The AP reports: Rudy Gay, the third-year pro, hit an 18-foot jumper right of the basket as time expired to give the Memphis Grizzlies an 86-84 win over the Orlando Magic… It gave Gay 29 points to lead the Grizzlies to their first win in a home opener since moving to Memphis in the 2001-02 season. Gay scored 14 of Memphis’ 25 points in the fourth-quarter rally. Rookie O.J. Mayo scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds for Memphis, while Gasol scored 10 points and guarded the Magic’s Dwight Howard… Rashard Lewis led the Magic with 23 points, while Hedo Turkoglu finished with 18, nine rebounds and seven assists. Howard had 14 points and 14 rebounds, but managed only nine shots. Jameer Nelson had 11 points.
Category: Orlando Magic Blog
Magic blog – Orlando Magic basketball blog
Oct 29: Hawks 99, Magic 85
The AP reports: The Hawks surged to an early lead and held off the Magic in the fourth quarter Wednesday for a 99-85 win in the season opener for both teams. Joe Johnson scored nine of his game-high 25 points in the fourth and the Hawks handed Orlando only its second loss in its last nine home openers. Atlanta won its first road opener since 1987. Josh Smith, playing on a sprained ankle, chipped in 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks. Dwight Howard scored 12 of his 22 points in the final quarter and added 15 rebounds to lead Orlando… Mickael Pietrus had 20 points, more than double his preseason average. .. Rashard Lewis fouled out with 11 points and Hedo Turkoglu scored 13.
NBA opening night rosters
The NBA’s opening day rosters are official, and now posted on InsideHoops.com.
This evening was the deadline for NBA teams to trim their rosters down to 15 players or less.
The 2008-09 regular season starts Tuesday, October 28. InsideHoops is your online basketball home. We’re pumping out more content this season than ever.
Enjoy the season!
Magic waive Dwayne Jones
The Orlando Magic have waived Dwayne Jones, General Manager Otis Smith announced today. Jones appeared in three preseason games for the Magic, averaging 1.3 points and 4.0 rebounds in 9.3 minutes per game.
Orlando’s roster now stands at 15 players and is set for the beginning of the 2008-09 regular season. The Magic open the season on Wednesday, October 29 at Amway Arena against Atlanta. Tip-off is 7 p.m.
The Magic have four new exciting ticket packages: A seven-game package for the price of six with either Boston or the L.A. Lakers as the free game; the “Stuff Yourself” all-you-can-eat ticket; the Half Howard featuring a post-game autograph session with Dwight Howard; and the 1989 season ticket plan for $585 (50 percent off). Ticket highlights for 2008-09 also include: 7,569 seats priced $25 or under per game; a $27 lower bowl ticket; and tickets priced at $10 per game.
Shaq and G-Hill want to buy Magic
The Sacramento Bee (Scott Howard-Cooper) reports: Shaquille O’Neal and Grant Hill want to buy the Orlando Magic. Not right now. Shaq has two seasons on his deal, won’t walk away from $20 million per, may play beyond that contrary to previous reports that 2009-10 is definitely his last, and Hill is in a contract year and interested in returning. He may not be done for a while either. But the Suns teammates are serious about this. At some point, probably soon after they retire, O’Neal and Hill, former Magic players who still make their permanent homes in a mega-money Orlando enclave, will talk with executives to see if the team is available. How serious? They have already talked about it together, a lot. They have already made their feelings known to CEO and president Bob Vander Weide, the son-in-law of owner Rich DeVos. They have, both report independently, already lined up additional investors.
Oct 22: Magic 101, Grizzlies 90
The AP reports: Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu each scored 22 points to lead the Orlando Magic to a 101-90 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies Wednesday night in the final preseason game for both teams. J.J. Redick, competing for time at shooting guard, added 15 as the Magic cruised to their sixth straight preseason win. Reserve Darrell Arthur led Memphis with 18 points. Mike Conley added 13. Magic star Dwight Howard, who played sparingly in the second half, had 11 points and eight rebounds as Orlando showed signs of being ready to improve on its 52-win, Eastern Conference semifinal performance last season.
Oct 20: Magic 109, Hawks 103
The AP reports: Dwight Howard had 29 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Orlando Magic to a 109-103 preseason victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night. Joe Johnson, who led the Hawks with 26 points, hit a 3-pointer with 1:10 remaining to pull the Hawks to 102-100. Howard responded with a 5-foot turnaround jumper to make it 104-100 with 54 seconds remaining… For Atlanta, Josh Smith added 13 points and five assists, Al Horford had 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Bibby scored 13 points and had five assists. Johnson also had seven rebounds and five assists. Rashard Lewis scored 25 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Teammate Courtney Lee chipped in with 13 points and four rebounds.
Oct 18: Magic 100, Heat 92
The AP reports: Dwight Howard scored 26 points, and the Orlando Magic used a second-quarter run to build a big lead Saturday night before holding off the Miami Heat, 100-92 for their fourth consecutive preseason victory. Howard also had 16 rebounds but was just 6-of-13 from the free throw line… Dwyane Wade, who finished with 29 points, had back-to-back baskets off steals midway through the third period, cutting it to 65-56.
Mike Wilks badly injured, out for season
The Orlando Sentinel reports: Orlando Magic reserve point guard Mike Wilks is out for the season after sustaining a major injury to his right knee in the team’s game Thursday against the Bobcats in Charlotte, N.C. Wilks, according to his agent, Bill Neff, tore his anterior cruciate ligament, slightly tore the medial collateral ligament and sprained his meniscus.
Oct 16: Magic 94, Bobcats 84
The AP reports: Rashard Lewis scored 26 points, Dwight Howard 15 and Keith Bogans 14 for Orlando, which overcame a 13-point halftime deficit to win its third consecutive NBA preseason game… Gerald Wallace had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Bobcats before coming out of the game in the fourth quarter with a lower back contusion… Jason Richardson and Sean May added 11 points each and Emeka Okafor 10 for Charlotte, which shot 29.4 percent from the field over the final two quarters to remain winless in four exhibition games.