SB Nation User Blog: Mike from Illinois

50 Wins! Magic 104, Chicago 84

Mike from Illinois — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 02:53:37 -0000

Fifty is nifty. Here's Mike's recap. - BQR

For the first time since the 1995-'96 season, the Magic have achieved 50 victories in a season, thanks to a 104-84 victory over the Bulls. The Magic led from start to finish and put the Bulls away in the fourth quarter while leading by as many as 24 points as they outscored Chicago 22-10 in the final period. The Magic led 36-24 at the end of the first quarter as they shot 11 of 14 (78.6%), including 5 of 7 from 3 pt range. Chicago cut the Magic lead to 53-48 at the half and trailed 82-74 after three quarters before the Magic put the game away in the final period.

Hedo Turkoglu was the overall star of the game for the Magic, as he scored 24 points with 8 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals. Dwight Howard was a big factor down low again, scoring 13 first quarter points and finished with 19 points in just three quarters. Even though he attempted just four field goals, Howard was fouled repeatedly trying to shoot down low and made a very respectable 13 of 17 free throws.

Rashard Lewis added 18 points and 6 rebounds; Maurice Evans 10 points, 6 rebounds.

Some additional game notes:

The Magic outshot the Bulls from the field (49.3% to 40%); from 3 point range (40.7% to 35.3%); made 11 more free throws (25-14); outrebounded the Bulls (43-38); and had the better assist/turnover ratio (25/16 to 22/18).
Only two Magic starters, Lewis (31 minutes) and Turkoglu (33 minutes), played over 30 minutes.
The Magic bench scored 30 points, with Keith Bogans and Keyon Dooling scoring 8 points apiece.
Eleven of the twelve Magic players scored, with only J.J. Redick going scoreless. Redick did grab a rebound to go along with an assist.
The Magic starters outscored the Bulls' starters 74-40. Reserve Andres Nocioni led the Bulls with 22 points,
Larry Hughes, who scored 40 points against the Magic back in February when he was with Cleveland, and Ben Gordon, who scored 39 points against the Magic back in December, combined for a mere 7 points on 3 of 10 field goal shooting.

Updating the race for the sixth seed in the East, the Wizards are in fifth at 42-40, with the Raptors and 76ers tied for sixth at 40-40. Of course, the sixth seed will play the Magic in the first round.

That's more like it: Magic 115, Bulls 83

Mike from Illinois — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 03:03:56 -0000

Here's Mike's recap from tonight's Magic/Bulls game. Thanks, Mike! - BQR

Looking to erase the stench of the awful loss to the Knicks Sunday night, the Magic (49-29, 24-15 home) got off to another slow start in this game, as Chicago jumped out to a 18-10 lead, and Magic C Dwight Howard had to sit with two quick fouls. Howard then returned and caught fire in the second quarter, as he scored 16 points in the second as the Magic led at the half 62-49. The Bulls were able to cut into the Magic lead and get within 78-70 with under two minutes remaining in the third quarter, but from that point on, the Magic pulled away quickly and dominated, outscoring the Bulls 37-13 the rest of the way for a 115-83 win.

The focal point of the Magic's offense against Chicago was Dwight Howard. He did an excellent job setting up down low, the Magic players did a great job in getting the ball to him, and Howard was quick and decisive when he got the ball, either shooting that nice little jump-hook off the glass or dunking the ball, as the Bulls had no answer for Howard, who finished with 30 points on 12 of 15 FG shooting along with 14 rebounds.

Carlos Arroyo also was a big spark for the Magic, as he came off the bench and did an excellent job running the offense, and finished with 13 points along with 6 assists. Rashard Lewis scored 21 points, and Hedo Turkoglu, despite an off-shooting night, finished with 8 assists and 6 rebounds to go along with 12 points on 4 of 15 shooting.

Chicago's Kirk Hinrich led them in scoring with 19 points, and F Tyrus Thomas had 5 blocked shots.

Coach Van Gundy cleared the bench with about 4:37 remaining, as the Magic had a 23 point lead. Eleven of the twelve Magic players to play scored. Only Pat Garrity failed to score.

The Magic fans got a chance to cheer for J.J. Redick, as he scored 5 points in those final four minutes, including a 3 point field goal.

Some other game notes:

The Magic outshot the Bulls from the field (50.6% to 41%), from 3 point range (34.6% to 23.5%), outrebounded the Bulls (53-46), and had a superior assist/turnover ratio (30/15 to 19/19).
The Magic bench, after scoring just 14 points against the Knicks, scored 37 points.
The only Magic starter to play more than 35 minutes was Rashard Lewis, who played over 38 minutes. Turkoglu played 33 minutes, and Howard just over 32 minutes.
The Magic starting frontcourt outscored the Bulls starting frontcourt 63-18.
Sometimes the +/- stat can be very misleading, but Arroyo wound up with an eye-popping +43, while Chicago's Thabo Sefolosha had a beyond horrible -42.
Arroyo and Jameer Nelson combined for 22 points and 11 assists.
16 of the last 17 Magic wins have been by double digits, with 11 of those wins by 15 points or more.

Ben Q Rock will return for the game recaps as the Magic go for 50 wins Friday night hosting Minnesota.

A Clunker: Knicks 100, Magic 90

Mike from Illinois — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 03:07:03 -0000

The Magic took the night off, somehow managing to lose to the Knicks. Mike From Illinois did not take the night off. Here's his recap. - BQR

The Magic, having already clinched the third seed in the East, had very little to play for Sunday night against the Knicks except to stay sharp as the playoffs near and to avoid an embarrassing loss. The Magic failed miserably, as the Knicks, losers of 17 of their previous 19 games and having not beaten a team currently over .500 since mid-February, had the lead for virtually the entire game and sent the Magic to a 100-90 loss.

Even though the Magic outshot the Knicks from the field 40% to 35.9%, the Knicks shot better from 3 point range (30.4% to 25%), from the free throw line (77.1% to 58.6%), outrebounded the Magic (55-52), had a better assist/turnover ratio than the Magic (20/8 to 17/14), and had better bench production than the Magic (29-14).

Only four players scored in double figures for the Magic led by Hedo Turkoglu with 22 pts, 6 asts. Jameer Nelson added 19 pts but only 1 assist and 4 turnovers; Maurice Evans 16 pts, 7 rebounds. Dwight Howard struggled again offensively, scoring just 13 points, including 3 of 10 on free throws, but did grab 15 rebs. Rashard Lewis had one of his worst offensive games of the season, scoring just 6 pts on 2 of 12 shooting, but did grab 9 rebounds with 6 assists.

Six players scored in double figures for the Knicks, as rookie Wilson Chandler scored a career-high 23 points. Zach Randolph added 20 points and 11 rebounds.

The Magic got off to a horrible start, trailing after one quarter 26-12, shooting just 5 of 19. They recovered to briefly take the lead late in the second quarter and trailed by just one point at the half. The Magic trailed just 73-71 early in the fourth before the Knicks took over and had as much as a 14 pt lead late in the game.

Some game notes:

This was the first win by the Knicks against a team currently over .500 since February 19th at Washington. This was their first home win against a team currently over .500 since way back on January 25th against Philadelphia.
Turkoglu and Lewis combined to shoot a miserable 2 of 16 from 3 point range; as a team, the Magic were just 9 of 36 from long range.
The Magic bench combined to score just 14 points on 5 of 17 shooting.
After an outstanding game Saturday, Pat Garrity went back to being his usual self scoring just 4 points on 2 of 8 shooting against the Knicks.
In his last six games, Keith Bogans is averaging just 5.2 points on 11 of 38 from the field (28.9%), including 6 of 28 (21.4%) on threes and 3 of 9 on free throws.
In Howard's last eight games, he is averaging just 13.8 points.

The Magic can't afford any more losses like this one if they hope for a long playoff run. After an off day Monday, the Magic will host another struggling team in the Bulls Tuesday.

Magic 101, Cleveland 86

Mike from Illinois — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 00:49:33 -0000

Here's Mike's game recap. Be sure to click "Full Story" so you won't miss more stats and analysis - BQR

Despite being thoroughly outrebounded by Cleveland and a sub-par offensive game from Dwight Howard, the Magic (48-28, 25-13 road) took over the game in the fourth quarter and dominated as Cleveland (42-35) shot just 4 of 23 (17%) from the field in that final quarter while the Magic made 9 of 15 from the field on their way to outscoring the Cavs 32-14 for a 101-86 victory.

This victory clinched the third seed for the Magic in the East, and was only the second Magic victory in 22 games this season when the Magic trailed after three quarters. The Magic win the season series from Cleveland 3-1.

The Magic had five players score in double figures, led by Hedo Turkoglu's 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Rashard Lewis added 21 points, 16 of which came in the second half. Jameer Nelson, in his first game back after being accidentally elbowed by Dwight Howard three games ago, scored 16 points, 12 of which came in the first quarter, along with 9 assists and 0 turnovers. Maurice Evans added 11 points. Pat Garrity had his best game of the season as he scored 13 points off the bench, 10 of which came in the first half. Howard struggled scoring just 4 points on 1 of 8 FG shooting, but did grab 12 rebounds.

Cleveland was led by G Delonte West's 19 points, but the main story for the Cavs in this one was the ineffectiveness of LeBron James, as he scored just 17 points on 6 of 22 FG shooting. He has been bothered by back spasms the last several games, and just could not get going offensively, although he had 9 assists and 7 rebounds.

Some additional game notes:

The Magic outshot Cleveland from the field (46.8% to 38.6%), from 3 point range (42.3% to 29.4%) and from the FT line (90% to 61.9%). The Magic also had a decent assist-to-turnover ratio of 24/11.
The Magic were outrebounded 48-33, including 18-6 offensively.
The Magic shot just 7 of 20 from the field in the second quarter.
Turkoglu and Lewis combined for 44 points on 13 of 24 shooting (including 5 of 8 from 3 point range and 13 of 14 free throws), 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals, and 2 blocks.
The point guards, Nelson and Keyon Dooling, combined for 23 points, 10 assists, and 0 turnovers.
Pat Garrity (13 points) nearly outscored LeBron James (17 points).
Adonal Foyle (4 pts) scored as many points in 9 minutes as Dwight Howard scored in 39 minutes.
The Magic did not shoot their first free throw until there was 2:50 remaining in the second quarter, which was on a Cleveland technical foul, and that was their only attempt in the first half.
In the Magic's last 16 victories, 15 of them have been in double digits; the only one that wasn't was a 9 point victory.
The Magic are the only NBA team to have more road wins (25) than home wins (23).

Even though it wasn't pretty at times, a nice comeback win for the Magic on the road, beating a team that is still fighting for home court advantage in the first round. The Magic go right back at it Sunday at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks.

Finally, thanks to Ben Q. Rock for asking me to pinch-hit for him; I'll also be recapping the Magic/Knicks game and the Bulls/Magic game.