The Orlando Magic extended their winning streak to three games when they defeated the Golden State Warriors 117-90 on Wednesday night.
Brandon Bass, not Ryan Anderson, was again called on to replace Rashard Lewis. Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy explained the decision here.
Van Gundy was unusually happy after the win. Matt Humphrey has video here.
Vince Carter is playing much better.
"Carter has shot the ball exceptionally well since suffering through a dismal game in Friday’s loss in New Orleans. He made seven of 11 shots on Wednesday for 15 points. He had a spectacular spinning move across the lane and the nifty left-handed bank shot as he was fouled by Golden State’s Stephen Curry.In his last three games, Carter has made 21 of 34 shots and has seemed more willing to drive to the hoop and keep the pressure on the defense. He said Wednesday’s game was more about the Magic working on improving than it was Orlando facing an inferior team.“I think it’s important, regardless of the team we’re playing, to work to improve,’’ Carter said. “I think if you do the work and establish a lead, you still have to have the mentality to put a team away no matter what quarter it is. This wasn’t a cupcake game.’’"
Read John Denton’s postgame analysis here.
Brian Schmitz called Dwight Howard the “one man fast break.”
"The highlight of an otherwise uneventful night was “The One Man Fastbreak,” started not with a pass, but a block.Dwight Howard blocked a shot so hard off the backboard late in the first quarter that the ball ricocheted to J.J. Redick, who was a few steps from the half-court line. Redick drove in for a layup on the other end.“Used to do that all the time in high school,” Howard said. “They used to give me an assist for it.”"
You can read that story here.
Golden State of Mind recaps the game here.
Warriors Point Guard C.J. Watson was almost dealt to Orlando last summer.
"The Warriors declined the Magic’s offer for the 25-year-old Watson, who was a restricted free agent at the time.Watson eventually accepted Golden State’s $1 million qualifying offer for the 2009-10 season instead of a more lucrative multi-year deal with the Warriors. That decision will enable Watson to become a restricted free agent again once this season ends.“I just let it end up in God’s hands,” Watson said. “I’m here with the Warriors, so there’s really no reason to talk about last summer or anything like that.”Watson finished with 18 points, three assists and a game-high four steals."
You can find that and other Magic notes here.
Kelly Dwyer goes behind the box score.
"The Warriors competed. They came back a few times to put the deficit into single digits, and you never got the feeling that this team was lazing about. But the Magic’s talent made sure that Orlando bullied this thin, wispy little thing from Northern California around. The eight-deep/D-League-heavy Warriors didn’t have a chance. And kudos to the Magic for, in Stan Van Gundy’s words, making the outcome turn out “as it should.”Dwight Howard(notes) had 28 points, 12 rebounds, no fouls, two assists, three turnovers, two steals and two blocks. He was upset at a few non-calls early, but kept his wits about him. Vince Carter(notes) tossed in a few nifty left-handed finishes, Jameer Nelson(notes) missed some chippies and needed 14 shots to score 13 points, but this was a rout.Just under 23 a game and four steals a contest for C.J. Watson(notes) over his last three times out."
You can read that here.
The Magic take on the New Jersey Nets on Friday night and Dwight Howard might have found the formula to stop Nets Center Brook Lopez.
"“He’s one of the bigs who can really shoot the ball,” Howard said Thursday afternoon. “He’s a big body. The thing with him is you have to move him, run him, beat him up and down the floor and be aggressive. By doing all that stuff on the offensive end and pressuring him on the defensive end usually he gets tired a little bit faster than a lot of people. So, you take advantage of that.”Howard has averaged 23.0 points and 17.0 rebounds in two games against the Nets so far this season. Lopez, on the other hand, has averaged just 7.5 points and 5.0 rebounds against the Magic."
Josh Robbins has that story here.
(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger and a contributor at NFL Mocks Subscribe to his RSS feed, add him on Twitter to follow him daily and you can get the HTD app here).