in the season; it's only one loss; it's a long season. As long as the Magic can learn from this loss, they'll be alright.
Every NBA team has a couple of stinkers like this over the course of a season.
At 9:58 AM,
Anonymous said…
mane i think they need to get another pg because as long as we have jameer we will never win the finals
At 3:16 PM,
Mike from Illinois said…
Jameer Nelson is an All-Star point guard. It makes no sense to want to trade him because of a bad game.
Nelson had a bad game last night, no question, but so did every other Magic starter.
At 5:58 PM,
Anonymous said…
How are we supposed to drive it when the refs let Detroit hack everyone who tries? And how are we supposed to play defense when the refs call every single flop? And seriously, BOTH our centers foul out against the Pistons' scrubs? WTF? This loss is on the officials. Plain and simple.
At 6:32 PM,
Mike from Illinois said…
Sorry, I disagree with you completely.
The Magic weren't even trying to attack the hoop, as evidenced by their 35 three point attempts; how can a team get to the free throw line when all they're doing is putting up three pointers.
J.J. Redick did make one smart play; when he was putting up a three, he drew contact from the defender and got three free throws out of it.
The Pistons were attacking the hoop, going at Howard when he was in there, and their aggressiveness was rewarded with 38 free throw attempts.
Instead of blaming the officials, look at the Magic and ask why didn't they try other ways to make a basket, instead of shooting (and missing) so many threes.
At 6:32 PM,
Mike from Illinois said…
Foolish turnovers by the Magic didn't help any, either.
At 10:32 PM,
Ken said…
I can understand Dwight fouling out. He gets hacked, then retaliates, and they call the foul on him. They flop, then he gets the foul. Dwight and the Magic in my opinion have never gotten much respect from the refs.. But Gortat fouling out also?? What are the chances of that happening again this season? I'd be willing to bet we never see that again.. Until Dwight can add a move or two to his game, I think he is going to continue having issues. Other teams have learned how to get under his skin and draw technicals on him.
The Magic did toss up an awful lot of 3's during that game. They weren't falling for them and they never adjusted their game. They just kept launching. Everyone on the Magic looked like they were a step slow. This was exactly the kind of game you would expect them to lose. Half the starters missing is when those teams are usually at their best and will steal one..
At 1:52 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
Ken, you brought up a few really good points in your post.
You're absolutely right that other teams have learned how to get under Dwight Howard's skin and draw technicals on him. He's got to learn not to take the bait, otherwise we'll be taking about a 1 game suspension for him later in the season for too many techs, and the refs will continue not to give him the benefit of the doubt on foul calls.
I'm glad you acknowledged that the Magic played poorly against the Pistons, rather than solely blaming the refs for the loss. Like you said, a lot of things came into place that made the Magic ripe for the Pistons' upset.
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