Magic Grind Out Victory Over Blazers
It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t pretty but the Magic came away with a 92-83 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers Saturday night. This was an ugly game to watch. Poor shooting and turnovers were the story of the game on both sides. Each played well on the defensive end. This was expected from the Blazers as they have been one of the elite defensive team so far this season. For the Magic, it was an excellent sign because they have had many problems on defense this season, especially as of late.
The Magic, much like they did in Thursday’s night blowout loss to the Heat, came out very flat. The Magic didn’t score until Jason Williams hit a jumper with 8:03 to play in the first quarter. It was much of the same in the second quarter. Portland took a 44-39 lead into the break. The Magic made just 13 field goals and shot 34.2% in the first half. They also turned the ball over 11 times.
Orlando’s offense had no rhythm during the first two quarters, but the effort and intensity was way up, keeping the Magic within five at halftime. Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy was more than pleased with Orlando’s effort.
"“At halftime, I told our guys we weren’t playing well offensively but we’re fighting really really hard. On the offensive end, we were really forcing a lot of plays. They’re really good defensively too. You look at the numbers; they’re one of the top three or four defensive teams in the league. They’re very very long and I didn’t think we did anything to move them around.”"
The Magic played much better in the second half. Orlando’s offense woke up in the third quarter. They scored 26 points on 10-of-20 shooting and four of their nine 3-point attempts. Rashard Lewis, Matt Barnes, and J.J. Redick were the primary reasons for the turnaround. Lewis hit Redick hit a game-tying buzzer beater 3-pointer to end the quarter.
Orlando absolutely dominated the fourth quarter. The Blazers decided to play small ball and had three Point Guards in at the same time, Andre Miller, Steve Blake and Jerryd Bayless. The Magic took advantage by driving into the lane and grabbing every rebound in site. Orlando outrebounded Portland 16-5 in the final period. In the quarter, Orlando was 9-of-18 from the field and 8-of-10 from the free throw line while allowing the Blazers to make just five field goals. The biggest stretch came midway through the quarter. With the game tied at 76, Mickael Pietrus sank a 3-pointer. Orlando than got two consecutive stops and both Dwight Howard and Matt Barnes tipped in missed shots to extend Orlando’s lead to seven. After Anthony Johnson backed down Jerryd Bayless and made a jumper and Rashard Lewis found Mickael Pietrus for a layup, Orlando had an 87-76 lead and the game was over.
Dwight Howard was a monster on the glass and in the paint tonight. He kept the Blazers away from the basket after the first quarter and did an excellent job of providing help on LaMarcus Aldridge. Aldridge couldn’t get anything going and finished with just 3 points on 1-of-6 shooting. Howard finished with 12 points, 20 rebounds and 4 blocks and looked like his old, happy self in the locker room after the game. He repeatedly sang and screamed out words like “shark bite” and “legion of doom” while the media was conducting interviews. He asked J.J. Redick a question after taking a reporter’s recorder and then had a lengthy conversation with a fifth grader. This is the Dwight Howard that Magic fans are used to do and this is the fun-loving Howard that guided Orlando to the 2009 NBA Finals. Look for more about the fun-loving Howard with many of his quotes and antics from tonights postgame soon.
Vince Carter had one of the worst shooting nights of his career. Carter could not find his shot at all, going just 1-of-14 from the field. He did go 7-of-8 from the free throw line and finished the game with 9 points. Carter, as he usually when he struggles shooting, found other ways to contribute. He finished the game with seven rebounds and three assists.
The Magic were saved by their bench. They combined to score 38 points. Stan Van Gundy had high praise for his second unit.
"“J.J., I thought gave us a huge lift. And then Matt, I thought, a very professional performance to not play in the first half and then come in and play well in the second half. And I thought A.J. did a good job.”"
Redick played very well. Not only did he hit a couple of 3-pointers, but he got into the lane and hit a layup in traffic. It’s great to see Redick developing other parts of his game. Redick finished with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
Matt Barnes made an impact as soon as he entered the game in the third quarter, grabbing a couple of key rebounds and giving the Magic the lead with a layup. Barnes was very active on both ends of the court and remained in the game after going down hard. Barnes finished with 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block.
Orlando’s defense was excellent. The Blazers were just 29-of-78 from the field (37.2%) and couldn’t by a bucket in the final quarter. Orlando was torched by Brandon Roy (33 points), but absolutely shut down Portland’s second option, LaMarcus Aldridge (3 points).
The Magic dominated the glass. They had 54 rebounds and only allowed Portland to grab 35. The Magic finished the game with a rebounding percentage of 58%. Their season average is 51.4%.
The Magic shot poorly and played very sloppy on offense. They shot just 42.1% from the field and turned the ball over 19 times.
Game Notes:
- Orlando, who was being outscored by Portland in the paint at halftime, 20-10, wound up finishing the game with a 32-26 advantage in the paint.
- The Magic had four players in double figures, but their leading scorer, Rashard Lewis, finished with just 15 points. It was a team effort tonight.
- Portland had just seven total assists, which is a franchise low.
- It was probably the best mood I have seen Stan Van Gundy and the players in after a game this season.
Next up: The Magic will host the Utah Jazz on Monday night.
Final Thought: Great teams can win games when they don’t shoot the ball well.
(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger and a contributor at NFL Mocks Subscribe to his RSS feed and add him on Twitter to follow him daily.)