Game review: TrailBlazers (25-16) 102, Magic (26-14) 87
The absence of Portland star Brandon Roy, along several other Blazers' injuries, and the return of Vince Carter to the Magic starting lineup, did nothing to help the Magic Friday night. Portland, led by Martell Webster's 24 points, led from start to finish, leading by as many as 23 points, as the Magic fell from first place in the SE with Atlanta taking over the top spot in the division.
After the Magic tied the game 8-8 early, it was all downhill from that point on for the Magic. The Blazers led 24-14 after one and outscored the Magic 21-6 to end the half as their lead swelled to 52-32. The Magic scored 10 of the first 12 points of the third quarter to try and get back in the game, but the Blazers took back momentum and eventually led 74-51 before settling for a 77-59 lead after three. The Blazers maintained their lead throughout the fourth, leading by 21 points with under 5 minutes left and cruised to the final score.
Magic leading scorers
Jameer Nelson: 15 points (7 of 11 FGs), 3 assists
Rashard Lewis: 15 points (7 of 13 FGs, 5 rebounds
Dwight Howard: 11 points (4 of 7 FGs, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks
J.J. Redick (bench): 10 points (4 of 8 FGs)
Overall Game Statistics:
FG%: ORL 47.9% (35 of 73) POR 47.1% (41 of 87)
3 PT FG%: POR 52.4% (11 of 21) ORL 23.3% (7 of 30)
FT%: POR 90% (9 of 10) ORL 50% (10 of 20)
REB: POR 42 (8 offensive) ORLK 38 (6 offensive)
AST/TO: POR 23/9 ORL 17/12
BENCH: POR 36 ORL 33
Other game notes and stats:
-In addition to Webster's 24 points, four other Blazers scored in double figures, as Andre Miller finished with 19 points, LaMarcus Aldridge had 14 points along with 14 rebounds, and Steve Blake came off the bench to score 18 points
-Carter scored 5 points in his return to the Magic lineup on 1 of 7 FGs (1 of 6 3 PT FGs)
-The Blazers' starting frontline (Webster, Aldridge, Howard) outscored the Magic starting frontline (Barnes, Lewis, Howard) 46-34 and outrebounded them 29-23
-Even though the Magic had a better shooting percentage than the Blazers, the Blazers outscored the Magic from the floor 93-77 thanks to their superior 3 point shooting
-Jason Williams had 4 assists to lead the Magic, while Andre Miller had 9 assists to lead the Blazers
-Webster, Miller, and Blake combined for 61 Blazers' points on 23 of 40 shooting
-The Magic's Howard has scored 18 points in his last 2 games on 5 of 14 FGs
-The Magic scored 32 first half points on 13 of 36 FGs, including 2 of 17 on threes
-The Magic shot 28 of 43 on two point FGs
-Williams and Matt Barnes shot 3 of 6 from three point range; the rest of the Magic shot 4 of 24 from long range
-Brandon Bass and Anthony Johnson did not play for the Magic
Here is the complete recap and box score from nba.com
posted by Mike from Illinois @ 2:25 AM
2 Comments:
At 5:25 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
Some quotes from Brian Schmitz's post-game recap from the Orlando Sentinel:
Matt Barnes:
"It's like we are going through the motions," he said. "Just because you went to the Finals last year, you can't go out on the floor and expect teams to lay down. We got no heart. You can only make so many excuses. Everybody has to come and play hard, not just one or two guys."
Stan Van Gundy:
"We couldn't get anything going," coach Stan Van Gundy said. "For a while we hung in defensively even when we were struggling. Again, I think frustration sets in and we just lose our resolve defensively.
"We just got totally outplayed."
J.J. Redick:
"I'm shocked this team is losing. …We don't have any resolve. We hang our heads and lay down."
At 5:34 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
Portland played very well, even without all their injured players; the other guys stepped up and played with purpose, unlike the Magic.
The Magic are in a huge funk offensively, and they didn't play very well defensively, either.
Carter's return to the lineup did not help, although it was unrealistic to expect him to contribute right away after missing a week with a sprained shoulder that probably is not 100%. Howard, Nelson, and Lewis all struggled until they were finally able to get some baskets in the second half, but by then it was way too late.
The good news is the playoffs do not start next week. The Magic have the whole second half of the season to get things right. They have too much talent and they have too good a coach to continue playing this poorly.
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