NBA
Chicago’s Defense Hands Orlando Another Tough Loss At Home
Published
9 years agoon
By
FNN SPORTS
ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN SPORTS) – The Orlando Magic entered Tuesday night’s contest 11th in the NBA in turnovers at 13.1 per game, but the Chicago Bulls forced 19 turnovers which led to 23 points and the Magic fell short again at home by the score of 100-92. Chicago had 13 steals as a team and Dwayne Wade led them with seven. They forced Elfrid Payton to have eight turnovers, which is a career high for the third year Point Guard.
“We can’t allow a team like that, that’s known for attacking the rim to get points off of turnovers; for us to turn the ball over like that. When you look at it, that was the name of the game.” – Jeff Green on Orlando’s turnovers
The Magic opened the game off to another solid start that had them up after the first quarter. The lineup switch of Jeff Green for C.J. Watson proved to pay dividends. He and Aaron Gordon held All-StarJimmy Butler and Wade to a combined 1 for 8 shooting, but 5 turnovers leading to 6 points kept the Bulls in the game. Serge Ibaka led the Magic with 7 points.
In the second quarter, the Bulls bench was the story. While the starters got some much needed rest, Doug McDermott came into the game and made his mark from downtown. McDermott, arguably the best long range shooter on the Bulls, knocked down 4 3-pointers in the quarter. He scored all 12 of his points in the second and the Bulls bench scored 22 of the team’s 32 total points.
“A couple of different situations, bottom line is we left him and we shouldn’t leave him and there were some breakdowns.”
-Frank Vogel on Doug McDermott’s 2nd quarter shooting
On the other hand, Orlando stayed in the game because of their use of 3-pointers as well. The team went 5 for 6 in the quarter from deep. Ibaka and Damjan Rudez both hit 2 3-pointers apiece in the second quarter. Orlando trailed at the half by three due to Wade ending the half by knocking down consecutive fade-away jumpers at the close of the half. Ibaka had 13 points to lead the Magic at the half. (He finished with 16 for the game.)
The Magic were determined not to let another third quarter like Sunday happen again. Even though they missed all 5 3-pointers they attempted, the Magic kept it competitive. Nikola Vucevic led the team with 8 of his team-high 20 points in the third. Even though Chicago was 1 for 7 from beyond the arc, they had a balanced effort in the scoring column. 4 of the 5 Bulls starters scored 6 points each and Wade shrugged off the slow start as he hit 3 of his 4 attempted field goals.
As the final quarter played out, the Magic couldn’t keep Cristiano Felicio off the glass. He recorded 5 of his game-high 10 rebounds in the period. The Bulls out-rebounded the Magic 20-12 in the quarter and just couldn’t continue the solid shooting they had in the opening half. Wade scored 7 of his game-high 21 points in the final quarter and got additional 6 more from Butler. (Butler finished with 20 points.)
Orlando falls to 18-29 on the season and will go on the road for their next two games over the weekend. On Friday night they take on the Boston Celtics and soon-to-be All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas and on Sunday they play DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry’s Toronto Raptors.
Points Of Interest:
- Wade’s 7 steals in the game was the 2nd highest single game total of his career
- Bulls got to the line 30 times (23 made) compared to the Magic’s 20 (15 made)
- Payton’s previous career high in turnovers was 6
- The Magic did not have Evan Fournier (sore foot), Jodie Meeks (surgery) and D.J. Augustin (sprained right ankle) available
Danny Thompson is a contributing NBA reporter for Florida National News. He can also be found over at NBA Full Court Press Radio.
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NBA
Orlando Magic Rally Late to Beat Washington Wizards 122-112
Published
3 years agoon
March 21, 2023
ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN) – The Orlando Magic had a lot of ground to make up for at home after their long road run, and the Washington Wizards didn’t make it easy on them–their defense greatly frustrated the Magic.
First Half
The Wizards led most of the first quarter, especially since the Magic made none of their three-pointers…until Moritz Wagner came in off the bench with just over two minutes left in the first. With a couple of shots, he switched the lead to Orlando by a single point at the end of the first quarter, 26-25.
Cole Anthony got a nice and-1 after his rebound from a failed Wizard free throw. Bradley Beal fouled him as he ran into the paint, but Anthony’s fadeaway shot was successful as he fell to the floor.
In the second quarter the Wizards regained the lead, but like in the first quarter, the Magic rallied near the end of the quarter. When Gary Harris, Markelle Fultz and the other Wagner, Franz, got back on the court, the Magic began sinking more shots.
Mo Wagner contributed 11 points in the first two quarters, while Franz, Harris and Anthony each followed with 10 points. The Magic also made up for their three-pointer deficit in second quarter. They were seven of 17 (41.2 percent) on threes in the first half compared to the Wizards’ five of 15 (33.3 percent) and were 23 of 43 on field goals (53.5 percent) compared to the Wizards’ 21 of 40 (52.5 percent).
For Washington, Deni Avdija and Monte Morris led the scoring with 12 points each; Kristaps Porzingis followed with 11 points.
The Magic secured a four-point lead heading into halftime, 60-56.
Second Half
The Magic ended third quarter one point behind, 88-87.
The Magic brought the fire in the fourth quarter, getting on a run between Markelle Fultz, Wendell Carter Jr. and Paolo Banchero, who went to the free throw line three times late in the fourth and nailed every free throw. The highlight play of the second half happened within the final minute of the game: Banchero had pressure on him and made an ugly fadeaway baseline three-pointer…and sank it in.
The most critical hit of all was Bradley Beal fouling out of the game, which dealt a huge blow to the Wizards’ offense in the final stretch. Porzingis tried to pick up the slack, but the Magic saw the blood in the water and piled on the pressure, closing out the game with a 10-point win, 122-112.
For the night, Gary Harris led in scoring for the Magic with 22 points, going six for nine on three pointers and seven for 10 on field goals. Franz Wagner followed with 20 points with four rebounds and six assists. Banchero contributed 18 points and was six of six on free throws. Fultz contributed 17 points with five rebounds and five assists.
For the Wizards, Porzingis led the scoring by far, with 30 total points, six rebounds and three assists. Beal followed with 16 points, five rebounds and seven assists.
__________________________________
Mellissa Thomas is Editor for Florida National News. | mellissa.thomas@floridanationalnews.com
NBA
Orlando Magic to induct Dennis Scott into their Hall of Fame March 23
Published
3 years agoon
March 7, 2023By
FNN SPORTS
Orlando, FL – The Orlando Magic will induct Dennis Scott into their Hall of Fame on Thursday, March 23 at 3:45 p.m. in Amway Center, near the Nutrilite Magic Fan Experience.** Scott will become the 12th member of the Orlando Magic Hall of Fame.
In addition to the induction ceremony, Scott will be honored that night during Orlando’s game vs. New York. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. and tickets are available through OrlandoMagic.com or by calling 1-800-4-NBATIX.
“Dennis (Scott) still remains one of the elite, long-range shooters in both Orlando Magic and NBA history,” said Martins. “His ability to shoot from beyond the three-point arc was a major key to our success during his time in Orlando and his records stand to this day. We are proud to make Dennis the next inductee into the Orlando Magic Hall of Fame.”
Originally selected in the first round (fourth overall) of the 1990 NBA Draft by Orlando, Scott played seven seasons with the Magic from 1990-97. He played in 446 regular season games (322 starts) with Orlando, averaging 14.8 ppg., 3.1 rpg. and 2.3 apg. in 30.7 minpg., while shooting .403 (981-2,432) from three-point range.
During the 1995-96 campaign, Scott set a then-NBA single season-record with 267 three-pointers made, a standard that lasted for ten years. The 267 three-pointers made remains the franchise record for most made in a season. On April 18, 1996 vs. Atlanta, Scott connected on 11 three-pointers, breaking the then-NBA single game-record, a mark that lasted for almost seven seasons. The 11 three-pointers made also remains the franchise record for most made in a game.
Scott also appeared in 41 playoff games (31 starts) with Orlando, averaging 12.2 ppg., 3.0 rpg. and 1.9 apg. in 33.8 minpg., while shooting .364 (92-253) from three-point range. On May 25, 1995 vs. Indiana, he made seven three-pointers during Game #2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, setting a franchise playoff-record that still stands today. Scott helped the Magic reach the 1995 NBA Finals.
Scott remains the Orlando Magic all-time leader in three-pointers made with 981. Entering this season, he also ranks among the franchise’s all-time leaders in three-point field goals attempted (second, 2,432), field goals attempted (seventh, 5,737), games played (eighth, 446), steals (eighth, 429), points scored (tenth, 6,603), field goals made (tenth, 2,421) and minutes played (tenth, 13,692).
The Orlando Magic unveiled its inaugural Hall of Fame class on April 9, 2014 with the first two inductees, Magic co-founder Pat Williams and the team’s first-ever draft pick and current community ambassador, Nick Anderson. Scott also joins Shaquille O’Neal (2015), the late Rich DeVos (2016), Anfernee Hardaway (2017), Jimmy Hewitt (2017), Tracy McGrady (2018), David Steele (2019), Darrell Armstrong (2020), John Gabriel (2022) and Brian Hill (2022) in the Orlando Magic Hall of Fame.
The Orlando Magic Hall of Fame honors and celebrates the great players, coaches and executives who have had a major impact during the team’s illustrious 34-year history. It bridges the past with the future of Magic basketball, and the exhibit, located in Amway Center on the terrace level near Nutrilite Magic Fan Experience, provides Magic fans an opportunity to learn some Magic history while in the building. The inductees are selected based on their overall on and off the court contributions to the team and organization, years of service, impact in the community and general character of the individual.
NBA
Jonathan Isaac to Miss Remainder of 2022-23 Regular Season Due to Another Injury
Published
3 years agoon
March 3, 2023By
FNN SPORTS
ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac underwent surgery on Friday morning to repair a torn left adductor muscle and will miss the remainder of the 2022-23 regular season. An MRI conducted Wednesday revealed the injury, after he felt discomfort following Tuesday’s practice in Milwaukee.
“Our thoughts are with Jonathan, whose fortitude in dealing with adversity is unique,” said Orlando Magic President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman. “Jonathan has worked extremely hard to return to the court this season and has demonstrated his impact on our team. We will be by his side as he focuses on the work ahead.”
Isaac (6’10”, 230, 10/3/97) played in 11 games this season, averaging 5.0 ppg., 4.0 rpg. and 1.27 stlpg. in 11.3 minpg.
Originally selected in the first round (sixth overall) of the 2017 NBA Draft by Orlando, Isaac has appeared in 147 career NBA regular season games (106 starts), all with the Magic, averaging 9.0 ppg., 5.3 rpg., 1.0 apg., 1.43 blkpg. and 1.08 stlpg. in 24.7 minpg. He has also played and started in five career playoff outings, averaging 6.6 ppg., 6.2 rpg. and 1.00 blkpg. in 27.3 minpg.
