For the third time in three games, the Magic had to grind out a victory. This time, their victim was the Houston Rockets. The Magic locked down the Rockets in the second half and hit some big shots down the stretch to improve to 22-7. The Rockets fell to 17-12. Dwight Howard led the way with 13 points, 20 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Carl Landry led all scorers with 20 points.
This game wasn’t an exact replica of Orlando’s previous two wins. Unlike in those games, the Magic got off to a quick start, shooting 56.5% in the first quarter and ending the quarter with a 34-22 lead. The Magic attacked the undersized Rockets right away. Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis both drove to the basket early. Howard dominated early, scoring 8 points, grabbing 8 rebounds and blocking 2 shots.
In the second quarter, the Magic were a little lax on defense and let Houston score 30 second quarter points. The Rockets were able to get to the free throw line and get some open looks. The Magic led by just 3, 55-52 at halftime.
The Magic took over in the third quarter. They turned up the pressure on defense and absolutely dominated, allowing Houston to make just four field goals (on 20 attempts) and holding them to just 13 points. Houston went from the 8:23 mark to the 2:04 mark without scoring. During the time, Orlando turned a 61-60 lead into a 76-60 lead. Orlando ended the third quarter with a 13-point lead. In the final quarter, the Magic hit got some good looks and hit big shots to close out the game. Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy was pleased.
"“I thought we finished the game out very well.”"
Once again, Dwight Howard was an absolute monster. He dominated defensively. Aaron Brooks, who is mostly a jump-shooter, usually does a good job of getting penetration, rarely even attempted to get to the basket. Carl Landry was excellent in the game, scoring 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting, but was shut down when Van Gundy put Howard back on him.
"“He’s making it awfully difficult around the basket for people. When Landry was on a good roll, they went to him once, he shut that down.”"
Howard finished the game with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting (3-of-4 from the free throw line), 20 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. Van Gundy praised Howard.
"“Dwight was phenomenal again.”"
Vince Carter’s shooting woes continued. He was just 5-of-15 in the game, but showed some signs of life late in the game. Carter hit a 3-pointer to extend Orlando’s lead to 16 with 1:45 remaining and threw his arms up in the air as if to say, “Finally.”
Carter got the job done in other ways but trying to get to the free throw line, grabbing 5 rebounds and dishing out 4 assists. Van Gundy isn’t worried yet – he thinks that a shooter as good as Carter will break out of his slump.
"“He’s not making shots that he normally makes, but he did make a big one with the shot clock running down, had a big assist late in the game and got to the free throw in.”"
Van Gundy is also pleased with the way Carter is closing out games.
"“For the second straight game, he’s finished the game very very well for us with the ball in his hands making plays. That’s a big part of his role, as a finisher.”"
Rashard Lewis did not have problems shooting the ball. Lewis got off to a bit off a slow start after his suspension, which was to be expected. Lately, he is shooting the ball like the Rashard Lewis of the 2009 postseason. He was 4-of-7 from beyond the arc Wednesday night.
Jameer Nelson had a pretty solid game. He played 29 minutes and went 6-of-11 from the field. He finished with 15 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds. Nelson was his usual self after the game, joking with Brandon Bass and telling the media not to forget about his 4 rebounds when they talk about how the Magic dominated the boards Wednesday night.
The bench was good once again, scoring 35 points. Ryan Anderson was excellent. He had 14 points and collected 9 rebounds, 2 offensive. One of those boards was a put-back dunk that I don’t think anyone in Amway (or watching at home) saw coming. Marcin Gortat also did a nice job, grabbing 4 rebounds and blocking 3 shots against the smaller Rockets in limited minutes.
The Rockets couldn’t get anything going around the basket, especially in the second half. Orlando’s defense was excellent for the third straight game. Houston shot an effective field goal percentage of just 42.6%.
The Magic really dominated the glass tonight, outrebounding the Rockets 49-37. Houston’s four “big” men (Luis Scola, Chuck Hayes, David Anderson, & Carl Landry) combined to grab just 15 rebounds while Howard had 20 by himself.
Orlando is still having big problems with turnovers. The Rockets scored 16 points off of 16 Orlando turnovers. Van Gundy discussed the turnover situation.
"“At times, we play too fast. We’re not letting plays develop. We’re in a little bit of a hurry to do too much.”"
Van Gundy stresses that his guards take care of the ball.
"“At the end of the day, it’s an individual responsibility to play more solid and take care of the ball. Our starting guards can’t have four turnovers.”"
Game Notes:
- Trevor Ariza is an excellent third or fourth option on offense, but he can’t carry the load. He shot just 1-of-10 from the field and came into the game shooting just 38.8%.
- Houston surprisingly attempted two more free throws than the Magic. The Rockets were 17-of-19 from the stripe while the Magic were 13-of-17.
- Brandon Bass and Anthony Johnson received DNPs.
- Former UCF Guard Jermaine Taylor got a nice (and well-deserved) ovation when he scored his lone bucket.
- Orlando had 16 second chance points to Houston’s 6.
- Former Magic star Tracy McGrady played just 7:30 and did not make a second half appearance. He finished with 2 points on 1-of-4 shooting.
Next Up: The Magic will host a Christmas Day matchup for the second straight year. This season’s opponent is the Boston Celtics, who will be without star wing Paul Pierce.
Final Thought: The Magic grinded out another win, but the offense will have to be better against the league’s best defensive team, the Boston Celtics.
(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.)