Orlando Magic Blog – Page 38 – NBA Blog

Glen Davis scores 28 points vs Timberwolves

The Orlando Magic had to figure out how to defend down low before they could make their move.

Using a second-half rally, Glen Davis and the Magic won their third straight with a 102-93 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

”It boiled down to who was going to be the aggressor, that team was going to win,” Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. ”That was my message at halftime. It was good to see our bigs respond to that kind of physicality.”

Orlando got manhandled inside by Minnesota’s front line in the first half, but Magic big men Davis and Nikola Vucevic pushed back in the second half to help their team to its third straight victory.

Davis scored a game-high 28 points and Vucevic had his third straight double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. J.J. Redick contributed 18 points and seven assists as Orlando rallied from 15 points down in the third quarter to snap Minnesota’s four-game win streak.

Kevin Love led Minnesota with 23 points and 15 rebounds and Nikola Pekovic added 19 points and 12 rebounds, but they did most of their damage in the first half when Minnesota shot 49 percent from the field while building a 61-49 lead at the break.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Magic hand Suns 7th straight loss

A smooth rookie led the Orlando Magic to a successful end of a long road trip.

Andrew Nicholson scored nine of his career-high 19 points in the fourth quarter and the Magic pulled away to hand the Phoenix Suns their seventh loss in a row, 98-90 on Sunday night.

”I am going out there playing hard,” he said. ”They are just trusting me.”

The 6-foot-9 first-round draft pick from St. Bonaventure made 9 of 11 shots and grabbed nine rebounds, also the best of his young career…

J.J. Redick scored 17 of his 20 points in the first half for the Magic at the end of a 3-2 trip.

Shannon Brown scored 17 and Jared Dudley 15 for the Suns, who were without starting point guard Goran Dragic due to illness…

The Magic extended it to 57-48 with the first two baskets of the second half. The Suns scored the next 11 to go up 59-57 on Gortat’s turnaround 13-footer. The run eventually reached 19-4 with Brown leading the way. He scored 10 in the outburst, including a pair of 3s. The last one came over the outstretched arms of 7-foot Nikola Vucevic to put Phoenix up 67-61 with 4:16 left in the third.

— Reported by Bob Baum of the Associated Press

Magic get better of Dwight, beat Lakers in LA

The Orlando Magic caught fire in the fourth quarter to stun the Los Angeles Lakers 113-103 and get the better of former player Dwight Howard on Sunday.

In their first meeting since trading Howard to Los Angeles in the off-season, the struggling Magic surprised the Lakers by scoring 40 fourth-quarter points to snatch the road victory.

Arron Afflalo led the way with 30 points while Glen Davis added 23 and 12 rebounds to help Orlando (6-10) snap a three-game losing streak and win the battle against Howard.

“It means a lot to me,” Magic guard Jameer Nelson told reporters of the win. “We can all say it was just a basketball game, but we know (it wasn’t).”

Kobe Bryant tallied a game-high 34 points and Howard finished with 21 and 15 rebounds against his old team, but it was not enough to help the Lakers (8-9) under new coach Mike D’Antoni.

— Reported by Reuters

Howard had 21 points and 15 rebounds against his former team, but the rebuilding Magic rallied impressively with a 40-point fourth quarter for just their fourth win in 14 games, snapping a three-game skid. Orlando pulled the upset partly by intentionally fouling Howard, who went 9 for 21 at the line – including 7 for 14 in the fourth quarter.

The Magic made their decisive 12-2 run while Howard wasn’t helping the Lakers at the line in the final minutes, with Nelson and J.J. Redick hitting 3-pointers along the way…

Howard left the court after the game without shaking hands with the Magic – not that he has many close friends left in blue pinstripes anyway. Orlando has new coach Jacque Vaughn, a new front-office staff and just five players who played with Howard.

”Let Dwight be Dwight. If he wants to walk off the court, it’s cool,” said Davis, who overlapped with Howard only last season in Orlando. ”No hard feelings. He lost. I’d feel bad, too. I wouldn’t want to shake nobody’s hand. We weren’t even really thinking about him. We just wanted to get this win. I didn’t talk to him. I’m here to play basketball. I’m not here to be buddies.”

Kobe Bryant scored 34 points for the Lakers, who dropped to 3-4 under new coach Mike D’Antoni with another inconsistent performance featuring deficient defense. Metta World Peace scored 15 points and Pau Gasol added 11 for the Lakers, who went back to poor form just two nights after a 122-point effort in a blowout win over Denver.

— Reported by Greg Beacham of the Associated Press

Dwight Howard reflects on Orlando Magic

The “Dwightmare” may be over, but on the eve of his first game against his former team, Dwight Howard was in a reflective mood about what happened over those final furious six months with the Magic.

“I’ve had a chance to sit back and think about it and there are some things I could’ve done better. There are some things that could’ve been done better on both sides,” Howard said in a lengthy, wide-ranging interview after Los Angeles Lakers practice on Saturday. “But at the end of the day, we all learn some lessons and we’ve got to move forward.

“I’m happy here, I’m having a lot of fun. This is a place that I’ve always prayed that I could be a part of something very special. So I want to take advantage of it.”

Howard didn’t want to elaborate on what he or the Magic could have done differently during the excruciating process that led to his trade to the Lakers in August. Los Angeles hosts Orlando on Sunday night at the Staples Center.

“It doesn’t really matter to talk about it now. It’s over and done with,” he said. “There are a lot of things we both could’ve done, but at the end of the day, it happened just the way it was supposed to happen. There was a reason behind everything. We might not see it or understand it at the time, but there was a reason why everything happened the way it happened and I think it made both parties stronger.”

— Reported by Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles

Glen Davis says Jacque Vaughn is a more Gandhi-like coach than Doc Rivers

Now that Glen Davis is co-captain of the Orlando Magic, the former Celtic only hopes that his maturity is showing. The forward goes into tonight’s game against his old team as Orlando’s second leading scorer (14.9 ppg), but believes his overall development is a reflection of another kind of transition.

He’s moved on from under the pressure of Doc Rivers’ strong hand to the more liberal touch of Magic coach Jacque Vaughn. Listen to Davis’ description of the change, and you can’t help but believe that he’s gone from boot camp to an ashram.

“Different guys,” he said after today’s pre-game shootaround. “Doc is more of a military-minded kind of guy, and Jacque is more of a Gandhi kind of guy. Soft but powerful.

“Doc’s more ‘get the job done,’ and Jacque Vaughn is more the kind of guy who will ask you, ‘Would you feel comfortable getting the job done?’” said Davis.

— Reported by Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald

Injured Magic cheerleader in stable condition

A cheerleader and stunt team member is in stable condition after falling on her head during a performance at an Orlando Magic game.

In a statement released by the Magic on Wednesday, the family of 31-year-old Jamie Woode says she suffered three vertebrae fractures and a broken rib. But there were no signs of neurological damage and she’s expected to make a full recovery.

Woode lost her footing and fell to the floor during a routine between the first and second quarter of the Magic’s 99-89 loss to the New York Knicks on Tuesday night.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Nets finish home-and-home sweep of Magic

The Brooklyn Nets knew it wouldn’t stay this easy, even if five quarters of evidence said otherwise.

The game did get close, and unlike last Monday’s meltdown, this time the Nets handled it.

Brook Lopez scored 20 points, Kris Humphries added 14 points and 21 rebounds, and the Nets beat the Orlando Magic 82-74 on Sunday to complete a home-and-home sweep.

Deron Williams finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and a couple key plays down the stretch after what once appeared to be another blowout got tight. The Nets beat the Magic 107-68 at Orlando on Friday and jumped out to an early 20-point lead in this one.

But after losing a 22-point lead at home against Minnesota on Monday, Brooklyn almost coughed up another huge cushion, letting Orlando get within five in the final 2 minutes…

Glen Davis had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Magic, who have dropped four in a row after opening with two wins in their first season since trading Dwight Howard.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Magic exercise third-year option on center Nikola Vucevic

The Orlando Magic have exercised their third-year team option on the contract of center Nikola Vucevic, General Manager Rob Hennigan announced today. Per team policy, terms of the deal are not disclosed. Vucevic is now under contract through the 2013-14 season.

Vucevic (7’0”, 240, 10/24/90) was acquired by Orlando from Philadelphia as part of a four-team, 12-player deal on Aug. 10, 2012. He played in 51 games (15 starts) during his rookie campaign last season with the Sixers, averaging 5.5 ppg. and 4.8 rpg. in 15.9 minpg. Vucevic ranked among all NBA rookies in rebounding (t-sixth), blocked shots (t-sixth) and field goal percentage (.450, eighth). He led (or tied) the Sixers in scoring four times and in rebounding nine times. Vucevic also played in one playoff outing.

Orlando Magic waive Quentin Richardson, Justin Harper, Chris Johnson

The Orlando Magic have waived forward Justin Harper, forward Chris Johnson and guard-forward Quentin Richardson, General Manager Rob Hennigan announced today. Orlando’s roster now stands at 15 players.

Harper (6’9”, 225, 8/30/89) played in six preseason games, averaging 3.7 ppg. and 2.5 rpg. in 13.8 minpg. He was originally acquired by Orlando on June 23, 2011 from Cleveland in exchange for two future second round picks. Harper appeared in 14 games last season during his rookie campaign, averaging 1.4 ppg. in 6.0 minpg.

Johnson (6’6”, 201, 4/29/90) was signed as a free agent by Orlando on October 9. He appeared in four preseason games, averaging 1.8 ppg. in 8.5 minpg. Johnson played in 138 career games during four years at the University of Dayton, averaging 10.6 ppg., 6.1 rpg. and 1.1 apg. in 24.9 minpg.

Richardson (6’6”, 228, 4/13/80) played in three preseason outings, averaging 2.3 ppg. and 1.3 rpg. in 8.7 minpg. He was originally signed as a free agent by Orlando on July 13, 2010 and appeared in 105 regular season games with the Magic (22 starts), averaging 4.4 ppg. and 2.9 rpg. in 17.3 minpg. A 12-year veteran, Richardson has appeared in 782 career regular season games with the L.A. Clippers, Phoenix, New York, Miami and Orlando, averaging 10.3 ppg., 4.7 rpg. and 1.5 apg. in 26.5 minpg.

Orlando Magic waive Christian Eyenga and Armon Johnson

The Orlando Magic have waived guard-forward Christian Eyenga and guard Armon Johnson, General Manager Rob Hennigan announced today.

Eyenga (6’5”, 210, 6/22/89) did not play in any of Orlando’s six preseason outings. He was acquired by the Magic from the L.A. Lakers as part of a four-team, 12-player deal on Aug. 10. Johnson (6’3”, 195, 2/23/89) played in five preseason games with Orlando, averaging 3.2 ppg., 1.6 rpg. and 1.2 apg. in 13.0 minpg. He was signed as a free agent on Sep. 28.

Orlando’s roster now stands at 18 players.