The AP reports: For once, Chris Bosh had a bad game against the Orlando Magic. Dwight Howard had 29 points and 14 rebounds, Jameer Nelson added 18 points and 10 assists, and the Magic never trailed in a 113-90 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. Mickael Pietrus scored 22 points and Rashard Lewis had 15 for the Magic, who led by as many as 25 and have won three straight following back-to-back losses to Boston and Miami… Nelson had eight rebounds, falling just shy of the first triple-double of his career… Jose Calderon scored 16 points for Toronto, reserve Joey Graham had 14 and Andrea Bargnani had 12.
Category: Orlando Magic Blog
Magic blog – Orlando Magic basketball blog
Teammates call Mo Williams an All-Star
Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Mo Williams is having a great season, but wasn’t named an NBA All-Star reserve.
Shooting 46.7% from the field, Williams is averaging 17.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game.
Orlando Magic point guard Jameer Nelson, who did make the All-Star team, is shooting better than Mo Williams, getting more steals and dishing more assists.
Still, it’s somewhat close. And Mo’s teammates are outraged. The Cleveland Plain Dealer (Mary Schmitt Boyer) reports:
“It’s a tragedy,” Ben Wallace said. “I think it’s an injustice. It’s a fraud. We’ve got the best record in the league, and we’ve only got one guy going. You always make it the next year, after the year you were supposed to make it. It’s a travesty and a sham and a mockery. It’s a shamockery.” Said LeBron James: “It just shows the disrespect that basketball in Cleveland continues to get. I haven’t seen the All-Star list yet, so I can’t comment on who’s in it. But it’s definitely disrespectful that we continue to do work every year with nothing to show for it. They always say when you win, individual accolades will take care of itself. But sometimes it doesn’t happen.
I like that. A sham, and a mockery. A shamockery. I’m going to go outside now and start yelling those words at random strangers on the street here in NYC, while waving my arms around wildly. But not tell them what I’m actually outraged about. This has nothing to do with Mo or Jameer. It just sounds fun.
Magic beat Cavs 99-88
The AP reports: The Orlando Magic are looking more and more like a contender in the Eastern Conference. Dwight Howard had 22 points and 18 rebounds, Hedo Turkoglu added 19 points and 11 rebounds, and the Magic took advantage of LeBron James’ shooting struggles to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-88 on Thursday night… Orlando finished 11-of-31 from 3-point range—most of them open shots because Cleveland double- and triple-teamed Howard down low… Mo Williams, trying to prove he belonged in the All-Star game over Nelson, was 4-of-15 shooting and finished with 12 points. Wally Szczerbiak scored 14 points in his first 7 minutes on the floor, but he didn’t get another bucket the rest of the way.
Pietrus returns, leads Magic to 135-111 win over Pacers
The AP reports: Mickael Pietrus came back from his broken wrist as good as new. He had 27 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Orlando Magic to a 135-111 victory Tuesday night over the Indiana Pacers. Pietrus, who missed the previous 12 games with a broken right wrist, came off the bench to lead a well-balanced Magic attack. Seven players reached double figures scoring, including Rashard Lewis with 24 points and Dwight Howard with 22… T.J Ford, had 23 points for the Pacers and Granger, who came into the game averaging 26.1 points, had only 10.
Heat end slide against Magic, 103-97
The AP reports: Mario Chalmers stripped the ball from Nelson with 8 seconds remaining, ensuring that the Miami Heat—after 10 straight losses to their Sunshine State rivals— would beat the Magic 103-97 on Saturday night. The Heat wasted every bit of the 15-point lead they carried into the final period, yet still found a way to beat Orlando for the first time since Feb. 15, 2006… Dwyane Wade scored 27 points, Chalmers added 20 and Udonis Haslem added 12 points—including two huge baskets down the stretch—for Miami, which finished with four turnovers, an all-time franchise low, to deal Orlando its second straight loss… Dwight Howard had 22 points and 10 rebounds for Orlando before getting ejected with 1.1 seconds remaining. Rashard Lewis scored 21, Hedo Turkoglu scored 18 and Nelson added 16 for the Magic, including the 3-pointer that tied it with a shade under 3 minutes remaining.
Celtics win 7th straight, top Magic 90-80
The AP reports: Paul Pierce had 27 points and 10 rebounds, Glen Davis added a season-high 16 points and Boston disrupted everything Orlando wanted offensively, holding the Magic to a season-low in points. Kevin Garnett scored 16 points to help the Celtics (36-9) extend their winning streak to seven games… Dwight Howard, who on Thursday became the first player in league history to receive 3 million votes in a season for the All-Star game, was held to a relatively ordinary 11 points and 11 rebounds. He fouled out with 2:30 left, and Orlando’s run of seven straight wins was snapped… Hedo Turkoglu scored 22 points, Rashard Lewis finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Jameer Nelson had 17 points for Orlando, whose previous low scoring total this season was 82.
InsideHoops.com notes: The Celtics hit 46.7% of their shots, the Magic just 38.2%. The difference in three-pointers made and attempted was amazing: Celtics 0-of-6, Magic 7-of-22. Rebounds, assists and other stats were pretty close.
Official 2009 All-Star starters
Here are the official starters for the 2009 NBA All-Star game:
East: Dwyane Wade, Allen Iverson, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard
West: Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Amare Stoudemire, Tim Duncan, Yao Ming.
Read basketball fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.
Turkoglu scores 31 points in Magic’s win over Nuggets
The AP reports: The Orlando Magic believe in themselves. After a dominant road trip, the rest of the NBA is believing in them, too. Hedo Turkoglu scored 31 points, Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis had 23 each and the Orlando Magic completed a perfect four-game West Coast trip with a 106-88 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night… Dwight Howard had 14 points and 20 rebounds to help the Magic win their seventh straight and ninth in 10 games. It was Howard’s second straight 20-rebound game… Linas Kleiza, who had a season-high 26 points, led the Nuggets with seven points in the third.
Nelson, Howard lead Magic past Lakers
The AP reports: With Dwight Howard a power in the middle, Jameer Nelson and his backcourt mates sharpshooting from outside, the Magic showed their multiple talents with a 109-103 victory over Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night. Howard had 25 points and 20 rebounds, and Nelson scored 15 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter to help Orlando win its sixth in a row. Bryant had 28 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists for Los Angeles, but missed two jumpers in the waning moments… All the Orlando starters scored in double figures, with Rashard Lewis getting 15, Hedo Turkoglu 13 and Courtney Lee 12. Lamar Odom had 17 points for Los Angeles, and Vladimir Radmanovic had 15, all coming on his 5-of-8 shooting treys. Andrew Bynum had 14 points and three rebounds, but scored just two points after halftime and again was outplayed by Howard, who also blocked three shots.
Magic make NBA-record 23 3s in rout of Kings
The AP reports: Seldom-used Jeremy Richardson’s lone basket proved the most memorable Tuesday night, a 3-pointer with 2:20 left in the fourth quarter that gave the Magic an NBA-record 23 3s in a 139-107 victory over the Sacramento Kings. The Magic made 23 of 37 attempts (62 percent) in breaking the old mark of 21, set by Toronto on March 13, 2005, against Philadelphia. Orlando rang up its highest point total since scoring 152 at Milwaukee on Feb. 20, 1995… Jameer Nelson made all five 3-point attempts and had 23 points and 11 assists, Rashard Lewis scored 19 points, Hedo Turkoglu contributed 17 points and eight assists, and J.J. Redick added 15 points… Kevin Martin scored 30 points for the Kings, who allowed a season-high point total. Francisco Garcia scored 15 points, Spencer Hawes had 14 and Bobby Jackson added 13.