Magic Beat Wizards, Snap Skid
With starters Jameer Nelson and Jason Richardson still out due to injury and a four game losing streak hanging over their heads, the Orlando Magic (13-9) took a step in the right direction with a 109-103 win over the Washington Wizards (4-18) Wednesday night.
Stan Van Gundy wondered publically how his team would respond to adversity if they faced it Wednesday night against the Wizards and they did. The Magic started the game strong taking an early lead and with 1:22 left in the first quarter, they led 25-14. But then Washington went on a 22-5 run that ended with a Kevin Seraphin layup and the Wizards were up 36-30 with 7:01 remaining in the first half.
Over the last few games, when the opponent has gotten on a run, the Magic have been unable to respond. But against Washington they did. The Magic ended the first half on a 17-7 run to retake the lead and they led at halftime 47-43.
Washington responded to Orlando’s run well and outscored the Magic 25-22 in the third quarter and would only trail the Magic by one going into the fourth. Both offenses erupted in the fourth quarter as the Magic outscored the Wizards 40-35. The offense started early in the fourth quarter when Chris Duhon and Von Wafer both hit three’s to put the Magic up 77-71. Ryan Anderson sealed the win with his sixth three of the game with 42.2 second remaining.
Turnovers were again a problem early for the Magic as they turned the ball over 11 times in the first half. However, they would only turnover the ball over four times in the second half as the Magic ended up with one less turnover than the Wizards, something this team has been unable to do recently.
Three-point shooting was the key for the Magic offense clicking for the first time in over a week. The Magic went 13 for 30 from long range with Ryan Anderson hitting six on the night. Free throw shooting was another key for the Magic. The Magic were atrocious in Philadelphia from the line but got it together on Wednesday night. The Magic went 30 for 39 from the line with Dwight Howard going 11 for 16.
Four Magic players finished in double figures and three scored over 20 points. Hedo Turkoglu finished with 16 points, J.J. Redick scored 21 going 3 for 4 from behind the arc, and Ryan Anderson matched Dwight Howard with 23 points while hitting six three-pointers. Howard completed another double-double with 18 rebounds as the big man had another big night.
Along with the double-double, Howard also had another technical foul. Early in the third quarter, Howard felt some contact while driving to the hoop and after Kevin Seraphin blocked the ball out of bounds, he looked to referee Scott Wall but was met with no call. Howard then bounced the ball hard off the floor and received his sixth technical foul of the year. He is now almost halfway to 13 which would be a one game suspension for the captain and another game with every subsequent technical foul.
While the Wizards do hold the second-worst record in the league, it’s a big win for the Magic who are looking to get back on the right track after losing five out of six games. It wasn’t a pretty win, but it may be just what they need to get things going in the right direction again.
Up Next: The Magic will hit the floor again Friday when they host the 8-12 Cleveland Cavaliers. It’s the last game before the Magic start another tough stretch where they will be facing Miami, Los Angeles, and Indiana.
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