Game One @ Toronto
The 2004-2005
Magic season began tonight on the road in
Toronto, versus Vince Carter and the Toronto Raptors. This was also the first game of the season for the Raptors.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v602/magicdynasty/2004raptors/gordondunk.jpg
First Half:
The game started with Toronto winning the tip, and Jalen Rose missing a wide-open jump shot. Dwight Howard grabbed the first rebound of his NBA career, and the Magic bolted downcourt on a beautiful fastbreak. Ben Gordon scored the first points of his tenure with the Magic, and his NBA career with a nice dunk. Things all went downhill from there for the Magic in the first half, as they were outscored 50-38.
Halftime score: Raptors 50,
Magic 38
Second Half:
The 3rd quarter was a bit kinder to the Magic, as they went on a 10-1 run and outscored Toronto by four points in the quarter. Grant Hill nabbed 5 rebounds in the third quarter alone (he had 7 for the game). Cody Worley struggled to score, but grabbed 12 rebounds. Dahntay Jones only played 4 minutes off the bench, but scored 6 points, and head coach
Donatello says you'll be seeing more of him as the season goes on.
The Magic had a convincing second half, with a very strong fourth quarter. In the 4th, the Magic outdid the Raptors 36-20, to go 1-0 on the season.

Jalen Rose being embarrassed by the Magic's rookie backcourt.
Player of the game:
More Screenshots from the game:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v602/magicdynasty/2004raptors/ffc0c2ec.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v602/magicdynasty/2004raptors/30a5af7c.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v602/magicdynasty/2004raptors/worleydunk.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v602/magicdynasty/2004raptors/b9d88c5f.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v602/magicdynasty/2004raptors/skita.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v602/magicdynasty/2004raptors/mihmdunk.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v602/magicdynasty/2004raptors/jonesdunk.jpg
Orlando Magic:
Toronto Raptors:
Coach Donatello's Player Review:
Dwight Howard- He definitely needs some training, but his rebounding this game was incredible, not bad for his first NBA game.
Cody Worley- Also was great on the boards tonight, but his difficulty putting the ball in the hoop was frustrating. I was very impressed with his blocking ability, however. 5! Very nice.
Grant Hill- What can I say? He's back to his old form. It's great to have Grant contributing on this team. 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 steals is amazing from a guy we figured wouldn't be on the court this year.
Ben Gordon- This guy is going to be a stud. We're a very young team, but he has shown already that he knows how to handle things in the NBA. He embarrassed the hell out of Jalen Rose, and may have taught Vince a thing or two. Look for Ben to become a real go-to guy.
Joshua Carr- Wow.....looks like we have the youngest, and possibly best, backcourt in the league. 27 points and 4 assists. Nice job....I'm thinking he should dye his hair blue for Magic pride though.
The Bench-
Skita was great for us in his few minutes off the bench. If Dwight Howard or Worley continue having trouble scoring the ball, I wouldn't be surprised to see Skita's minutes increase. We didn't play
Dahntay Jones much this game, but look to see much, much more of him in the future. Jones is an amazing athlete. We plan to take full advantage of that. I'm overall very pleased with the depth of our bench.
Hedo is amazing, and
Chris Mihm should be able to contribute some quality minutes.
Next game: Houston Rockets
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