Game review: Nuggets (25-14) 115, Magic (26-13) 97
The Magic played well for a half, taking a 3 point halftime lead over Denver, before running out of gas in the second game of back-to-backs and in the high altitude of Denver as the Nuggets, led by Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups, jumped on the Magic quickly in the second half and didn't let up.
The Magic led for most of the first quarter, and led by as many as 6 points before settling for a tie at 25 after one. The Magic led again for a majority of the second quarter and went into halftime with a 53-50 lead. The Nuggets scored the first 12 points of the third quarter, and never trailed after that. The closest the Magic would get was 72-63 before the Nuggets went ahead by as many as 16 points before settling for a 85-72 lead after three quarters. The Nuggets went ahead by 20 points with just over 9 minutes remaining in the fourth, and had their largest lead of 108-80 with under 5 minutes remaining. The Magic made 4 three pointers in the final minutes to cut their final deficit to 18 points.
Magic leading scorers
Matt Barnes: 28 points (11 of 18 FGs, 3 of 5 3 PT FGs), 9 rebounds, 3 steals
J.J. Redick: 13 points (2 of 9 FGs)
Mickael Pietrus (bench): 12 points (5 of 10 FGs), 2 steals
Overall Game Statistics
FG%: DEN 55.6% (43 of 77) ORL 43.6% (34 of 78)
3 PT FG%: DEN 47.6% (10 of 21) ORL 38.7% (12 of 31)
FT%: ORL 73.9% (17 of 23) DEN 73.1% (19 of 26)
REB: ORL 36 (10 offensive) DEN 36 (4 offensive)
AST/TO: DEN 28/14 ORL 20/19
BENCH: ORL 34 DEN 26
Other game notes and stats:
-The Nuggets had 6 players in double figures, led by Carmelo Anthony with 27 points and Chauncey Billups with 24 points; Kenyon Martin had a double/double of 11 points, 10 rebounds
-The Nuggets outscored the Magic 58-27 in the second half until under 5 minutes remained in the game
-The Nuggets' starters outscored the Magic starters 89-63
-Anthony Carter led the Nuggets with 6 assists in 20 minutes
-Magic C Dwight Howard was held to 8 points on 1 of 7 shooting along with 5 turnovers, but grabbed 13 rebounds and had 3 blocks
-Jameer Nelson scored 8 points, all in the first 5 1/2 minutes of the game
-Howard, Nelson, and Rashard Lewis combined to score 22 points on 7 of 23 shooting
-Vince Carter remains day-to-day with his sprained shoulder
-Jason Williams led the Magic with 4 assists, but had 5 turnovers
-Only Adonal Foyle did not see any action for the Magic
-The Magic's lead in the SE over Atlanta is down to 1/2 game
Here is the complete recap and box score from nba.com
posted by Mike from Illinois @ 1:44 AM
1 Comments:
At 2:02 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
The Magic, on the second night of a back-to-back in the high altitude of Denver, without their leading scorer, were able to play well for a half against one of the league's better teams before running out of gas in the second half where the Nuggets took over and dominated.
Denver's soundly beaten a lot of teams at home this season, and obviously deserved to win this game.
One positive was Matt Barnes' performance. He's really taken well as the starting SF.
I thought Jameer would have a really good game, as he started out so well, but he didn't score after the first 6 minutes of the game; I hope the soreness in his knee isn't bothering him too much. The Magic may have to think about sitting him for at least a few games if his knee soreness doesn't improve; it's going to be hard for Jameer to return to his All-Star form of last season if this thing with his knee doesn't clear up.
D12 just didn't have it offensively, going 1 for 7; neither did Rashard, who's inconsistency lately has been troubling.
The Magic should play a lot better Friday night in Portland with a day of rest, hopefully. This road trip can still be a success.
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