Orlando Magic News & Notes: Streak Snapped

The Orlando Magic had their eight-game winning streak snapped by the the Charlotte Bobcats on Sunday night in a 96-89 loss. In the loss, Dwight Howard became the second all-time leading scorer in Magic history.

Vince Carter thought Orlando’s quick turnaround was tough.

"“That’s pretty tough with the couple of hours of travel, the time change and then playing an hour earlier than normal,’’ said Carter, who scored 23 points and hit three 3-pointers. “That’s pretty tough on guys 30-plus (years old) – whoever that is.’’Apparently eight is enough when it comes to the Magic’s winning streak, one that stretched from Feb. 26 to March 14. Orlando missed out on a chance to tie the franchise record of nine consecutive wins set twice previously in 1994 and 2001. The Magic also missed out on a chance to clinch a playoff berth.Unlike much of the past three weeks, the Magic (47-21) looked like a flat team most of the night. Charlotte whipped them on the boards 46-34 and without ace defender Matt Barnes the Magic had no answer for Stephen Jackson (28 points and three 3-pointers). Charlotte (34-31) won for a sixth consecutive time"

You can read John Denton’s postgame analysis here.

Brian Schmitz says the Magic deserved this loss.

"The Magic deserved every bit of their 96-89 lackluster loss to the Charlotte Bobcats on Sunday, who won their sixth consecutive game while breaking a nine-game losing streak at Amway Arena.The only streak the Magic (47-21) kept alive was the home sell-out streak (now at 61 and counting).The Bobcats halted the Magic’s winning streak at eight — one victory shy of tying the franchise single-season record set in 1994 and 2001."

You can find that story here.

Theo Ratliff has learned a lot from Larry Brown.

"That’s how Ratliff saw the Charlotte Bobcats’ 96-89 victory over the Orlando Magic: A debt repaid to coach Larry Brown for seeing what he could be and dragging it out of him. That was with the Philadelphia 76ers, when Ratliff was struggling to evolve from a 7-foot athlete into a refined NBA center.“He’s constantly pushed me,” said Ratliff, who guarded Magic superstar Dwight Howard through most of this improbable victory. “He’s the reason I’ve stayed in the league as long as I have. He loves the challenge of bringing a team up from the bottom.”"

Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer has that story here.

Josh Cohen and Dan Savage go “Around the Amway” and take a look at the top storylines from Sunday night. You can find that here.

Rashard Lewis is trying to remain upbeat during his slump.

"“This is my 12th year in the league,” Lewis told reporters after the game. “There’s been times when I’ve got frustrated over shots and wanted to get the ball. But I wasn’t on a good team. This time, I’m a veteran. All that matters is winning. I’m on a good a team, a playoff team, a team that’s competing for a championship. Sometimes you’ve got to know how to play your role, and sometimes you’ve got to sacrifice.”"

Josh Robbins has that story here.

Vince Carter, who went through a similar slump, is finding his groove.

"“Vince was just telling me he wants to win,” Howard said. “He wants to win a championship.”That’s been the question about Carter for a decade: Just how bad does he want it? Does he want to win enough to not attend his graduation the day of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semis in 2001? (I defended his decision then; I defend it today. We kill athletes for not taking education seriously, and when one does — at least enough to fly down to North Carolina to get his diploma, then fly back to Philly in time for the game — we kill him for that decision, too. We’re hypocrites.) Is he willing to offend teammates, ruffle feathers, be an assassin in the locker room and on the court?"

David Aldridge of NBA.com has that story here.

The Elias Sports Bureau offers up a Dwight Howard statistic that Magic fans will not like (via the Daily Dime).

"Dwight Howard scored 27 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, but his 3-for-10 foul shooting might have cost the Magic a victory in their 96-89 loss to the Bobcats on Sunday. It was the sixth time this season that Howard’s missed free throws accounted for the margin of defeat for Orlando. That ties breaks a tie with Brook Lopez for the league lead in this category-without-a-name."

You can read the Daily Dime 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).