Magic Rally To Beat Bucks (Again) 93-90

For the third time this season, the Orlando Magic trailed the Milwaukee Bucks for the majority of the game and for the third time this season, the Orlando Magic defeated the Bucks, this time by a score of 93-90.

Dwight Howard led the Magic with 28 points and 16 rebounds while Brandon Jennings had 22 points to lead the Bucks.

Orlando, which started the fourth quarter by scoring the first eight points and taking a five-point lead, fell behind by five with 3:46 to go. The Magic proceeded to score six straight points – a free throw by Ryan Anderson, a two-pointer by Hedo Turkoglu and a three by J.J. Redick off of nice pass by Howard. Dwight Howard hit a free throw in between two Bucks’ two-pointers, setting up Orlando’s final possession. J.J. Redick drove to the hoop, but missed a runner off of the backboard. The ball was tipped out to Jameer Nelson who hit Ryan Anderson. Anderson drilled a three with 18 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, Brandon Jennings lost the ball. Jameer Nelson made two free throws and the Bucks couldn’t score on their final possession.

Dwight Howard had some problems in the fourth quarter with turnovers (seven for the game), frustration from some iffy calls and a bad night from the field (for him), but he put together another excellent performance, finishing with 28 points. Howard was just 9-of-20 from the field, but did an excellent job at the free throw line, going 10-of-14 from the stripe. After an off-day on the defensive end Sunday, Howard was, for the most part, back on track. Larry Sanders got a couple of easy buckets, but besides that Howard looked like he normally does. He also had 16 rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block.

Jameer Nelson continues to show improve. He made a couple of huge shots down the stretch and set up a couple of great looks for his teammates, including Anderson’s game-winner. Nelson finished with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting and dished out five assists. Hedo Turkoglu was better Monday night, too. He looked for his shot early after attempting just four shots Sunday. He finished with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting.

Glen Davis deserves some props for having perhaps his best game in a Magic uniform. Davis was smart with his shots, avoided turnovers and just made good decisions. He finished with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting and grabbed six rebounds. Ryan Anderson wound up with just nine points on 3-of-7 shooting, so if you take away his game-winner, it was an extremely quiet night for Anderson offensively. However, Anderson crashed the boards, grabbing 11. Had the Magic not allowed the Bucks to dominate the offensive glass (Milwaukee had 21 offensive rebounds), they probably wouldn’t have had to stage another rally.

DeAndre Liggins saw his first career at NBA action at the 2:39 mark of the second period. With Jason Richardson’s chest pains and Quentin Richardson’s left quad contusion, Van Gundy turned to Liggins because of his ability to defend. Liggins had three points (all on free throws), two rebounds and one turnover. After the game, Van Gundy praised Liggins and talked about how highly respected is by his teammates.
Von Wafer, who lost some time to Liggins, had an off night. He took some bad shots and struggled on the defensive end. He finished with two points on 1-of-6 shooting.
Filling in for Jason Richardson, J.J. Redick surprisingly finished with four turnovers in the game. He also had 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting.
Ersan Ilyasova keeps getting it done – he had 15 points and 15 rebounds Monday night.

Next Up: The Magic will be in New Jersey to take on the Nets Wednesday.

Final Thought: The Bucks must be really sick of these fourth quarters against the Magic.

(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger, ESPN Florida’s Magic Insider (http://ESPNFlorida.com) and is the co-host of the ESPNFlorida.com Insiders Show Sunday mornings at 10:00 am EST. Subscribe to his RSS feed, add him on Facebook and follow him onTwitter to follow him daily. You can download the HTD app here)