AP Photo/John Raoux
BOX SCORE
The Orlando Magic were able to defeat the Washington Wizards by the score of 109-103, snapping a four-game losing streak. The Magic have been losing a lot lately, dropping six of their last eight games, so a win — even if it was against one of the worst teams in the NBA — was a welcome sight for them. Orlando was led by a balanced attack, as four players scored in double-figures. Dwight Howard led the way for the Magic, finishing with 23 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field (including 11-of-16 from the free-throw line), 18 rebounds, three assists, and four steals. Ryan Anderson finished with 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field (including 6-of-9 from three-point range) and seven rebounds. J.J. Redick chipped in with 21 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field (including 3-of-4 from three-point range and 8-of-8 from the free-throw line). Hedo Turkoglu had 16 points, five assists, and four rebounds. Nick Young led the way for the Wizards with a game-high 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field in roughly 21 minutes of playing time. Rashard Lewis had 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field (including 3-of-4 from three-point range), eight rebounds, three assists, and two steals, playing one of his better games since leaving Orlando. Three other players for Washington scored in double-figures.
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AP Photo/H. Rumph Jr
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The Philadelphia 76ers were able to defeat the Orlando Magic by the score of 74-69. For the Magic, it’s their sixth loss in eight games. Slowly but surely, Orlando is sinking into an abyss of irrelevance with each loss. Andre Iguodala led the way for the Sixers, putting up 14 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, and two steals, further exemplifying that he is one of the most underrated players in the NBA with his ability to be a playmaker on offense while also being an elite defender. Evan Turner had 12 points and four rebounds, while Thaddeus Young had 10 points, three rebounds, and two steals. Dwight Howard had a game to forget for the Magic, finishing with 17 points on 6-of-17 shooting from the field (including 5-of-13 from the free-throw line), 11 rebounds, and two blocks. Ryan Anderson put together a sneaky double-double, finishing with 14 points and a career-high 20 rebounds. A decent chunk of Anderson’s numbers came in garbage time during the fourth quarter when the game was decided. Still, it’s rather telling that Anderson had as many offensive rebounds (11) as Howard had total rebounds in about 10 less minutes of playing time. J.J. Redick struggled mightily filling in for Jason Richardson at the starting shooting guard position, tallying 10 points on 3-of-13 shooting from the field alongside five rebounds.
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AP Photo/Bill Haber
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The New Orleans Hornets were able to defeat the Orlando Magic by the score of 93-67. The Magic, coming off a devastating loss against the Boston Celtics on Thursday, seemed prime for a bounce-back win against the Hornets, one of the worst teams in the NBA. Instead, Orlando played one of their worse games of the regular season and were blown out by New Orleans, a team that’s missing their best player in Eric Gordon (injured right knee). The Hornets played with a lot of energy and effort, while the Magic did not. New Orleans was led by a balanced attack, as four players scored in double-figures. Carl Landry led the way for the Hornets, putting up 17 points and six rebounds. Marco Belinelli had 15 points, while Jason Smith had 14 points and four rebounds. Jarrett Jack finished with 11 points, nine assists, five rebounds, and two steals. For Orlando, it was a lot of Dwight Howard and little else, as he put up a game-high 28 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field (10-of-17 from the free-throw line), 16 rebounds, three assists, and two steals. No one else for the Magic made any discernible impact on the court aside from Howard. As such, New Orleans took advantage of the situation and got a victory.
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AP Photo/Mike Carlson
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The Boston Celtics were able to defeat the Orlando Magic by the score of 91-83, winning the game after trailing by as many as 27 points in the second quarter. It was one of the more impressive comeback victories in a regular season in recent seasons for any NBA team. It didn’t seem possible that the Magic would experience a worse loss during the season after Monday, in which they scored a franchise-low 56 points and lost to the Celtics by 31 on the road. Yet Orlando was able to top themselves by blowing a near insurmountable lead against a team missing three of their starters (Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, and Jermaine O’Neal). Boston was led by a balanced attack, as five players scored in double-figures. Paul Pierce finished with a game-high 24 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds. E’Twaun Moore came out of nowhere for the Celtics, coming off the bench and putting up 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field (including 4-of-4 from three-point range) in roughly 18 minutes of playing time. Kevin Garnett contributed with 12 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and four blocks. Mickael Pietrus had 12 points and four rebounds, while Brandon Bass had 10 points, five rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. Dwight Howard put up 16 points and 16 rebounds.
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AP Photo/Darron Cummings
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The Orlando Magic were able to defeat the Indiana Pacers by the score of 102-83, a night after scoring a franchise-worst 56 points against the Boston Celtics. For the Pacers, it was their first home loss of the regular season and it was the second time they allowed a team to score more than 100 points against them (the Miami Heat accomplished the feat first). The Magic were led by a balanced attack, as five players scored in double-figures. Ryan Anderson led the way for Orlando, finishing with a game-high 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field (including 5-of-7 from three-point range) and eight rebounds. Dwight Howard had a modest game for his standards, chipping in with 14 points, nine rebounds, and two steals in roughly 25 minutes of playing time (he was saddled with foul trouble for a majority of the first half). J.J. Redick had 15 points, while Glen Davis had 15 points, five rebounds, and two blocks. Hedo Turkoglu finished with 11 points and eight assists. The Magic got solid contributions from everyone in head coach Stan Van Gundy’s rotation, with Earl Clark making a cameo appearance as well. For Howard, by scoring 14 points, he becomes the franchise’s leading scorer in his eighth season, breaking Nick Anderson’s previous mark of 10,650 points.
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Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)
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The Orlando Magic were able to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers by the score of 92-80. After facing off against the Miami Heat on Thursday and head coach Mike Brown making the decision to play the starters for Lakers down the stretch despite the game being out of reach, there was a concern Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, and others would have little energy playing on a back-to-back. Those fears were realized, as Los Angeles looked gas at times. Nevertheless, the Magic did their job and came away with a victory against the Lakers. Orlando was led by a balanced attack, as five players scored in double figures. Dwight Howard had his 37th career 20-20 game, the fifth of this season, and the second in a row following Wednesday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs. Howard finished with 21 points and 23 rebounds. Jameer Nelson had his best game of the regular season so far, putting up 17 points and nine assists. J.J. Redick contributed with 15 points and six assists. Ryan Anderson had 13 points, eight rebounds, and four steals. Jason Richardson returned to the starting lineup and doing so at the small forward position, filling in for an injured Hedo Turkoglu, chipping in with 12 points and four rebounds. Los Angeles was led by Bryant, as he showed that he had plenty in the tank despite playing for a second straight night. Bryant put up a game-high 30 points on 11-of-22 shooting from the field (including 7-of-7 from the free-throw line), eight assists, and three rebounds.
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AP Photo/John Raoux
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The San Antonio Spurs were able to defeat the Orlando Magic in overtime by the score of 85-83. For the Spurs, it was their first road win of the regular season. For the Magic, it was their one and only back-to-back-to-back of the season and they were unable to sweep all three games. The Chicago Bulls and Oklahoma City Thunder remain the only teams in the NBA to accomplish the feat. With Orlando playing on a third night in a row and San Antonio playing on a back-to-back themselves, the quality of play was not very high, as both teams struggled at times to really get things going offensively. But in the end, the Spurs were able to escape with a victory after J.J. Redick’s game-winning three came after the buzzer, as he took an extra dribble to escape a defender trying to contest him at the three-point line after receiving the basketball. Ryan Anderson’s initial three-point attempt on the right wing clanked off the rim, but Dwight Howard got the offensive rebound and kicked it out to Redick. Unfortunately for Redick, his decision not to catch-and-shoot with the ball proved costly, as the clock ran out on him. San Antonio was led by Tony Parker, as he finished with a game-high 25 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds. Tim Duncan chipped in with 17 points and 10 rebounds. The Magic were led by a balanced attack, as four players scored in double-figures. Howard put up 24 points, 25 rebounds, and three blocks. Ryan Anderson finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Von Wafer had 15 points coming off the bench, while Redick had 13 points. The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for Orlando.
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AP Photo/John Raoux
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The Orlando Magic were able to defeat the Charlotte Bobcats by the score of 96-89, extending their winning streak to a season-high five games. Despite playing one of their worst games of the regular season, the Magic were able to get their act together in the late stages of the fourth quarter, pulling away from the Bobcats after being tied at 67 apiece entering the period. Orlando played with little energy and effort in the first three quarters, which made for some unsightly basketball at times but with Charlotte being a bad team, it didn’t matter. The Magic made enough plays in the final period and got the win. Orlando was led by a balanced attack, as five players scored in double-figures. Dwight Howard put up a game-high 25 points, 17 rebounds, four assists, and four blocks. Jameer Nelson finished with 17 points and four assists. Hedo Turkoglu chipped in with 15 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Ryan Anderson had 13 points and three steals. Von Wafer came off the bench and gave the Magic a lift, finishing with 13 points. Let’s get right to business because, to be honest, describing the first 42 minutes of the game would be insulting. After sleepwalking for most of the night, Orlando put together a five minute stretch (from the 5:37 mark in the fourth quarter up until there were 42 seconds left in regulation) that won them the ballgame.
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AP Photo/Seth Wenig
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On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Orlando Magic were able to defeat the New York Knicks by the score of 102-93, extending their winning streak to a season-high four games and sweeping a four-game road trip that started on the West Coast. In a rare matinee game, the Magic started off slow but battled back and forth with the Knicks for a majority of the day. However, in the fourth quarter, Orlando was able to turn on the jets and come away with a victory. The Magic were led by a balanced attack, as four players scored in double-figures. Ryan Anderson finished with a career-high 30 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field (including 7-of-13 from three-point range) and seven rebounds. Anderson torched New York, surprisingly outplaying Amar’e Stoudemire in the process. J.J. Redick, filling in at the shooting guard position for an injured Jason Richardson, had 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field. Hedo Turkoglu chipped in with 15 points and four assists, while Glen Davis came off the bench to put up 12 points and six rebounds. Carmelo Anthony led the way for the Knicks, finishing with a game-high 33 points (albeit on 27 shot attempts), eight rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Saddled with foul trouble up until the fourth quarter, Stoudemire had 10 points in roughly 22 minutes of playing time.
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Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images
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In a Wild West shootout that featured a lot of intentional fouling and little defense, the Orlando Magic were able to defeat the Golden State Warriors by the score of 117-109. With the win, the Magic went 3-0 on their West Coast road trip. Dwight Howard’s struggles at the free-throw line are well-documented, as he’s never been better than a 60 percent free-throw shooter in his career. This season, however, Howard has really struggled, shooting 42.6 percent from the free-throw line before facing off against the Warriors. As a result, head coach Mark Jackson decided to intentionally foul Howard throughout the game. With Howard getting intentionally fouled and also generating fouls on his own during the natural flow of the game, he set an NBA record by amassing 39 free-throw attempts (breaking the previous record of 34 set by Wilt Chamberlain in 1962). Howard went 21-of-39 from the free-throw line, which comes out to a 53.8 percentage. Yet Howard made 12 of his last 15 free-throw attempts so, as Shaquille O’Neal would like to say, he made them when they counted. In any case, Howard put up video game-like numbers, finishing with a game-high 45 points, 23 rebounds, three assists, four steals, and two blocks. Hedo Turkoglu put up 20 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field, nine assists, and four rebounds. J.J. Redick had 13 points and Ryan Anderson had 11 points. Golden State got brilliant performances from Monta Ellis, as he amassed 30 points and 11 assists while David Lee contributed with 26 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
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