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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| HORNETS | 14 | 17 | 24 | 13 | 66 |
| MAGIC | 29 | 32 | 13 | 14 | 88 |
Recap:
In front of a capacity crowd, the Orlando Magic delivered the gift of winning to their fans this Christmas Day afternoon, cruising to an 88-68 victory over the New Orleans Hornets. The win continued the Magic’s undefeated record at home on Christmas Day, moving them to 4-0 all-time, while upping their overall record to 23-6 on the season.
Orlando controlled the game from the outset and jumped out to a 16-4 lead with 6:19 remaining in the first quarter. Orlando hit three 3-pointers in that early spurt and were led by Hedo Turkoglu’s seven quick points to open up the big lead. The Hornets finished the first quarter with only 14 points on 30 percent shooting from the field. The Magic, however, shot 45 percent from the field and made four of their eight 3-pointers in the period.
The second quarter was more of the same, with the Magic catching fire and upping their shooting percentage to 56.4 percent heading into the half. Orlando went on a 19-4 run over the final 6:07 of the half to open the floodgates and bring their lead to 61-31 at halftime. That run was an offensive explosion for the Magic, ranging from Jameer Nelson 3-pointers to Dwight Howard 15-foot jumpers off the glass. Everything was clicking for the Magic, including their defense.
Taking on one of the top point guards in the league, Nelson and the Magic shut Chris Paul down and limited his effectiveness for the entire game. Paul finished with only 12 points and four assists on 5-of-14 shooting from the field. In addition to his offensive struggles, Paul’s NBA record streak of consecutive games with a steal ended today at 108. Give much of that credit to Nelson, who took care of the ball and pitched in three of the team’s 19 assists. Orlando turned the ball over only 14 times in the game.
The Hornets were held to a season-low of 68 points and shot only 33.3 percent from the floor. New Orleans entered the game as the top 3-point shooting team in the NBA, but they couldn’t find a groove from beyond the arc against the suffocating Orlando defense. The Hornets finished 4-of-16 from 3-point range, a shooting percentage that is 15.2 percent below their season average of 40.2 percent.
It was an all around performance by Stan Van Gundy’s team, who outrebounded the Hornets by a count of 48-44, the second straight game that the Magic have done that. Five Orlando players scored in double digits but none scored more than Turkoglu’s 20 points. Rashard Lewis scored 18 points and Dwight Howard had 12 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots.
The Hornets made a semi-run in the third quarter by going on a 12-2 run over the final 4:18 to cut the lead to 74-55. But Orlando withstood the New Orleans run and did not allow them to get any close than that. Hornets Head Coach Byron Scott elected to take out Paul, David West, Tyson Chandler and James Posey with 10:17 remaining in the game, signaling the white flag in preparation for their back-to-back game tomorrow at home against the Houston Rockets.
Every fan in the arena found a Superman Dwight Howard T-shirt draped over their seat upon their arrival. Prior to the game, a video was played on the Magic Vision board showing Dwight Howard changing from a Clark Kent-type character into his Superman outfit – the Magic uniform. He also addressed the crowd and told them that the Magic would have a “great present” for them today.
What a great present it was.
The Magic are on a six-game win streak and have won 10 of their last 11 games. They are in the midst of a tremendous run against some of the most premiere competition in the entire NBA and are proving their worth as an elite team.
Orlando will attempt to advance their win streak to seven in a row when they travel to Minnesota for an 8 p.m. contest Saturday night against the Timberwolves.
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Live Baseline Blog:
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Preview:
Amway Arena will be gushing blue at 12 noon tomorrow morning when a near-capacity crowd packs the seats for a Christmas Day showdown between the Orlando Magic and Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets (16-8).
Every fan in attendance will have an exclusive Superman Dwight Howard T-shirt draped over their seat upon arrival for attending the Christmas Day game.
After defeating the top team in the Western Conference (L.A. Lakers) Saturday night, the Magic will have a shot at knocking off the No. 2 team in the West in front of a nationally televised audience on ESPN. With Monday night’s win over the Warriors, Orlando also tied the franchise record for best 28-game start with their 22-6 record. The Magic are on a five-game win streak and have won nine of their last 10 games.
The Christmas match-up pits two early season MVP candidates against each other in Dwight Howard and Chris Paul. It will also be a face-off between the reigning Eastern Conference and Western Conference Players of the Week, point guards Jameer Nelson and Paul.
In addition to Howard and Paul averaging more than 20.0 ppg., Howard leads the league in rebounding, blocked shots and double-doubles while Paul leads the league in assists and steals. Both players are shooting over 50.0 percent from the field.
The Hornets’ combination of effective offense and stingy defense has vaulted them to the top tier of Western Conference teams over the last 1 ½ seasons. Through 24 games this season, they are shooting 45.8 percent as a team while ranking sixth in the league in steals per game (8.20). They are a well balanced team who can score from any spot on the court.
Fans should look to keep their eye on three match-ups throughout the game.
Nelson, who is playing at an All-Star level and finished Monday night with a perfect 9-of-9 shooting performance, will be taking on Paul at the point guard position. Each player is shooting extremely well this season and can find the open man in the half court and on the fast break.
Rashard Lewis will be battling with the emerging David West throughout the game both in the post and on the perimeter. Lewis and West both have post-up abilities and can hit the outside shot, although Lewis is a much more reliable outside force.
Down on the blocks, Howard will be making his moves on one of the top rebounding and shot blocking centers in the league, Tyson Chandler. Howard hasn’t hit his groove yet since returning from knee soreness, but this could be the stage that returns him to his early season form.
With each team fighting to reach the top of their conference and this being a nationally televised holiday game, each team should come out playing their best basketball. Orlando is rolling right now and, aside from the Boston Celtics, are competing as well as any team in the league. On a day in which his shirt will be flooding the arena, Superman may be the player who keeps the Magic undefeated at home on Christmas Day.
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Keys to the game:
Who wins the PG battle?: Jameer Nelson is on an absolute rampage and it seems that every time the ball leaves his hands it’s hitting nothing but net. He was 9-of-9 from the field Monday night and is in the best groove of his career. Paul, on the other hand, has been shooting lights out all season and leads the league in assists. His ability to control a game from the point guard position at both ends of the floor is a rare combination. If one of these players can outperform the other, it could be what pushes their team over the edge.
Amway Arena crowd: On Christmas Day, Amway Arena will be rocking with a huge crowd taking part in a “blue-out” with over 17,000 Superman Dwight Howard T-shirts. With a packed house over the last three games, the players’ energy has seemingly been higher and the atmosphere in the arena has been tremendous. If this is a close game down the stretch, the crowd could play a huge factor in rooting the Magic on to victory.
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Game Notes:
Dec. 25 vs. New Orleans: Orlando is 29-32 vs. New Orleans (17-14 at home, 3-3 at New Orleans, 1-1 at Oklahoma City, 8-14 at Charlotte) during regular season action, including 1-1 last season...Orlando is 1-3 vs. the Hornets in the playoffs (2002 first round)...The Magic have won five of the last eight meetings between the two clubs...Orlando has split the last eight match-ups at home and have split the last six meetings in New Orleans…On Mar. 26, 2003 @ New Orleans, the Magic overcame a 20-point deficit and recorded a 97-95 win, tying for the fourth-largest comeback in franchise history…Assistant GM Dave Twardzik was director of scouting and director of player personnel for the Hornets while they were in Charlotte from 1990-95.
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. HORNETS: 46 pts., Shaquille O’Neal (@ Charlotte, 11-9-94)
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAGIC: 40 pts., Jamal Mashburn (@ New Orleans, 3-26-03); Glen Rice (@ Charlotte, 2-17-97)
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