Its_asdf's Orlando Magic: Intense Game Against Sacramento

[Its_asdf]

A Magical Win for Orlando's First Game (98-87 Magic)



Magic Boxscore
Wolves Boxscore

Despite Kevin Garnett's 20 point, 12 rebound effort, it was Dwight Howard and his Orlando Magic that triumphed in the Magic's home and season opener. Howard has idolized and is a long time fan of Kevin Garnett; both players were drafted out of high-school as well, but Howard didn't show his nerves tonight as he stuffed the stat sheet with a monster 19 point and 12 rebound double-double while also topping it off with 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks.

"I played against KG a few times the past few years, so I wasn't really too bothered by playing against him," says Howard. "The fact that we won the game and he pulled me aside to congratulate me for a job well done is definitely a very rewarding start to the season. I'm just glad I was able to hold my own against him."

The Magic's victory came at a price though; Jameer Nelson, the starting point guard for Orlando injured his knee on a collision while driving to the basket against Trenton Hassell with 3:57 remaining in the first quarter. Nelson would come back later on in the game, but looked uncomfortable as he scored 13 points on 5 of 15 shooting. "Jameer definitely looked tired and hurt, but he wanted to play," said fellow point guard Carlos Arroyo. "When coach took him out for the final minutes of the game he was definitely hurting and could barely walk."

Orlando was struggling at that point, allowing Hassell to score the first 6 points of the game and allowed the Wolves to immediately jump to an 8-1 lead. When Nelson was injured, back-up point guard Carlos Arroyo did a fantastic job by picking up the pace of the game in Orlando's favour; racking up 4 assists in the opening quarter and 8 assists overall, including 2 consecutive fast break alley oops to Trevor Ariza. Ariza also was a welcome suprise, leading the team with 20 points and also looked very comfortable shooting the basketball. "Ariza has really worked hard on his jumpshot and ball handling in the off-season," explained Magic head coach Brain Hill. "He's very comfortable with our plays now and he can really be an important offensive player for us."

Orlando's lead fluctuated in the second and third quarters, leading by as many 8 or 10 points but mental lapses on defence would cost the Magic's lead and the Timberwolves would cut the lead to 2 or 4 points in just a few minutes. In the end, the Magic would always manage to close out the quarter strong on a solid scoring run or make huge defensive stops. Ricky Davis and Trenton Hassell carried most of the scoring load for Minnesota as Kevin Garnett picked up early fouls that made him miss most of the late second and early third quarter.

The Fourth quarter was when the Magic finally pulled away. The Magic would score a few unanswered points and extend their lead to 84-73, the first double-digit lead of the game. The game was eventually busted wide open when Davis and Hassell became to tired to continue to keep up with Orlando's up-tempo style. The Wolves' bench was also greatly outplayed by Orlando's, as they were outscored 40-9.


The Magic start off the season on a good note
Trevor Ariza shows off some improved ball handling skills
Rush in the lineup introductions
Jameer Nelson must have had his feelings hurt after this slam by Davis
Rebounding was the key to the Magic's success
Nelson clearly in pain after a drive to the basket
Trenton Hassell looked like a superstar out there as he sank 8 of his 10 shot attempts
Foye's hyped summerleague didn't translate well over to this game
Dwight hanging tough against his idol, KG
Darko showing some elevation on his dunk
Battie's low post passing was impressive
Even Carlos Arroyo could barely keep up with the Magic's insane fast-break speed

[Fresh8]

My man Kareem

[z50bo]

wow good game from Ariza!
good win, looking good

[cklitsie]

I don't wanna turn into the next Fitzy making 1000 corny posts about my favorite player but nice job with Ariza and the team overall too.

[kibaxx7]

This looks really nice man, Howard had a great game... but why make Rush a starter when he only plays 5 minutes?

[Its_asdf]

Nelson Out for 3 Weeks

September 4, 2006



Coming into the season, the Magic were known to have great depth at the point guard position, almost to the point where it became a logjam. Just one game into the regular season however, the Magic now are scrambling to find a replacement point guard after key players Keyon Dooling and Jameer Nelson are now unable to play. Both players are two of the four actual point guards on the roster, but Dooling and Nelson both play crucial roles to the team's success, especially since Nelson is the Magic's starting guard.

"He's clearly hurt now after our home opener," said Magic head coach Brain Hill. "Nelson is a very passionate basketball player and a very good one I might add, but we still have Arroyo and Diener to work with." He later added, "I didn't see anything wrong with Nelson after he iced his knee for a while and the trainers gave him the green light to go, but he was really in pain after we went on the bus and started to travel to Denver."

Jameer Nelson had injured his knee on a collision during the Magic's season opening win against Minnesota. Nelson came back to play for most of the game, logging 24 minutes of playing time, but he did not perform very well and he would be eventually be diagnosed with a hyper-extended knee the day after. Nelson will definitely not be available against the Magics' next few games against Denver, New York and Memphis.

Keyon Dooling rolled his ankle in a scrimmage during training camp, but should be able to recover within the next few days.

Carlos Arroyo is schedueled to start in Orlando's next game against the Nuggets and second year guard Travis Diener has been recalled from the D-League. Arroyo scored 8 points and handed out a team high 8 assists against the Timberwolves.

Melo and Smith Save Denver (106-96 Nuggets)



Magic Boxscore
Nuggets Boxscore

Without Jameer Nelson, the Magic clearly looked lost and wore down as the game went on. Nelson is currently injured for up to three weeks and the Magic seemed to have troubles executing their offence without him. They also allowed Denver point guard Andre Miller to score 16 points on 7 of 12 shooting and dish out 11 assists for the Magic's very first loss and the Nuggets very first win of the season.

Newly acquired shooting guard J.R. Smith led the way for the Nuggets as he scored 25 points while also contributing 5 rebounds and 3 assists. All five Nugget starters scored in double digits, and Carmelo Anthony was not far behind from Smith with 22 points of his own. The frontcourt of Kenyon Martin and Marcus Camby also proved to be too much for Orlando as they combined for 6 of the Nuggets 12 offensive rebounds and each of them finished with a double-double.

"As much as I wish Jameer was out here playing with us, we can't use that as an excuse to dismiss this loss," said Kareem Rush. Rush led the Magic with 19 points and brought the three point scoring that the Magic sorely lacked last game. "We just lost our focus after the first quarter."

Rush was the one who helped get the Magic off to a hot start, scoring all three of his three pointers in the quarter, but had to leave due to early foul trouble. Dwight Howard also looked very good early on, hitting 5 of his 7 attempts to lead the team at that point with 10 points. Suprisingly, most of Howard's attempts came from the top of the key or from the mid range area.

The Magic held a four point lead after the first quarter, but that was immediately erased in the second after J.R. Smith hit a three pointer to give the Nuggets the lead and was followed by a huge Kenyon Martin dunk that swung the momentum in Denver's favour. While the Magic settled for outside jumpshots, the Nuggets attacked the Magic on the inside, hitting 68% of their shots while scoring the majority of the points in the paint or passing the ball out to J.R. Smith for an open three pointer. The Magic on the other hand finished the quarter on only 41% shooting.

"The second quarter was the turning point for our team," Smith had said as he finished that quarter with 11 points. "I began to hit a lot of three point shots and we also got a lot of rebounds."

The Magic attempted to make a comeback in the third quarter, going on a 9-0 run and forcing the Nuggets into making 8 turnovers. By the fourth quarter, the score was tied 77 apiece after a dunk by Kareem Rush. The Nuggets answered with a 6-0 run themselves, but that was followed by a Turkoglu three pointer and a Trevor Ariza turnaround jumper to cut the lead back down to one point with 3 and a half minutes remaining. Carmelo then began where Smith left off, scoring 10 unanswered points in the final few minutes. An alley-oop from Andre Miller to Kenyon Martin put the punctuation mark on the game.


J.R. Smith showed glimpses of what kind of player he can really be

Rush's outside shooting touch was solid
Miller with the spin move in the paint
'Melo driving by three defenders
K-Mart with a team-high 3 steals
Grant Hill falls down after getting bullied by the Nuggets' tough frontcourt
The final two points of the game came courtesy of a Kenyon Martin jam
Dwight finishing strong as usual
Diener gave some good minutes off the bench
Arroyo battling for the ball
Ariza showing off his length on this slam

[Its_asdf]

My man Kareem

Yeah, I really limited his touches when he played against Minnesota so I thought I'd try to use him more often on offence.

wow good game from Ariza!
good win, looking good

Thanks man, Trevor Ariza is my favourite player on the Magic, but it gets kind of hard to score with him since his field goal rating isn't too high.

I don't wanna turn into the next Fitzy making 1000 corny posts about my favorite player but nice job with Ariza and the team overall too.

Trevor Ariza is heading to the all-star game

This looks really nice man, Howard had a great game... but why make Rush a starter when he only plays 5 minutes?

I didn't really feel like using him that game, I don't know why. I wanted to try out Bogans a lot more, but he wasn't really as fun to play with as I expected to I'll be using Rush a lot now.

[z50bo]

tough loss, wow JR Smith is looking good
0 blocks for the nuggets
GL next game!

[Anthony15]

Well no duh you wont beat the Nuggets, its impossible! Nice try tho Btw, what Skinner doing on Nuggets Boxscore?

[Jing]

is that dwight dunking over Josh Smith?

[CouchPotato94]

is that dwight dunking over Josh Smith?

I'd love to see that

Nah, that's J.R.


Tough loss, but you'll pick up the pace when Nelson/Dooling return.

DARKO AND ARIZA!

[Its_asdf]

Ariza Steps Up Against Old Team (110-102 Magic)


Magic Boxscore
Knicks Boxscore

On February 22, 2006, The New York Knicks would trade second round draft pick Trevor Ariza and Penny Hardaway to the Orlando Magic in exchange for three time all-star point guard Steve Francis. Little did they know that next season this trade would come back to haunt them. Trevor Ariza helped lead the Orlando Magic to their second victory in three games, scoring 22 points on 7 of 14 shooting. He also agressively attacked the rim, hitting 8 of his 10 attempted free-throws and dishing out 6 assists. Kareem Rush also continued his amazing scoring performance, scoring 20 points to match Dwight Howard's 20 point 8 rebound performance.

The Magic got it going early on, going on an 11-2 run sparked by back to back Ariza dunks in the second quarter and taking a 53-38 half-time lead. Orlando was also playing exceptional defence, holding the explosive backcourt of Steve Francis and Stephon Marbury to a combined 4 of 13 shooting by the end of the first half. Jalen Rose of the Knicks led all scorers with 14 points by half-time, but he was the only one contributing on offence as the Knicks only had a total of 5 assists in the first and second quarters combined. "I knew that as long I could keep scoring a few points to keep us in the game, we'd eventually make a run and comeback," said Rose after the game. "It's a shame that we ended up short, Trevor Ariza and Dwight Howard are so hard to stop because both of them are two young and explosive players around the rim."

Stephon Marbury was a non-factor heading into the third quarter, but that would all change. Marbury would eventually end up with 29 points and single-handedly carry the Knicks to make the game a nail-biter for the Magic as he scored 9 consecutive points for New York and erased the lead to 10 points. Soon afterwards, Marbury would nail back to back three point shots and suddenly the Magic only had a 70-67 lead. The Magic were not done though, as Kareem Rush caught a reverse alley-oop, got fouled and sank his free throw. Grant Hill then immediately stole a lazy Eddy Curry pass and ran coast to coast for a reverse lay-up. The Magic would then score 4 more points while the Knicks answered with 5 more of their own, including a wild half court shot by Marbury to end the quarter. This seemed like the perfect turning point for New York as they shot a blistering 65% from the field and forced Orlando to 6 turnovers.

The Knicks' momentum was short-lived. There was a 13 point gap between Orlando and New York a few minutes into the fourth quarter as the Magic took advantage of the Knicks resting Marbury on the bench. New York's perimeter shooting came to life, as Jalen Rose began to catch fire once again, scoring 11 points including 2 three pointers that help bring the Knicks within 4. Then Trevor Ariza took over. Ariza scored 13 points in the final 3 and half minutes. Combined with Dwight Howard's 8 points, they shouldered more than half of the Magic's 31 points in the final quarter.

With 50 seconds remaning, 105-100 was the score in favour of the Magic after Stephon Marbury hit a three pointer. The Knicks were forced to intentionally foul Trevor Ariza twice, and he made 3 of his 4 free-throw attempts. Dwight Howard then sealed the game with two final free-throws. "It was a pretty intense moment for me," recalled Ariza. "I had the confidence to make those shots because I've been working with the trainers everyday to work on my free-throws and shooting." Although Ariza never fully acknowledged that he was happy to beat his former team, he later added with a smile, "I'm glad that I was able to prove myself to the team that drafted me. It felt good to win this one after the loss to Denver."



Trevor Ariza showed his former team what they were missing out on.

Arroyo looked like Steve Nash with his impresssive 14 point 12 assist double-double.
Magic rookie James Augustine played his very first game
Eddy Curry actually playing with effort in the post? Has hell frozen over?
Dwight Howard shows the Knicks who's boss of the building
Former Magic Steve Francis skies high for 2 of his 12 points
Grant Hill just doesn't get as high as he used to...
Newest Knick Jared Jeffries draws the charge on Ariza
Marbury only had two assists for the game
Jalen Rose caught on fire early on and late in the game
Kareem Rush showing that he isn't just a shooter

[Its_asdf]

tough loss, wow JR Smith is looking good
0 blocks for the nuggets
GL next game!

At first I thought that J.R. Smith would barely be able to hit a three pointer with his 61 three point rating... I learned that he could make them the hard way.

Well no duh you wont beat the Nuggets, its impossible! Nice try tho Btw, what Skinner doing on Nuggets Boxscore?

I swear, this shit-ass team is ridiculously overrated. Kenyon Martin is too good in the game.

It was supposed to be Joe Smith on the roster instead of Brain Skinner, but I dbf edited the wrong player. I found out after the game so Joe Smith is with the Nuggets now and Skinner is where he's supposed to be.

is that dwight dunking over Josh Smith?

It's J.R., foo.

Tough loss, but you'll pick up the pace when Nelson/Dooling return.

DARKO AND ARIZA!

Dooling's coming back next game, but I was pleasantly suprised at how effective Diener's jumpshot and passing are. He sucks at everything else though, so expect Dooling to be the back-up guard next game against Memphis.

[Its_asdf]

Magics' Gritty Play Triumphs Over Grizzlies (98-87 Magic)



Magic Boxscore
Grizzlies Boxscore

The Orlando Magic showcased their front-court duo of what could potentially be a powerhouse for years to come. Rebounding was definitely what won the game for the Magic, as both teams shot similar percentages from the field but Orlando out-rebounded Memphis 50 to 36. Dwight Howard and Darko Milicic each had a double-double; Howard led the way with 20 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Milicic also provided 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds; 6 of which came from the offensive end and with Dwight Howard combined for 17 of the Magic's 20 offensive rebounds.

The score was 51-48 for Orlando by half-time, but the Grizzlies were held to only 38% from the field and also turned the ball over 6 times in the third quarter. Hedo Turkoglu nailed back to back unanswered three pointers followed by two dunks from Howard and Grant Hill to cap off a surge that gave the Magic their first double-digit lead and the Magic would lead by as many as 25 in the fourth quarter as Dwight Howard finished off the fourth quarter and the Grizzlies by scoring 10 points in a row for Orlando.

Grant Hill out-smarted rookie Rudy Gay on both ends of the court
Damon Stoudamire played efficiently
Rudy Gay shows off his athleticism on this three point play
Brain Cardinal guarding Dwight Howard? Don't think so
Swift's length was showcased on this put-back slam
Dooling looked a little shaky around the rim in his first game back form injury
Two emerging European players battling in the post
Bogan's defence helped him earn extra playing time
Ariza once again proved that his new-found ball handling and passing abilities are no fluke

Magic Beat Hornets, but Lose Ariza (112-99 Magic)


Magic Boxscore
Hornets Boxscore

From start to finish, the Hornets never had a chance. The Orlando Magic continued their winning ways as they wrapped up their first back-to-back of the season with a blowout win against the New Orleans-Oklahoma City Hornets. The Magic rocketed off to a 31-19 start and outplayed the Hornets in almost every statiscal category in the first quarter. The trend continued throughout the entire game thanks to a heavy scoring punch from Kareem Rush, Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu.

Chris Paul, last year's rookie of the year, scored an impressive 31 points but failed to impact the game itself as he played selfishly and finished with 0 assists; a suprising number for a player that was highly touted for his passing ability that made teammates better. Free agent acquisition Peja Stojakovic provided the offence that the Hornets so sorely needed, scoring 21 points and grabbing 7 rebounds, but defensively he allowed Grant Hill to get to the foul line and Kareem Rush to score almost at will against him.

Despite the incredible win, the Magic found themselves without swingmen Trevor Ariza and Keith Bogans. Ariza injured his leg with 45 seconds left in the first quarter after he collided in mid-air with Tyson Chandler and was out for the entire game. Bogans accidently collided with Chris Paul on a fast break and landed hard on his elbow. Bogans was cleared to play, but Brain Hill decided not to risk any further injury after what happened to Jameer Nelson. These injuries also gave J.J. Redick an opportunity to play, but played poorly on the court and managed only 2 of 9 from the field.

This picture of Darko Milicic's block describes how the night went for the Hornets
J.J. Redick's first NBA game was one to forget
Peja was the shooting threat that the Hornets expected him to be
Paul's poor passing led to a stagnant offence
Mason is as athletic as ever
Dwight Howard's interior passing got the offence going early
Trevor Ariza was out for the entire game
The Magic were clearly fatigued on their first back-to-back as Bogans was also injured for the majority of the game
Grant Hill filled in nicely for Ariza
Hilton Armstrong boxing out two Magic defenders

[Anthony15]

He's triple posting!!! Nice wins, sux you lost Ariza

[z50bo]

good wins and nice pics, GL next game.

[Its_asdf]

Ariza Out For 2 Weeks; Nelson Makes Return

November 22, 2006



The Magic recieved good news yesterday after hearing that starting point guard Jameer Nelson is going to be making his return to the line-up on Tuesday against the Sacramento Kings, but at the same time the Magic also learned that they have lost swingman Trevor Ariza to the injury bug for at least two weeks.

Trevor Ariza has been diagnosed with a sprained ankle and will definitely miss the Magics' next two games against Sacramento and Philadelphia; it is also undetermined as to whether or not he will be available in the Magic's final game of the month against Phoenix. The 6'8 swingman is currently having a break-out year, scoring 15.2 points per game while also contributing 3.6 rebounds per game and 4.2 assists per game. Ariza is also the team's most agressive offensive player as he leads his team in free throw attempts with 22 and hitting 81% of them.

"We hope to have Ariza back as soon as possible, but we would like for him to get to 100% before he plays another game," says team captain Grant Hill. "Ariza was always a key component to our offence so we'll each have to adjust without him and with Nelson coming back it also complicates things even further."

Nelson had missed four games after hyper-extending his knee in Orlando's home opener against Minnesota. The team had lost their first game without Nelson against Denver, but managed to re-adjust their game-plan and win three consecutive games against New York, Memphis and New Orleans. Reports are saying that Nelson's knee is still sore, but he is in playable condition and on the verge of recieving a clean bill of health.

Late Magic Push Fails to De-Throne Kings (108-104 Kings)


Magic Boxscore
Kings Boxscore

In what was expected to be a blow-out win for the Sacramento Kings, the Orlando Magic managed to use the final five minutes of the fourth quarter to make the game interesting. Sacramento's leading scorer and rebounder for the game was Brad Miller, who collected a a massive 21 point, 13 rebound double-double. Ron Artest added 20 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists (a team-high) and also provided his highly recognized lock-down defence, allowing Grant Hill to only score 7 points. Mike Bibby and Kevin Martin played great games as well, scoring 19 points as the Kings went on to shoot a sizzling 54% from the field.

Orlando's offence seemed to be stagnant without Trevor Ariza's slashing ability, who was unable to play due to a sprained ankle. Sacramento took advantage of this and took a double-digit lead immediately after the first quarter, showcasing a sign of things to come. The first three quarters the Magic were simply dominated on both ends of the court. Whenever the Magic attempted to make a run, the Kings would punish the Magic on the offensive boards and re-build the lead back to double-digits. The Kings also played spectacular defence, allowing Orlando to only shoot 39% throughout the first half.

Despite the poor play by Orlando as a team, Kareem Rush was playing spectacularly. Rush finished the game with 28 points and seemed to be the only thing that was keeping the Magic and their poor play from falling to a 30 point deficit. Rush scored 24 of his 28 points on a career-high 8 three-point field goals; also just one three pointer shy of Dennis Scott's team record of 9 three pointers in one game for the Magic. "I hit my first two three pointers and I began to feel very confident," says Rush. "Coach gave me the green light to shoot them so before you know it, I finished with 8."

The fourth quarter was when things were finally going in the Magics' favour. Trailing by 15 points, Kareem Rush hit a three pointer and was followed by a Carlos Arroyo layup to start the final quarter by quickly narrowing the gap to 11. The Kings went on an 8-0 run to re-push the lead to 98-78 with 5 minutes remaining, but the Magic still had a lot more momentum. Jameer Nelson came back from injury to drop 12 points; 11 of them coming in the fourth and was a catalyst for sparking the Magic's gigantic run in the final minutes. He hit a three pointer that was followed by a Grant Hill three point play and two consecutive layups by Dwight Howard and Nelson to narrow the gap back to ten. Howard then capped off the 13-0 run with a monsterous slam dunk and a free throw. With the Magic only trailing 98-91 with 3 minutes remaining, Brad Miller got an offensive put-back but Keith Bogans and Jameer Nelson each hit pocket three pointers to make it a 4 point game with only 1 minute left. Kevin Martin then hit two free throws at the other end to widen the gap, but Jameer Nelson once again hit a pull-up three to pull the Magic within 3 points. Time was against the Magic as they only had 23 seconds remaning, so they were forced to foul Jason Hart, who split his free throws but it was good enough to seal the game.

Despite the loss and having their winning streak snapped, the Magic seemed pretty satisfied with themselves. "I'm proud of our guys," said Magic head coach Brain Hill. "They could have easily given up but they weren't ready to. It would have been nice to get the win, but in the end our guys showed a lot of heart today, and that's all I want to see." Shareef Abdur-Rahim echoed those statements.

"You have to tip your hat off to them," said Abdur-Rahim, who finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds. "Normally when you're down 20 in the fourth quarter you would give up, but they kept fighting and made the game very intense."


Jameer Nelson helped lead a late fourth quarter charge that just fell short

Shareef Abdur-Rahim looked like an all-star again with his tenacious offensive rebounding
Kareem Rush was simply lights-out from beyond the arc
Ron Artest's signature defence forced a lot of turnovers.
Brad Miller showing that he isn't just a jump-shooting big man.
Kevin Martin getting fouled in the final minutes of the game
Dwight Howard continues to show improvements on offence
Bogans' wrist injury from last game didn't look like it effected him much; throwing down a monster dunk

[Its_asdf]

He's triple posting!!! Nice wins, sux you lost Ariza

Someone ban the spammer!!!11!1onesonesnoes

Out of all the players that could've been injured, it had to be Ariza.

good wins and nice pics, GL next game.

Thanks man.

[Marquis]

Tough loss man.

Why are you not giving some minutes to J.J.Redick? He played only one game and did quite well.