The AP reports: Paul Pierce scored 17 of his 24 points in the third quarter to lead the Boston Celtics to their ninth straight win, 107-88 over the Orlando Magic on Monday night… Ray Allen added 21 points, Rondo had 16 points with 12 assists and Kevin Garnett scored 15 points for the Celtics (17-2) in a win over a top Eastern Conference rival… Rashard Lewis paced Orlando (13-5) with 30 points. Turkoglu had 19 and Dwight Howard, the NBA’s leading rebounder, had 14 points with 15 boards and four blocked shots… The Magic were without their starting backcourt for the second consecutive game.
Category: Orlando Magic Blog
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Nov 29: Magic 110, Pacers 96
The AP reports: Dwight Howard had a season-high 32 points and 21 rebounds and added four blocks against the Pacers, who tried everything but shackles against the Magic center. It was his first 20-rebound performance this season and fourth time in his career that he had 30-plus points and 20-plus rebounds… Rashard Lewis finished 24 points, Turkoglu 22 and Johnson a season-high 16 for the Magic, who had a 14-point lead in the middle of the second quarter and were never seriously challenged in the second half… Danny Granger and Marquis Daniels tried to help the Pacers keep up with the Magic, but the Pacers could never get enough defensive stops to overcome the a 14-point second quarter and 22-point third quarter deficits. Granger finished with 27 points, Daniels had 21, Troy Murphy added 13 and Roy Hibbert had 10.
Nov 27: Magic 105, Wizards 90
The AP reports: The Washington Wizards were helpless against Dwight Howard. The NBA’s leading rebounder, Howard had 26 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks to help the Orlando Magic beat the Wizards 105-90 on Thursday night. Orlando has won eight of its last nine games and six in a row on the road. Howard toyed with four Washington defenders—scoring 14 points and grabbing nine rebounds in the first 8:45 as the Magic took a 25-11 lead… Caron Butler scored 19 of his 25 points in the first half for Washington, and Antawn Jamison had 17 points and 12 rebounds… Hedo Turkoglu added 20 points and had a season-high 10 rebounds… Rashard Lewis, who gave Orlando a victory Wednesday night in Philadelphia with a late 3-pointer, added 17 points, and Mickael Peitrus also had 17. Anthony Johnson had a season-high 12 assists.
Nov 24: Magic 108, Bucks 101
The AP reports: Dwight Howard was still standing, and that’s all that mattered for the Orlando Magic. Howard had 24 points and 13 rebounds as the Orlando Magic outlasted the Milwaukee Bucks 108-101 Monday night in a matchup of injury-depleted teams. Richard Jefferson scored 25 points to lead Milwaukee, which lost Andrew Bogut to a knee bruise in the third quarter. The Bucks were already missing Michael Redd and Luke Ridnour, their starting backcourt, to injuries. Hedo Turkoglu, forced to play some point guard when Jameer Nelson went out with a groin pull, and Rashard Lewis each added 22 points for the Magic. Howard picked up his fourth foul halfway through the third quarter but played eight minutes in the final quarter, scoring 7 points but making only 5 of 11 free throws.
Keith Bogans out 4-6 weeks
Orlando Magic guard-forward Keith Bogans will miss approximately four-to-six weeks of action due to a fractured left thumb, General Manager Otis Smith announced today. Bogans suffered the injury during the Magic’s game against Houston on Saturday, November 22.
Bogans (6’5”, 215, 5/12/80) has played in all 13 games (one start) this season for Orlando, averaging 6.4 ppg. and 3.5 rpg. in 24.4 minpg. He is shooting .362 (17-of-47) from three-point range and has scored in double figures three times.
Last season, Bogans appeared in all 82 games for the Magic, averaging 8.7 ppg., 3.2 rpg. and 1.3 apg. in 26.8 minpg., including 35 starts. He shot .362 (148-of-409) from beyond the three-point arc. Bogans also played in all 10 playoff outings, averaging 7.3 ppg., 4.2 rpg. and 1.1 apg. in 29.3 minpg.
Nov 22: Rockets 100, Magic 95
The AP reports: Yao Ming, Houston’s 7-foot-6 All-Star, outplayed Dwight Howard in nearly every phase Saturday night, scoring 22 points and taking down 13 rebounds while carrying a tired Houston Rocket team to a 100-95 victory over Howard and the Orlando Magic. The Rockets got 17 points each from Tracy McGrady and Rafer Alston, and 11 apiece from Ron Artest and Carl Landry. Houston shot 54 percent in the second half to break open a close contest and win for the fourth time in the last five games… Jameer Nelson led Orlando with 21 points and six assists, and Lewis added 18 points, but the Magic shot only 40.7 percent. Howard had three fouls in the first half and got his fourth less than a minute into the third period in trying to defend Yao. Howard finished with 13 points and nine rebounds… Magic F Hedo Turkoglu sat out the game because of the flu.
Nov 18: Magic 103, Raptors 90
The AP reports: Stan Van Gundy predicted at the morning shootaround that Toronto forward Chris Bosh would score 40 points against his Orlando Magic. The Magic coach turned out to be right—and he still got to smile about it. Jameer Nelson, Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis had 22 points apiece as the Magic overcame Bosh’s 40-point, 18-rebound night in a 103-90 win in a rematch of first-round NBA playoff foes. Bosh, matching up at times with Lewis and All-Star center Dwight Howard, made 14 of 19 field goals and 12 of 16 free throws… Toronto, playing without injured point guard Jose Calderon, was done in by 24 turnovers and by a strong Orlando second quarter, in which the Magic turned a 10-point deficit into a 45-45 halftime tie.
Nov 16: Magic 90, Bobcats 85
The AP reports: Dwight Howard has played a role in winning more than a few games for the Orlando Magic in his career. On Sunday night, the Magic showed that they can win a game without him. Hedo Turkoglu scored 20 points to lead four Orlando players in double figures in a 90-85 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats. Mickael Pietrus added 18 points, Rashard Lewis had 17 and Jameer Nelson 15 for Orlando, which overcame a five-point halftime deficit for its third straight road win… Gerald Wallace scored 17 points, and Raymond Felton and Adam Morrison had 14 each for the Bobcats, who led 51-47 with seven minutes left in the third quarter.
Nov 14: Magic 102, Mavs 100
The AP reports: “Once you’re in a funk, everything seems to go against you,” said Dirk Nowitzki, who scored 17 of his 24 points in the first half, but hit a tying jumper and a tough go-ahead basket in the final minutes… Dwight Howard, coming off his first career triple-double, had 18 points and 13 rebounds but only two blocks. Two more swats were whistled as goaltending. Jameer Nelson scored 21 points and Mickael Pietrus had 20, including two huge 3-pointers down the stretch. Hedo Turkoglu had 12 before fouling out… Josh Howard scored 25 points and Kidd had 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Kidd also had six turnovers and fouled out on the play that sent Lewis to the line for the winning points… Jason Terry scored 20 points off the bench, having been dropped to a reserve while Gerald Green moved into the starting lineup as part of Carlisle’s latest attempt to get this team going.
Dwight Howard puts up insane triple-double
Orlando magic center Dwight Howard put up an insane triple-double stat-line of 30 points, 19 rebounds and 10 blocks in a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The AP reports: It was the first time a player had at least 30 points and 10 blocks in a game since Hakeem Olajuwon had 31 points, 13 rebounds and 10 blocks against Dallas on April 13, 1996, according to the Elias Sports Bureau… “I’m going to try to do this again,” said Howard, who set a goal of leading the NBA in rebounds and blocks this season. “It felt good, trying to block every shot. And I know Coach is very happy.”
The Orlando Sentinel reports: Howard was ridiculously dominant to start the Magic’s three-game road trip. He blocked a career-high 10 shots to pad his NBA shot-block lead, besting his previous regular-season high of seven, to record his first triple-double. He finished with 30 points and 19 rebounds, and worked on his Tim Duncan-esque bank-shot.