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.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Game review: Jazz (13-9) 120, Magic (17-5) 111

The Magic appeared to be well on their way to another impressive victory as they led Utah 51-33 with just over 7 minutes remaining in the second quarter. Suddenly, the game turned as the Jazz cut the Magic lead to 8 points at the half and dominated the second half, as the Jazz outscored the Magic 68-51. Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, and C.J. Miles led the Jazz charge in what may have been the worst defensive performance by the Magic since Stan Van Gundy has been their coach.

The Magic took control of the game early, as Ryan Anderson scored 11 points in the first quarter as Rashard Lewis was on the bench with 2 quick fouls as the Magic led 35-22 after one. The Magic continued their hot shooting for a while in the second before the Jazz came back and cut ther Magic lead to 60-52 at the half. The Jazz totally dominated the second half, as the Magic's last lead of the game came at the 8:18 mark of the third quarter 63-62. The Magic were able to get within 2 points at 80-78 late in the quarter, but the Jazz extended their lead to 90-81 after three. The Magic were able to get within 92-86 early in the fourth before the Jazz put the game away with a 13-3 run and cruised to the final.

Magic leading scorers

Vince Carter: 34 points (9 of 23 FGs), 6 rebounds
Dwight Howard: 18 points (6 of 11 FGs), 10 rebounds, 2 blocks
Matt Barnes (bench): 17 points (7 of 10 FGs), 5 rebounds
Ryan Anderson (bench): 16 points (5 of 9 FGs), 5 rebounds
Rashard Lewis: 10 points (3 of 8 FGs), 3 steals
J.J. Redick (bench): 10 points (3 of 6 FGs)

Overall Game Statistics

FG%: UT 50% (42 of 84) ORL 46.1% (35 of 76)
3 PT FG%: ORL 40% (14 of 35) UT 27.3% (6 of 22)
FT%: ORL 84.4% (27 of 32) UT 65.2% (30 of 46)
REB: UT 46 (13 offensive) ORL 40 (5 offensive)
AST/TO: UT 28/6 ORL 18/13
BENCH: ORL 47 UT 36

Other game notes and stats:

-The Jazz had 6 players in double figures, led by Deron Williams with 32 points, 15 assists, and just 1 turnover
-The Jazz's Carlos Boozer also had a double-double of 20 points, 14 rebounds, as did Mehmet Okur with 14 points, 11 rebounds, while C.J. Miles added 22 points off the bench
-The Magic were held to 14 of 35 shooting from the field in the second half
-The Jazz outscored the Magic on two point FGs 72-42
-The Jazz shot 36 of 62 on two pointers, while the Magic shot 21 of 41 on twos
-Lewis, Mickael Pietrus, and Jason Williams combined to score 12 points on 4 of 15 shooting
-The Magic bench combined to shoot 16 of 27 from the field, while the starters shot a combined 19 of 49
-Only three Magic players (Howard, Carter, and Williams) played more than 30 minutes
-Carter's 34 points were a season high for any Magic player
-Miles and Paul Millsap scored all 36 points off the Jazz bench
-The Magic now trail Boston by 1 game for the top spot in the East

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

1 Comments:

  • At 5:22 AM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    The Magic obviously couldn't keep focused on their defense, and the Jazz just shredded them in the second half, scoring 68 points, and dominated the paint.

    I'm not going to panic, though. This Jazz team is a tough team, especially at home, and they were determined to make up for their awful performance the previous night against the Lakers. The Magic, after a great start out to a 18 point lead, simply disappeared after that, and couldn't match the Jazz's intensity on both offense and defense.

    Vince Carter was the only Magic starter who played decent; even though he took 23 shots, he made 5 threes and did a nice job drawing fouls, going to the free throw line 12 times.

    Jason Williams had a rare bad game, Pietrus was no factor after sustaining a cut on his face in the first quarter, Lewis couldn't get into any rhythm at all after sitting much of the first half, and Howard was not a factor at all after a good first quarter.

    Magic need to bounce back against the Suns Friday night, similar to how they bounced back last month after a disappointing loss to Miami followed by a big win the next night at Atlanta against a tough Hawks' team.

     

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