Game review: Bulls (14-17) 101, Magic (24-9) 93
The Magic were unable to overcome their cold shooting and an inspired Chicago effort, and a final Magic comeback attempt in the final minutes of the fourth quarter fell short as the Magic lost the second game of a back-to-back. Only two Magic starters scored in double figures.
In a back-and-forth first quarter in which neither team led by more than 4 points, the Magic made 5 of 7 three point field goals and led 29-26 after one. The Magic extended their lead to as much as 45-37 with 5 1/2 minutes remaining in the second before they went cold from the floor and the Bulls finished the half on a 15-3 run to lead 52-48 at the half. The Bulls extended their lead to as much as 63-50 with under 8 minutes remaining in the third as the Magic could get no closer than 7 points the rest of the quarter as the Bulls went into the fourth quarter with a 84-72 lead. The Bulls extended their lead to 90-75 with just over 6 minutes remaining before the Magic desperately tried to comeback and came as close as 96-93 with 27 seconds remaining, but could get no closer as the Bulls made 5 of 6 free throws to close out the game.
Magic leading scorers
Matt Barnes: 23 points (7 of 14 FGs, 5 of 6 3 PT FG), 4 rebounds
Ryan Anderson (bench): 12 points (4 of 11 FGs), 9 rebounds, 2 blocks
J.J. Redick (bench): 11 points (3 of 6 3 PT FG)
Jameer Nelson: 10 points (5 of 13 FGs), 10 assists
Overall Game Statistics
FG%: CHI 42.5% (37 of 87) ORL 35.9% (33 of 92)
3 PT FG%: CHI 60% (3 of 5) ORL 37.8% (14 of 37)
FT: CHI 88.9% (24 of 27) ORL 65% (13 of 20)
REB: CHI 54 (16 offensive) ORL 48 (16 offensive)
AST/TO: CHI 21/12 ORL 19/ 12
BENCH: ORL 36 CHI 27
Other game notes and stats:
-Five Bulls' players finished in double figures, led by Derrick Rose with 30 points, 7 assists; John Salmons had 15 points off the bench and rookie Taj Gibson added a double/double of 10 points, 12 rebounds, along with 3 blocks
-Dwight Howard was held to 9 points, but added 12 rebounds and 2 blocks
-Howard, Lewis, and Carter combined for 24 points on 8 of 31 shooting
-Lewis, Carter, and Nelson combined to shoot 2 of 13 on threes
-The Bulls' starting backcourt (Rose, Hinrich) outscored the Magic starting backcourt (Nelson, Carter) 41-18
-Carter left the game late in the fourth quarter with an apparent twisted ankle
-In a nearly 10 minute span of late in the second quarter to early in the third quarter, the Bulls outscored the Magic 26-5
-The Magic missed their first 11 FG of the fourth quarter and did not make one until the 5:52 mark
-The Magic made 7 of 9 FGs afterward, including 4 of 4 three pointers, to cut their deficit to three
-The Bulls outscored the Magic 68-38 on two pointers
-The Magic are now the third seed in the East trailing Boston by 1/2 game and Cleveland by 2 games
Here is the complete box score and recap from nba.com
In a back-and-forth first quarter in which neither team led by more than 4 points, the Magic made 5 of 7 three point field goals and led 29-26 after one. The Magic extended their lead to as much as 45-37 with 5 1/2 minutes remaining in the second before they went cold from the floor and the Bulls finished the half on a 15-3 run to lead 52-48 at the half. The Bulls extended their lead to as much as 63-50 with under 8 minutes remaining in the third as the Magic could get no closer than 7 points the rest of the quarter as the Bulls went into the fourth quarter with a 84-72 lead. The Bulls extended their lead to 90-75 with just over 6 minutes remaining before the Magic desperately tried to comeback and came as close as 96-93 with 27 seconds remaining, but could get no closer as the Bulls made 5 of 6 free throws to close out the game.
Magic leading scorers
Matt Barnes: 23 points (7 of 14 FGs, 5 of 6 3 PT FG), 4 rebounds
Ryan Anderson (bench): 12 points (4 of 11 FGs), 9 rebounds, 2 blocks
J.J. Redick (bench): 11 points (3 of 6 3 PT FG)
Jameer Nelson: 10 points (5 of 13 FGs), 10 assists
Overall Game Statistics
FG%: CHI 42.5% (37 of 87) ORL 35.9% (33 of 92)
3 PT FG%: CHI 60% (3 of 5) ORL 37.8% (14 of 37)
FT: CHI 88.9% (24 of 27) ORL 65% (13 of 20)
REB: CHI 54 (16 offensive) ORL 48 (16 offensive)
AST/TO: CHI 21/12 ORL 19/ 12
BENCH: ORL 36 CHI 27
Other game notes and stats:
-Five Bulls' players finished in double figures, led by Derrick Rose with 30 points, 7 assists; John Salmons had 15 points off the bench and rookie Taj Gibson added a double/double of 10 points, 12 rebounds, along with 3 blocks
-Dwight Howard was held to 9 points, but added 12 rebounds and 2 blocks
-Howard, Lewis, and Carter combined for 24 points on 8 of 31 shooting
-Lewis, Carter, and Nelson combined to shoot 2 of 13 on threes
-The Bulls' starting backcourt (Rose, Hinrich) outscored the Magic starting backcourt (Nelson, Carter) 41-18
-Carter left the game late in the fourth quarter with an apparent twisted ankle
-In a nearly 10 minute span of late in the second quarter to early in the third quarter, the Bulls outscored the Magic 26-5
-The Magic missed their first 11 FG of the fourth quarter and did not make one until the 5:52 mark
-The Magic made 7 of 9 FGs afterward, including 4 of 4 three pointers, to cut their deficit to three
-The Bulls outscored the Magic 68-38 on two pointers
-The Magic are now the third seed in the East trailing Boston by 1/2 game and Cleveland by 2 games
Here is the complete box score and recap from nba.com
posted by Mike from Illinois @ 3:24 AM
4 Comments:
At 3:45 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
If you read my pre-game comments, I was very concerned about this game for the Magic, and the final result unfortunately proved me right.
The Magic have not played well this season in the second game of back-to-backs, and the trend continues. Plus, the Bulls had a day of rest and were trying to win their season-high 4th game in a row.
Only two starters for the Magic in double figures... when was the last time that happened. Vince, Rashard, and D12 each struggled to get anything going. Heck, if it wasn't for Matt Barnes outstanding play, the Magic would have lost this game by over 20 points. Nice to see Jameer get 10 assists, even though he was outplayed significantly by Derrick Rose.
I hope VC's ankle isn't hurt too badly.
Nice effort from the Magic bench also from guys like Redick and Anderson, but it wasn't enough to compensate for the poor offensive effort from 3 of the 5 starters.
At least the Magic didn't quit when they were down 15 with under 6 minutes remaining, and gave the Bulls a big scare by cutting the deficit to 3 points.
The Bulls were cold from the field through most of the fourth quarter, but the Magic made only 1 of their first 13 FGs and couldn't take advantage of the Bulls' misses until ultimately it was too late.
I'm becoming a little concerned about D12 and his inability to be more of a factor offensively, as this was his 3rd game of the last 4 games he finished in single digits scoring.
Well, there's still quite a while left to figure it all out, and I'm sure he'll be alright, and hopefully the Magic will be, too.
At 9:55 PM,
Matt said…
This Magic's inconsistency is alarming. 1) They lost to two elite East teams badly at home; 2) They are not blowing anybody out of the water, and even against below average teams they struggle to put them away early.
As it stands, our starters at PG and PF positions are the most inconsistent. Jameer does not offer a much better defense than Jason, and yet is not as good as a play-maker and shooter as he is right now. As for Rashard, his offense, as of this moment, is not at a level to compensate for his defensive and rebounding deficiencies at that position. In my view, with Magic having plenty of firepower in other positions, they will be best served to start Brendan at PF and move Rashard to SF. Magic should have never lost to a team like CHI, and it happened exactly for the two reasons that I have mentioned above.
At 12:09 AM,
usef11 said…
The magic have depth, I haven't paid any attention to them since the playoffs last year. They have alot of people that can score at will. But a man once told me,"live by the sword, die by the sword." Thats what the magic did last night with that famous 3 pointer they love to shoot. I live in Orlando and i can't help but support the magic. But i'm a bulls fan and they show more scappiness than any other team i've seen. Hopefully Carter is okay..he just got his feelings hurt thats all that happened..come on now you saw it just like me
At 4:18 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
It looks like Carter is OK, and will be ready for the next game against the Pacers on Tuesday. He knows he can play much better than he did against the Bulls.
Interesting lineup change suggested by Matt, but it won't happen because of Van Gundy's hesitancy to play both Howard and Brandon Bass at the same time.
Barnes has played very well since being put in the starting lineup at SF; the rest of the starters need to play as hard as he does.
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