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FINAL: Dallas Mavericks 107 - Orlando Magic 98
February 4, 2008 - Amway Arena
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By Nick Adams | OrlandoMagic.com
RECAP
Hedo Turkoglu posted his first career triple-double tallying 13 points, 12 rebounds, and a career-high 13 assists, but it wasn't enough as the Dallas Mavericks handed the Magic a 107-98 loss at Amway Arena.
The loss snapped a five-game win streak at home and a four-game win streak overall for Orlando who had six double figure scorers led by Dwight Howard's 28 points.
Dallas' bench outscored Orlando's 46-16 and the Mavericks out-rebounded the Magic 47-34 on their way to their 32nd victory of the season.
Josh Howard's 28 points paced the Mavericks who shot 51 percent from the field and 80 percent from the charity stripe.
Orlando (31-19) will look to bounce back Wednesday night as they host the New Jersey Nets at Amway Arena.
FOURTH QUARTER
The Magic start the fourth strong as Hedo finds Dwight for a dunk but Brandon Bass answers with three points. Howard throws down another dunk on a nice feed from Turk. Turk has a career-high 12 assists and is two rebounds away from his first career triple-double.
A pair of Dooling free-throws brings the Magic within seven at 77-70, and Amway Arena goes nuts as Dooling finishes a transition layup plus the foul. Dooling converts the three-point play to trim the Dallas lead to 77-73 three minutes into the fourth. Dooling has seven points so far in the fourth quarter.
The teams begin to trade baskets and a Nowitzki basket forces a Van Gundy timeout with the Mavericks holding onto a 83-75 lead.
The Mavericks come out of the timeout showing a 3-2 zone and Howard takes advantage throwing down a tip-dunk. Turk feeds Lewis for a three and then Turk grabs his 10th rebound giving him his first career triple-double (11 points, 10 rebounds, 13 assists). The Mavs score back-to-back hoops to briefly silence the crowd as they pump their lead back to seven points at the halfway mark in the fourth.
Nowitzki and Terry hit back-to-back jumpers to increase the Mavericks' lead to double digits at 91-80 with four minutes remaining.
Terry throws in another jumper to put the Mavs up by 13 as the Amway crowd begins to head for the exits. Lewis nets a jumper and Turk grabs a long rebound and takes it to the rim for two points. The Magic trail by nine with 2:34 to go in the game.
Mo Evans strokes a pair from the line to make the score 93-86 Dallas with under two minutes left. The Magic will more than likely be fouling from here on out and that is not a good sign against the Mavericks who lead the league in free-throw shooting.
Dirk splits a pair from the line and Arroyo nails two of this own to cut the Mavs lead to six points. Terry comes up huge stroking his 16th point off the bench to put the Mavs up 96-88 with 1:22 to go.
Josh Howard takes a trip to the charity stripe and splits the pair...timeout Magic...Lewis misses a three...Terry buckets two free-throws...Lewis scores a layin...Terry cans two more from the line...101-90 Mavs...Dwight Howard splits a pair from the chairty stripe...38.4 seconds left and the Magic are down ten...Dirk burries two more from the free-throw line...Dwight Howard dunks...Barea makes two from the line...Arroyo makes a layup...Bass throws down a dunk...Arroyo hits a three to end the game.
Final: Dallas Mavericks 107, Orlando Magic 98
THIRD QUARTER
Turk starts to warm up for his late game heroics as he burries a three for the first points of the second half but Eddie Jones quickly answers with a layup. Dwight makes a quick spin move to the basket and draws a foul sending him to the free-throw line. He cans both to bring the Magic within 11 and it appears that the Magic have come out with more intensity in this half.
The Mavs score back-to-back hoops to increase their lead back to 15 points. Howard scores a layup on a nice feed from Turk and then Howard feeds a slashing Mo Evans for an easy dunk drawing a Dallas timeout. The Mavericks still lead 61-50 as we hit the halfway mark in the third period.
Lewis and Evans convert a nice give and go fast-break with Evans slamming home a one-handed dunk to bring the Magic within nine. Evans drills a three from the corner to trim the Dallas lead to 63-55 with four minutes remaining in the third.
Josh Howard makes his game-high 23rd point with a jumper but Mo Evans answers with a jumper of his own to bring the Magic within ten. Mo has nine points on 4-of-4 shooting this quarter.
Dwight Howard nets a jump hook in the lane but Jason Terry answers with a 15-foot jumper as the Mavs cling to a ten point lead. Turk finds Dooling in the corner for a three and Turk finds Brian Cook for an easy slam to bring the Amway crowd to their feet. Turkoglu has 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 10 assists.
End of Third: Dallas Mavericks 71, Orlando Magic 64
SECOND QUARTER
The Magic still can't find the groove as the Mavs jump out to their largest lead at 16 points forcing a timeout from Van Gundy.
Turk drives to the basket strong and draws a foul sending him to the line where he burries the pair. Trenton Hassell scores another bench point for the Mavs as they have outscored the Magic 16-2 in bench points.
Turk and Hassell get into a bit of a scuffle drawing a double technical foul, maybe that will get the Magic going.
Howard grabs an offensive rebound and gets hacked by Juan Howard sending Dwight to the charity stripe...there are way to many Howards on the floor right now. Dwight buckets both from the line but the Magic still trail by 16 at 40-24 halfway through the second.
Josh Howard burries his game-high tenth point drilling a three but Arroyo answers with one of his own from the left corner. Jose Barea, who might be 5'8 with heels on, splits a pair from the line and Howard...Dwight...scores a layup to make the score Dallas 48, Orlando 32 with three minutes remaining in the first half.
Mo Evans drills a three on Turk's fifth assist of the first half, but the Magic still trail by 15 points. Dwight Howard throws down an alley-oop but Josh Howard quiets the crowd with a trey.
Turk heads to the line with 20 seconds remaining and cans both to bring the Magic within 14 at 55-41...and that is how the first half ends.
Halftime: Dallas Mavericks 55, Orlando Magic 41
FIRST QUARTER
What's up Magic fans and welcome back to Amway Arena as the Magic set to square off against the Dallas Mavericks.
Tonight's game features two teams with 31 wins and two All-Star starting big men in Dwight Howard and Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki.
The two teams meet at half court as Howard and Eric Dampier set to compete for tonight's opening tip. The Magic start Arroyo, Evans, Turkoglu, Lewis, and Howard. The Mavs oppose with Jose Barea, Eddie Jones, Josh Howard, Nowitzki, and Dampier.
Josh Howard scores the first points of tonight's game drilling a three-pointer from the top of the key. Dwight Howard scores the Magic's first points bucketing a short jump-hook in the lane. Howard scores back-to-back hoops to make the score Josh Howard 7 and the Magic 2, three minutes into the game.
Must be the Howard show tonight as Josh Howard leads Dwight Howard 7-4. Dampier and Evans break the Howard game up by trading baskets. Dampier throws down a dunk leading to a Van Gundy timeout with the Mavs ahead 11-6 halfway through the first period.
Nowitzki hits his first basket to put the Mavs up by seven but Lewis answers with a triple from the right wing. Nowitzki begins to heat up as he scores back-to-back hoops to give the Mavericks a 17-9 lead with 4:44 remaining in the first.
Lewis hits his second straight jumper but Devan George answers with a trey from the corner. Hedo feeds Howard for a pretty half court alley-oop plus the foul. Howard converts the three-point play to cut the Maverick lead to six.
Jason Terry converts a Magic turnover into a fast-break bucket pushing the Maverick lead to double digits at 24-14 as we hit the two minute warning in the opening period.
Devan George cans another three as the shot clock winds down to give the Mavs a 15 point lead. The Mavericks have shot nearly 70 percent thus far.
Dooling ends the Mavs streak with a jumper and Dwight Howard swats Nowitzki to end the quarter.
End of First: Dallas Mavericks 29, Orlando Magic 16
KEYS TO THE GAME
Contain Nowitzki and Howard
The Magic alluded to the importance of containing Dallas' tandem this morning at shootaround and I think they must follow through with their comments.
With point guard Devin Harris (14.4 ppg) sidelined with an injury, Nowitzki and Howard combine for approximately half of Dallas' scoring, so if the Magic can contain them and not allow either of them to have big nights, it will give Orlando a big advantage.
Be Aggressive at the Offensive End
The Mavericks are a very solid defensive team, but they play extremely fundamental and conservative at that end of the floor. Dallas ranks dead last in the NBA in forced turnovers at 12.8 opponent turnovers per game, so the Magic need to take advantage and be aggressive at the offensive end.
Not to mention, Dallas is coming of a back-to-back having played in Detroit the night before, so let's hope the Magic can take advantage of a fatigued Dallas team.
Play Smart Defense and Don't Foul
Dallas leads the league in free-throw percentage converting on 82 percent of their attempts from the charity stripe, so it is important the Magic don't get slap happy and focus on staying in front of their men defensively, avoiding sending Dallas to the free-throw line at all costs.
Dallas Owner Mark Cuban is also in the building which means that he will be complaining about calls the entire game and will more than likely get some calls go his way in hopes of shutting him up.
SHOOTAROUND
The Magic come back home to Orlando after a short two-game road trip to begin a five-game home stand beginning Monday night against the Dallas Mavericks.
The Mavericks are coming of a horrible 91-67 loss at Detroit yesterday and most of the team, excluding Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard, and Jason Terry, went through a brief shootaround workout this afternoon at Amway Arena.
The entire Magic squad participated in shootaround this morning and seemed to be poised and ready for their up-and-coming home stand which features five games against playoff teams from a season ago.
"It will be a very good test for us to play these good teams at home," said Dwight Howard, "but we are playing in front of our home crowd so we need to come out and play with energy."
"This is a really good stretch for us to make a stand at home and we want continue playing well as we head into the All-Star break," said Hedo Turkoglu.
Rashard Lewis echoed his teammates' sentiments, "It will be key for us to come out and protect home floor to give us a little cushion as we head into the All-Star break, because after All-Star break is when everyone picks up their games and begin to position themselves for the playoff push."
With the All-Star break just a week and a half away, many teams tend to lose their focus right before the break because they look ahead to their time off, and the Magic are looking to use this to their advantage.
"Right before and after the All-Star break is a good time to steal some games," Howard stated. "Coach has told us that we need to start getting greedy and win as many games as we can before it gets to the end of the season when everyone is fighting for their lives."
The Magic are currently on a four-game winning steak including wins in seven out of their last eight games, and despite their recent success, they think there is room for improvement.
"I wouldn't say we are hitting our stride but we are playing with a little more confidence," commented Lewis. "We still have a lot to work on but we will continue to get better."
"I don't think we have been playing any differently," added Howard, "we have had our ups and downs this season but all we try to do is go out, play as hard as we can, and try to win."
In order to come away with a victory tonight, the Magic will have to try and contain the dynamic tandem of All-Star power forward Dirk Nowitzki and rising star, small forward Josh Howard.
Taking on most of the responsibilities for containing the tandem will be Turkoglu and Lewis who will be matched-up with Nowitzki and Howard for most of the game.
"I will probably start out on Dirk to start the game," Turkoglu said, "but there are always going to be mismatches and we just have to be aware of them and communicate better on the floor."
"I will be matched-up with Josh Howard and Dirk Nowitzki most of the game," added Lewis. "They are two of the top forwards in the Western Conference and we need to contain those two guys if we are going to win tonight."
Winning is something the Magic have done frequently at Amway Arena as they seek their six straight victory at home tonight.
PREGAME
The Magic return to Amway Arena after a successful two-game road trip in which Orlando extended their winning streak to four games.
Orlando aims to continue their winning streak Monday night as they play host to reigning league MVP Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks.
The Magic will also look to add upon their five game winning streak at home against Dallas who has won just four games in 18 meetings in Orlando all-time.
Dallas has been one of the elite teams in the superior Western Conference for the last couple of years and this season is no different as the Mavericks are near the top with a 31-15 record.
The Mavericks 20-3 record at home is tops in the NBA but they have struggled mightily on the road posting a 11-12 record away from Dallas.
Furthermore, Dallas is in the midst of a road trip in which they will have played three away games in five days against the Eastern Conference's top three teams (Boston, Detroit, and Orlando), and face the Magic on a back-to-back.
This may be a slight advantage for Orlando as they seek revenge against the Mavericks, who beat the Magic in Dallas, 111-108, in mid December.
In that game, the Magic shot an outstanding 52 percent from the field as Hedo Turkoglu lead the way with 26 points and Dwight Howard added 22 points and 13 rebounds.
Dallas won thanks to an excellent performance by Nowitzki who bucketed 31 points and 11 rebounds while Jerry Stackhouse contributed 21 points off the bench.
Nowitzki is having another stellar season averaging 22.5 points and 8.6 rebounds and rising star Josh Howard has also been impressive for the Mavericks scoring 20.8 points and grabbing 7.5 rebounds per night.
As a whole, Dallas is a very good shooting team ranking fifth in field-goal percentage (.471) and first in free-throw (.823) percentage.
Orlando must play solid fundamental defense and bring their best effort Monday night if they hope to improve their Southeast Division leading 31-18 record.
MAGIC INJURY REPORT
Tony Battie – Out, torn rotator cuff, left shoulder – underwent successful surgery on Oct. 24; will likely miss the entire season.
TONIGHT’S OPPONENT:
Feb. 4 vs. Dallas (Orlando, FL): Orlando is 20-19 vs. Dallas (14-4 at home, 6-15 at Dallas) during regular season action, including 0-1 this season (see recap below)…Orlando went 0-2 last season against Dallas...The Magic have lost eight of the last 10 regular season meetings with the Mavericks...Orlando has won seven of the last nine matchups at home, but lost the last 10 meetings on the road (last win @ Dallas: 100-90 on Dec. 11, 1997)…Tony Battie played 87 career games at Texas Tech and went to South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas…Maurice Evans played one season at the University of Texas…Assistant Coach Bob Beyer was an assistant under Bob Knight at Texas Tech for two seasons (2001-03)…For last season’s stats and Magic career numbers vs. Dallas, see p. 243 of the media guide…Dec. 17 @ Dallas – Mavericks 111, Magic 108: Dirk Nowtizki poured in a game-high 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, as Dallas edged Orlando, 111-108, at American Airlines Center. Jerry Stackhouse came off the bench to score 21 points for the Mavericks, while Josh Howard added 19. Hedo Turkoglu paced the Magic with 26 points, and Dwight Howard recorded his NBA-leading 22nd double-double with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Both teams shot well from the field – Dallas shot 52.5 percent while Orlando shot 52.4 percent. Trailing 109-106, Keith Bogans drained what appeared to be a game-tying three-point shot with 3.5 seconds left. However, it was ruled his foot was on the three-point line, so it only counted as a two-point basket. After two free throws by Stackhouse, Keyon Dooling’s desperation attempt at the buzzer was off the mark and Dallas escaped with a narrow win.
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAVS: 43 pts., Shaquille O’Neal (@ Dallas, 3-3-94)
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAGIC: 38 pts., Dirk Nowitzki (@ Orlando, 3-31-06; @ Dallas, 1-18-01)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| MAVERICKS | 29 | 26 | 16 | 36 | 107 |
| MAGIC | 16 | 25 | 23 | 34 | 98 |
By Nick Adams | OrlandoMagic.com
RECAP
Hedo Turkoglu posted his first career triple-double tallying 13 points, 12 rebounds, and a career-high 13 assists, but it wasn't enough as the Dallas Mavericks handed the Magic a 107-98 loss at Amway Arena.
The loss snapped a five-game win streak at home and a four-game win streak overall for Orlando who had six double figure scorers led by Dwight Howard's 28 points.
Dallas' bench outscored Orlando's 46-16 and the Mavericks out-rebounded the Magic 47-34 on their way to their 32nd victory of the season.
Josh Howard's 28 points paced the Mavericks who shot 51 percent from the field and 80 percent from the charity stripe.
Orlando (31-19) will look to bounce back Wednesday night as they host the New Jersey Nets at Amway Arena.
FOURTH QUARTER
The Magic start the fourth strong as Hedo finds Dwight for a dunk but Brandon Bass answers with three points. Howard throws down another dunk on a nice feed from Turk. Turk has a career-high 12 assists and is two rebounds away from his first career triple-double.
A pair of Dooling free-throws brings the Magic within seven at 77-70, and Amway Arena goes nuts as Dooling finishes a transition layup plus the foul. Dooling converts the three-point play to trim the Dallas lead to 77-73 three minutes into the fourth. Dooling has seven points so far in the fourth quarter.
The teams begin to trade baskets and a Nowitzki basket forces a Van Gundy timeout with the Mavericks holding onto a 83-75 lead.
The Mavericks come out of the timeout showing a 3-2 zone and Howard takes advantage throwing down a tip-dunk. Turk feeds Lewis for a three and then Turk grabs his 10th rebound giving him his first career triple-double (11 points, 10 rebounds, 13 assists). The Mavs score back-to-back hoops to briefly silence the crowd as they pump their lead back to seven points at the halfway mark in the fourth.
Nowitzki and Terry hit back-to-back jumpers to increase the Mavericks' lead to double digits at 91-80 with four minutes remaining.
Terry throws in another jumper to put the Mavs up by 13 as the Amway crowd begins to head for the exits. Lewis nets a jumper and Turk grabs a long rebound and takes it to the rim for two points. The Magic trail by nine with 2:34 to go in the game.
Mo Evans strokes a pair from the line to make the score 93-86 Dallas with under two minutes left. The Magic will more than likely be fouling from here on out and that is not a good sign against the Mavericks who lead the league in free-throw shooting.
Dirk splits a pair from the line and Arroyo nails two of this own to cut the Mavs lead to six points. Terry comes up huge stroking his 16th point off the bench to put the Mavs up 96-88 with 1:22 to go.
Josh Howard takes a trip to the charity stripe and splits the pair...timeout Magic...Lewis misses a three...Terry buckets two free-throws...Lewis scores a layin...Terry cans two more from the line...101-90 Mavs...Dwight Howard splits a pair from the chairty stripe...38.4 seconds left and the Magic are down ten...Dirk burries two more from the free-throw line...Dwight Howard dunks...Barea makes two from the line...Arroyo makes a layup...Bass throws down a dunk...Arroyo hits a three to end the game.
Final: Dallas Mavericks 107, Orlando Magic 98
THIRD QUARTER
Turk starts to warm up for his late game heroics as he burries a three for the first points of the second half but Eddie Jones quickly answers with a layup. Dwight makes a quick spin move to the basket and draws a foul sending him to the free-throw line. He cans both to bring the Magic within 11 and it appears that the Magic have come out with more intensity in this half.
The Mavs score back-to-back hoops to increase their lead back to 15 points. Howard scores a layup on a nice feed from Turk and then Howard feeds a slashing Mo Evans for an easy dunk drawing a Dallas timeout. The Mavericks still lead 61-50 as we hit the halfway mark in the third period.
Lewis and Evans convert a nice give and go fast-break with Evans slamming home a one-handed dunk to bring the Magic within nine. Evans drills a three from the corner to trim the Dallas lead to 63-55 with four minutes remaining in the third.
Josh Howard makes his game-high 23rd point with a jumper but Mo Evans answers with a jumper of his own to bring the Magic within ten. Mo has nine points on 4-of-4 shooting this quarter.
Dwight Howard nets a jump hook in the lane but Jason Terry answers with a 15-foot jumper as the Mavs cling to a ten point lead. Turk finds Dooling in the corner for a three and Turk finds Brian Cook for an easy slam to bring the Amway crowd to their feet. Turkoglu has 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 10 assists.
End of Third: Dallas Mavericks 71, Orlando Magic 64
SECOND QUARTER
The Magic still can't find the groove as the Mavs jump out to their largest lead at 16 points forcing a timeout from Van Gundy.
Turk drives to the basket strong and draws a foul sending him to the line where he burries the pair. Trenton Hassell scores another bench point for the Mavs as they have outscored the Magic 16-2 in bench points.
Turk and Hassell get into a bit of a scuffle drawing a double technical foul, maybe that will get the Magic going.
Howard grabs an offensive rebound and gets hacked by Juan Howard sending Dwight to the charity stripe...there are way to many Howards on the floor right now. Dwight buckets both from the line but the Magic still trail by 16 at 40-24 halfway through the second.
Josh Howard burries his game-high tenth point drilling a three but Arroyo answers with one of his own from the left corner. Jose Barea, who might be 5'8 with heels on, splits a pair from the line and Howard...Dwight...scores a layup to make the score Dallas 48, Orlando 32 with three minutes remaining in the first half.
Mo Evans drills a three on Turk's fifth assist of the first half, but the Magic still trail by 15 points. Dwight Howard throws down an alley-oop but Josh Howard quiets the crowd with a trey.
Turk heads to the line with 20 seconds remaining and cans both to bring the Magic within 14 at 55-41...and that is how the first half ends.
Halftime: Dallas Mavericks 55, Orlando Magic 41
FIRST QUARTER
What's up Magic fans and welcome back to Amway Arena as the Magic set to square off against the Dallas Mavericks.
Tonight's game features two teams with 31 wins and two All-Star starting big men in Dwight Howard and Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki.
The two teams meet at half court as Howard and Eric Dampier set to compete for tonight's opening tip. The Magic start Arroyo, Evans, Turkoglu, Lewis, and Howard. The Mavs oppose with Jose Barea, Eddie Jones, Josh Howard, Nowitzki, and Dampier.
Josh Howard scores the first points of tonight's game drilling a three-pointer from the top of the key. Dwight Howard scores the Magic's first points bucketing a short jump-hook in the lane. Howard scores back-to-back hoops to make the score Josh Howard 7 and the Magic 2, three minutes into the game.
Must be the Howard show tonight as Josh Howard leads Dwight Howard 7-4. Dampier and Evans break the Howard game up by trading baskets. Dampier throws down a dunk leading to a Van Gundy timeout with the Mavs ahead 11-6 halfway through the first period.
Nowitzki hits his first basket to put the Mavs up by seven but Lewis answers with a triple from the right wing. Nowitzki begins to heat up as he scores back-to-back hoops to give the Mavericks a 17-9 lead with 4:44 remaining in the first.
Lewis hits his second straight jumper but Devan George answers with a trey from the corner. Hedo feeds Howard for a pretty half court alley-oop plus the foul. Howard converts the three-point play to cut the Maverick lead to six.
Jason Terry converts a Magic turnover into a fast-break bucket pushing the Maverick lead to double digits at 24-14 as we hit the two minute warning in the opening period.
Devan George cans another three as the shot clock winds down to give the Mavs a 15 point lead. The Mavericks have shot nearly 70 percent thus far.
Dooling ends the Mavs streak with a jumper and Dwight Howard swats Nowitzki to end the quarter.
End of First: Dallas Mavericks 29, Orlando Magic 16
KEYS TO THE GAME
Contain Nowitzki and Howard
The Magic alluded to the importance of containing Dallas' tandem this morning at shootaround and I think they must follow through with their comments.
With point guard Devin Harris (14.4 ppg) sidelined with an injury, Nowitzki and Howard combine for approximately half of Dallas' scoring, so if the Magic can contain them and not allow either of them to have big nights, it will give Orlando a big advantage.
Be Aggressive at the Offensive End
The Mavericks are a very solid defensive team, but they play extremely fundamental and conservative at that end of the floor. Dallas ranks dead last in the NBA in forced turnovers at 12.8 opponent turnovers per game, so the Magic need to take advantage and be aggressive at the offensive end.
Not to mention, Dallas is coming of a back-to-back having played in Detroit the night before, so let's hope the Magic can take advantage of a fatigued Dallas team.
Play Smart Defense and Don't Foul
Dallas leads the league in free-throw percentage converting on 82 percent of their attempts from the charity stripe, so it is important the Magic don't get slap happy and focus on staying in front of their men defensively, avoiding sending Dallas to the free-throw line at all costs.
Dallas Owner Mark Cuban is also in the building which means that he will be complaining about calls the entire game and will more than likely get some calls go his way in hopes of shutting him up.
SHOOTAROUND
The Magic come back home to Orlando after a short two-game road trip to begin a five-game home stand beginning Monday night against the Dallas Mavericks.
The Mavericks are coming of a horrible 91-67 loss at Detroit yesterday and most of the team, excluding Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard, and Jason Terry, went through a brief shootaround workout this afternoon at Amway Arena.
The entire Magic squad participated in shootaround this morning and seemed to be poised and ready for their up-and-coming home stand which features five games against playoff teams from a season ago.
"It will be a very good test for us to play these good teams at home," said Dwight Howard, "but we are playing in front of our home crowd so we need to come out and play with energy."
"This is a really good stretch for us to make a stand at home and we want continue playing well as we head into the All-Star break," said Hedo Turkoglu.
Rashard Lewis echoed his teammates' sentiments, "It will be key for us to come out and protect home floor to give us a little cushion as we head into the All-Star break, because after All-Star break is when everyone picks up their games and begin to position themselves for the playoff push."
With the All-Star break just a week and a half away, many teams tend to lose their focus right before the break because they look ahead to their time off, and the Magic are looking to use this to their advantage.
"Right before and after the All-Star break is a good time to steal some games," Howard stated. "Coach has told us that we need to start getting greedy and win as many games as we can before it gets to the end of the season when everyone is fighting for their lives."
The Magic are currently on a four-game winning steak including wins in seven out of their last eight games, and despite their recent success, they think there is room for improvement.
"I wouldn't say we are hitting our stride but we are playing with a little more confidence," commented Lewis. "We still have a lot to work on but we will continue to get better."
"I don't think we have been playing any differently," added Howard, "we have had our ups and downs this season but all we try to do is go out, play as hard as we can, and try to win."
In order to come away with a victory tonight, the Magic will have to try and contain the dynamic tandem of All-Star power forward Dirk Nowitzki and rising star, small forward Josh Howard.
Taking on most of the responsibilities for containing the tandem will be Turkoglu and Lewis who will be matched-up with Nowitzki and Howard for most of the game.
"I will probably start out on Dirk to start the game," Turkoglu said, "but there are always going to be mismatches and we just have to be aware of them and communicate better on the floor."
"I will be matched-up with Josh Howard and Dirk Nowitzki most of the game," added Lewis. "They are two of the top forwards in the Western Conference and we need to contain those two guys if we are going to win tonight."
Winning is something the Magic have done frequently at Amway Arena as they seek their six straight victory at home tonight.
PREGAME
The Magic return to Amway Arena after a successful two-game road trip in which Orlando extended their winning streak to four games.
Orlando aims to continue their winning streak Monday night as they play host to reigning league MVP Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks.
The Magic will also look to add upon their five game winning streak at home against Dallas who has won just four games in 18 meetings in Orlando all-time.
Dallas has been one of the elite teams in the superior Western Conference for the last couple of years and this season is no different as the Mavericks are near the top with a 31-15 record.
The Mavericks 20-3 record at home is tops in the NBA but they have struggled mightily on the road posting a 11-12 record away from Dallas.
Furthermore, Dallas is in the midst of a road trip in which they will have played three away games in five days against the Eastern Conference's top three teams (Boston, Detroit, and Orlando), and face the Magic on a back-to-back.
This may be a slight advantage for Orlando as they seek revenge against the Mavericks, who beat the Magic in Dallas, 111-108, in mid December.
In that game, the Magic shot an outstanding 52 percent from the field as Hedo Turkoglu lead the way with 26 points and Dwight Howard added 22 points and 13 rebounds.
Dallas won thanks to an excellent performance by Nowitzki who bucketed 31 points and 11 rebounds while Jerry Stackhouse contributed 21 points off the bench.
Nowitzki is having another stellar season averaging 22.5 points and 8.6 rebounds and rising star Josh Howard has also been impressive for the Mavericks scoring 20.8 points and grabbing 7.5 rebounds per night.
As a whole, Dallas is a very good shooting team ranking fifth in field-goal percentage (.471) and first in free-throw (.823) percentage.
Orlando must play solid fundamental defense and bring their best effort Monday night if they hope to improve their Southeast Division leading 31-18 record.
MAGIC INJURY REPORT
Tony Battie – Out, torn rotator cuff, left shoulder – underwent successful surgery on Oct. 24; will likely miss the entire season.
TONIGHT’S OPPONENT:
Feb. 4 vs. Dallas (Orlando, FL): Orlando is 20-19 vs. Dallas (14-4 at home, 6-15 at Dallas) during regular season action, including 0-1 this season (see recap below)…Orlando went 0-2 last season against Dallas...The Magic have lost eight of the last 10 regular season meetings with the Mavericks...Orlando has won seven of the last nine matchups at home, but lost the last 10 meetings on the road (last win @ Dallas: 100-90 on Dec. 11, 1997)…Tony Battie played 87 career games at Texas Tech and went to South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas…Maurice Evans played one season at the University of Texas…Assistant Coach Bob Beyer was an assistant under Bob Knight at Texas Tech for two seasons (2001-03)…For last season’s stats and Magic career numbers vs. Dallas, see p. 243 of the media guide…Dec. 17 @ Dallas – Mavericks 111, Magic 108: Dirk Nowtizki poured in a game-high 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, as Dallas edged Orlando, 111-108, at American Airlines Center. Jerry Stackhouse came off the bench to score 21 points for the Mavericks, while Josh Howard added 19. Hedo Turkoglu paced the Magic with 26 points, and Dwight Howard recorded his NBA-leading 22nd double-double with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Both teams shot well from the field – Dallas shot 52.5 percent while Orlando shot 52.4 percent. Trailing 109-106, Keith Bogans drained what appeared to be a game-tying three-point shot with 3.5 seconds left. However, it was ruled his foot was on the three-point line, so it only counted as a two-point basket. After two free throws by Stackhouse, Keyon Dooling’s desperation attempt at the buzzer was off the mark and Dallas escaped with a narrow win.
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAVS: 43 pts., Shaquille O’Neal (@ Dallas, 3-3-94)
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAGIC: 38 pts., Dirk Nowitzki (@ Orlando, 3-31-06; @ Dallas, 1-18-01)
