Bucks Win a close Season Opener against Magic
Allen Iverson and Michael Redd teamed up with 35 points, 18 from Redd which was a game high, and 17 from Iverson
Orlando, FL - The Milwaukee Bucks came into the game with high hopes, putting the weight onto two shoulders, Allen Iverson and Michael Redd's, and it sorta paid off, Iverson finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists, and Redd finished with a game high 18 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Really it was a balanced attack, Eddy Curry finished with 15 points and 7 boards, and Villanueva had 14 points and 6 rebounds.
The first quarter was the Bucks all the way, on a 14-4 run in the first 4 minutes, lead by the duo of Allen Iverson and Michael Redd. Then, the Magic crawled back, lead by Dwight Howard's offensive rebounding, closed the gap to 2, as the score was 18-20, Bucks favour, but Charlie Villanueva lead the way, scoring 8 of his 14 in the first quarter, giving the Bucks a 8 point lead going into the second quarter, 22-30.
The second quarter the Magic slowing came closer and closer, with Keith Bogans leading the way. Despite this, David Noel kept the Bucks in front going into halftime, scoring all of his points in the second quarter, he had 8. At halftime, the score was 47-49, in the Bucks favour.
The third quarter was much like the first quarter, where the Bucks dominated at both ends of the floor. The kept the Magic to scoring only 17 points in the quarter. Lead by Dan Gadzuric, who scored all his 7 points in the quarter, including a 3 pointer, and a 3 pointer from Bobby Simmons and some help by Mardy Collins, the Bucks lead 72-64.
The fourth quarter saw the Magic rally back, cutting the deficit within 2 many times during the quarter. The injured Rishard Lewis scored most of his 12 points in this quarter, and so did Hedu Turkoglu, who scored 4 of his 6 in the fourth. When they cut the Bucks lead to two with 12 seconds left on the clock, the inbound went to Allen Iverson, he made 1 of 2, making the score 90-87. The Magic called timeout, 10 seconds left on the clock, Stan Van Gundy drew up a play for Jameer Nelson in the corner, it worked perfectly, the defence collapsed, Nelson had a open shot for 3 with 2 and a half seconds to go and...
This is Jameer Nelson for the tie...
It misses of the front part of the rim. Villanueva grabs the rebound, and thats game, the Bucks win. Despite the loss the Magic made 2 more 3 pointers then the Bucks, but only madre 42% of their shots. The Coach of the Magic had this to say,
"The Bucks played a great game, utilizing the fact that Rishard Lewis was injured. It was a balanced attack by the Bucks. Jameer (Nelson) had the 3 to tie it, and he missed. It happens, you just have to move on and play better next game."
Despite the loss, Dwight Howard finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds.
Player of the Game
Allen Iverson, 16 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 6-14 FG, 1-1 3PT FG
Shooting Dud
Jameer Nelson, 11 points, 5-16 FG, 1-7 3PT FG
Top 3 Scorers
Michael Redd, 18 points, 7 rebounds, 7-20 FG
Dwight Howard, 16 points, 15 rebounds, 7-17 FG
Allen Iverson, 16 points, 10 rebounds, 6-14 FG
Photo's
Allen Iverson's first Buck possession
Dan Gadzuric playing defence with a big block
Play of the Day
Eddy Curry rocks the rim with a poster on Rishard Lewis
BTW: Do you guys like real pictures from other games or me taking pictures of the screen?