GAMETIME: 02/24/08 vs. Sacramento
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FINAL: Orlando Magic 112 - Sacramento Kings 93
February 24, 2008 - Amway Arena
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GAME INFO
Tipoff: 6:00 PM ET
TV: FSN
Radio: WDBO AM 580 | Spanish Radio: AM 1030 WONQ
By Nick Adams | OrlandoMagic.com
FOURTH QUARTER
Brian Cook scores the first points of the final period burrying one from downtown to put the Magic ahead by nine. Spencer Hawes and Adonal Foyle trade hook shots to make the score Orlando 79, Sacramento 70, three minutes into the fourth.
Cook is on fire and he hits back-to-back jumpers to give the Magic their largest lead of the game at 14 points. Dooling heads to the basket and gets fouled sending him to the line as Kings coach Reggie Theus calls a timeout.
Dooling hits the pair as the Magic bench has really provided a great spark to begin this final period. Cook nails another triple but Artest answers to quiet the Amway crowd after a 15-2 Magic run to begin the fourth.
Dooling throws down a dunk plus the foul to bring the Amway crowd to their feet and follows the next possession with a layup. Artest once again quiets the crowd briefly but the Magic have jumped out to a 20 point lead at 96-76 halfway through the fourth.
Dooling is also on fire this quarter as he scores another jumper. Dooling and Cook have scored 11 points apiece this quarter leading the Magic to a 98-79 lead.
The "We Want J.J." chants begin as the Magic lead by 22 points with just under three minutes remaining. I don't think the fans realize that by chanting that it probably makes Van Gundy more apt to not put Redick in. Personally I could care less, we are up big.
J.J. finally gets in but the greatest shooter of all time splits a pair from the line and then bricks a layup.
The Kings call a 20 second timeout with 30 seconds left as Reggie Theus gets ready to draw up his 30 point play.
The game ends with the Magic winning big, 112-93.
Final: Orlando Magic 112, Sacramento Kings 93
THIRD QUARTER
Let's hope the Magic can carry over their defensive intensity from the second quarter over to the second half as they held the Kings to just 5-of-18 shooting from the field in the second period.
Howard picks up right where he left off in the first half throwing in a hook shot for his game-high 17th point and follows the next possession by slamming down an alley-oop on a pretty feed from Nelson.
The teams go back and forth trading baskets and a Turkoglu tip back puts the Magic ahead 57-52 three minutes into the third period.
The back and forth game continues but Turk drills his second straight jumper to put the Magic ahead 64-58 as we head to the halfway point in the third quarter.
After a slow second quarter, the pace of the game has picked up considerably and Van Gundy calls a timeout to get this squared away with the Magic leading by six.
Mo Evans scores back-to-back layups to give the Magic a 70-62 advantage as we head under three minutes left in the period.
Evans spreads the wealth feeding Howard for a nice alley-oop. The Magic sustain a six point lead as they head into the final period.
End of Third: Orlando Magic 74,Sacramento Kings 68
SECOND QUARTER
The Kings continue their hot shooting and jump out to an eight point lead thanks to 70 percent shooting from the field thus far. Turk finally gets his first points from the free-throw line going 3-for-4 on two trips to the charity stripe.
Dooling hits his first shot off the Magic bench banking in a fadeaway 15 footer to bring the Magic within four points at 34-30 halfway through the second quarter.
Good ball movement by the Magic leads to a wide open three by Lewis from the right corner and Bogans cans another triple the following possession to tie the ballgame up at 36. The Magic are shooting 50 percent on 4-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc thus far.
Turk caps off a 9-0 Magic run converting a three-point play to give the Magic the lead at 39-36 at the four minute mark in the second period.
Brad Miller ends the Magic run canning a jumper and a pair of Kevin Martin free-throws puts the Kings back ahead by one.
Turk plays the role of facilitator as he feeds Howard for a slam and Lewis for a triple to give the Magic a 44-40 lead at the two minute warning.
A pair of Lewis free-throws caps off a 7-0 Magic run but the Kings answer back with a 6-0 run themselves to tie up the ballgame at 46 as the half concludes.
Halftime: Orlando Magic 46, Sacramento Kings 46
FIRST QUARTER
What's up Magic fans and welcome to Amway Arena for tonight's match-up as the Magic square off against the Sacramento Kings.
Let's hope the Magic can grab their second home win in three nights as they meet the Kings at center court for tonight's opening tip. Dwight Howard taps back to Jameer Nelson to get us underway here at Amway.
Joining Howard and Nelson for the Magic is Maurice Evans, Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu. The Kings start Beno Udrih, Kevin Martin, Ron Artest, Mikki Moore, and Brad Miller.
Brad Miller scores the first points of the ballgame on a layup but Howard answers quickly back with a dunk. Howard comes out dunking once again, throwing down an alley-oop from Nelson to give the Magic an early 6-4 advantage.
As expected, the pace of the game is very up tempo and the score is tied at eight four minutes into the opening period.
The Magic are getting Howard involved early and they feed Dwight inside drawing a Kings' foul. Howard splits the pair giving him seven of the Magic's first nine points. Artest hits his first jumper to put the Kings ahead 10-9 five minutes into the first.
Artest is doing a great job on Turkoglu holding Hedo scoreless thus far and forcing him into two turnovers. Howard buckets a pretty reverse layup and blocks a Mikki Moore hook shot at the other end. Kevin Martin drills a triple but Lewis answers quickly back with his first points of the ballgame netting a trey of his own.
Artest gets an easy bucket forcing a timeout from Stan Van Gundy with the Magic trailing 19-14 with five minutes remaining in the quarter.
The Kings come out of the timeout in a 3-2 zone and Brian Cook, who just checked into the game, drills a three from the left wing. Howard is abusing Brad Miller down low as Dwight baskets his 11th point on 5-of-6 from the field. Howard is doing good at the offensive end but he needs to start becoming a factor on the glass as he hasn't recorded a rebound and the Magic as a team are getting outrebounded 10-5.
Somebody from the Magic is going to have to start protecting the paint as Brad Miller scores two easy layups putting the Kings ahead 29-21 as we head under a minute remaining in the first.
Howard posterizes poor Spencer Hawes bringing the Amway crowd to their feet. Howard finally records a rebound, drawing no reaction from the crowd but I sarcastically clap.
The quarter concludes with the Magic trailing by four.
End of First: Sacramento Kings 29, Orlando Magic 25
KEYS TO THE GAME
Crash the Boards
The Kings don't have an overpowering front line and rank third to last in team rebounding at 40.33 boards a night, so if the Magic crash the boards they will have chances for offensive rebounds resulting in second chance point opportunities.
Crashing the boards at the defensive end will help ignite the fast-break for the Magic helping them get some easy transition baskets.
Bring Intensity Defensively
Defensive intensity should be a key to every game but it is vital tonight that the Magic don't have one of their lackluster games defensively against the Kings who can put up some points. The game should be very high paced and the Magic have to focus on not getting caught up in the fast tempo play forgetting to play solid defense.
The Magic are a more talented team than the Kings but anytime you get caught up in a high scoring shootout, it is anyone's ballgame. The Kings have 26 wins and 25 of those have come when they score 100 points or more, so the Magic need to focus on getting some stops tonight.
SHOOTAROUND
The Magic and the Sacramento Kings went through shootaround Sunday morning as they prepare to face off at Amway Arena.
Defense was still the main focus at shootaround for the Magic and Van Gundy preached to the team that they have to bring their best effort against a high scoring Sacramento club.
As stated below, Sacramento ranks eighth in the NBA in scoring and play an up-tempo, face paced style much like the Magic.
The game features two high powered offenses but perhaps the best match-up tonight will be the individual battle between small forwards Hedo Turkoglu and Ron Artest.
Turkoglu has had a career season averaging 19.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.7 assists and is coming off a season-high 31 point performance in a win against the Sixers on Friday.
Artest has been known for his defensive and the 2003-2004 NBA Defensive Player of the Year ranks fourth this season in steals at 2.24 takeaways a game.
"It will be good for me to see how well I do against a great defensive player like Artest and I am looking forward to the challenge," said Turkoglu. "I have to just try to keep moving and stay active."
Turkoglu continued, "He is very strong and uses his hands very well so I have to make him move and run around trying to find any opportunities I can."
Not only is Artest a great defender but he is a very skilled offensive player and is second in scoring on the Kings averaging 19.4 points per game.
"He is a great player who plays hard all the time and it is going to be a good challenge," added Turkoglu. "Not only do I have to try get past him on offense but I also have to try and guard him on defense."
Artest and teammate Kevin Martin, who leads the Kings in scoring at 23.1 points per night, did not play in the two teams' first match-up this season in Sacramento, and both will play tonight.
The Magic appear ready to end the Kings three game winning streak while winning their second game in three nights at Amway.
PREGAME
The Magic return to Amway Arena for the second time in three nights as they set to square off against the Sacramento Kings Sunday night.
Sacramento visits Orlando with a very formidable basketball team, however; their 26-28 record has them ranked 11th in a stacked Western Conference.
Injuries have plagued the Kings all season with their two top players, shooting guard Kevin Martin (23.1 ppg) and small forward Ron Artest (19.4 ppg), missing substantial playing time.
The Kings have been playing better basketball of late having won their last three contests with Martin and Artest healthy, and the Magic will face the tandem for the first time this season as the pair missed the two teams' first match-up.
The Magic and Kings last met in early December in Sacramento and despite six three-pointers from Rashard Lewis, and a monster 29 point, 15 rebound performance from Dwight Howard, the Magic lost 104-100 as their big fourth quarter comeback fell just short.
Expect a high scoring game as the Magic enter the contest with the league's sixth highest scoring team at 104.3 points per game and the Kings come to Amway with league's seventh highest scoring team at 100.9 points per game.
The Magic will aim to improve their 35-22 record while extending their eight and a half game Southeast Division lead by evening up the season series against the Kings on Sunday night.
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. 24 vs. Sacramento (Orlando, FL): Orlando is 16-22 all-time vs. Sacramento (12-7 at home, 4-15 on the road) during regular season action, including 0-1 this season (see recap below)…The teams split 1-1 last season...Orlando has split the last six meetings, but lost 12 of the last 17 matchups overall…The Magic have won four of the last six outings at home…The Kings had won 11 straight meetings in Sacramento until last season’s 92-89 victory by Orlando on Dec. 4, 2006...Hedo Turkoglu played in 221 career games with Sacramento from 2000-03…Head Coach Stan Van Gundy is a native of Indio, CA…Assistant GM Dave Twardzik served as a scout for the Kings from 1999-2002…For last season’s stats and Magic career numbers vs. Sacramento, see p. 279 of the media guide…Jan. 8 @ Sacramento – Kings 104, Magic 100: John Salmons led five Kings in double figures with 21 points, as Sacramento defeated Orlando, 104-100, at ARCO Arena. It was the Magic’s third straight loss. Brad Miller netted 20 points, while Beno Udrih had 17 points, including 16 during the first half. Dwight Howard led all players with 29 points and 15 rebounds. Sacramento shot 50.0 percent from the floor and led by as many as 19 points during the fourth quarter. The Magic mounted a furious comeback, but it was too little, too late. Orlando went 10-of-28 from three-point range, but committed 19 turnovers.
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. KINGS: 44 pts., Tracy McGrady (@ Orlando, 11-19-01)
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAGIC: 42 pts., Mike Bibby (@ Sacramento, 1-15-06)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| KINGS | 29 | 17 | 22 | 25 | 93 |
| MAGIC | 25 | 21 | 28 | 39 | 112 |
GAME INFO
Tipoff: 6:00 PM ET
TV: FSN
Radio: WDBO AM 580 | Spanish Radio: AM 1030 WONQ
By Nick Adams | OrlandoMagic.com
FOURTH QUARTER
Brian Cook scores the first points of the final period burrying one from downtown to put the Magic ahead by nine. Spencer Hawes and Adonal Foyle trade hook shots to make the score Orlando 79, Sacramento 70, three minutes into the fourth.
Cook is on fire and he hits back-to-back jumpers to give the Magic their largest lead of the game at 14 points. Dooling heads to the basket and gets fouled sending him to the line as Kings coach Reggie Theus calls a timeout.
Dooling hits the pair as the Magic bench has really provided a great spark to begin this final period. Cook nails another triple but Artest answers to quiet the Amway crowd after a 15-2 Magic run to begin the fourth.
Dooling throws down a dunk plus the foul to bring the Amway crowd to their feet and follows the next possession with a layup. Artest once again quiets the crowd briefly but the Magic have jumped out to a 20 point lead at 96-76 halfway through the fourth.
Dooling is also on fire this quarter as he scores another jumper. Dooling and Cook have scored 11 points apiece this quarter leading the Magic to a 98-79 lead.
The "We Want J.J." chants begin as the Magic lead by 22 points with just under three minutes remaining. I don't think the fans realize that by chanting that it probably makes Van Gundy more apt to not put Redick in. Personally I could care less, we are up big.
J.J. finally gets in but the greatest shooter of all time splits a pair from the line and then bricks a layup.
The Kings call a 20 second timeout with 30 seconds left as Reggie Theus gets ready to draw up his 30 point play.
The game ends with the Magic winning big, 112-93.
Final: Orlando Magic 112, Sacramento Kings 93
THIRD QUARTER
Let's hope the Magic can carry over their defensive intensity from the second quarter over to the second half as they held the Kings to just 5-of-18 shooting from the field in the second period.
Howard picks up right where he left off in the first half throwing in a hook shot for his game-high 17th point and follows the next possession by slamming down an alley-oop on a pretty feed from Nelson.
The teams go back and forth trading baskets and a Turkoglu tip back puts the Magic ahead 57-52 three minutes into the third period.
The back and forth game continues but Turk drills his second straight jumper to put the Magic ahead 64-58 as we head to the halfway point in the third quarter.
After a slow second quarter, the pace of the game has picked up considerably and Van Gundy calls a timeout to get this squared away with the Magic leading by six.
Mo Evans scores back-to-back layups to give the Magic a 70-62 advantage as we head under three minutes left in the period.
Evans spreads the wealth feeding Howard for a nice alley-oop. The Magic sustain a six point lead as they head into the final period.
End of Third: Orlando Magic 74,Sacramento Kings 68
SECOND QUARTER
The Kings continue their hot shooting and jump out to an eight point lead thanks to 70 percent shooting from the field thus far. Turk finally gets his first points from the free-throw line going 3-for-4 on two trips to the charity stripe.
Dooling hits his first shot off the Magic bench banking in a fadeaway 15 footer to bring the Magic within four points at 34-30 halfway through the second quarter.
Good ball movement by the Magic leads to a wide open three by Lewis from the right corner and Bogans cans another triple the following possession to tie the ballgame up at 36. The Magic are shooting 50 percent on 4-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc thus far.
Turk caps off a 9-0 Magic run converting a three-point play to give the Magic the lead at 39-36 at the four minute mark in the second period.
Brad Miller ends the Magic run canning a jumper and a pair of Kevin Martin free-throws puts the Kings back ahead by one.
Turk plays the role of facilitator as he feeds Howard for a slam and Lewis for a triple to give the Magic a 44-40 lead at the two minute warning.
A pair of Lewis free-throws caps off a 7-0 Magic run but the Kings answer back with a 6-0 run themselves to tie up the ballgame at 46 as the half concludes.
Halftime: Orlando Magic 46, Sacramento Kings 46
FIRST QUARTER
What's up Magic fans and welcome to Amway Arena for tonight's match-up as the Magic square off against the Sacramento Kings.
Let's hope the Magic can grab their second home win in three nights as they meet the Kings at center court for tonight's opening tip. Dwight Howard taps back to Jameer Nelson to get us underway here at Amway.
Joining Howard and Nelson for the Magic is Maurice Evans, Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu. The Kings start Beno Udrih, Kevin Martin, Ron Artest, Mikki Moore, and Brad Miller.
Brad Miller scores the first points of the ballgame on a layup but Howard answers quickly back with a dunk. Howard comes out dunking once again, throwing down an alley-oop from Nelson to give the Magic an early 6-4 advantage.
As expected, the pace of the game is very up tempo and the score is tied at eight four minutes into the opening period.
The Magic are getting Howard involved early and they feed Dwight inside drawing a Kings' foul. Howard splits the pair giving him seven of the Magic's first nine points. Artest hits his first jumper to put the Kings ahead 10-9 five minutes into the first.
Artest is doing a great job on Turkoglu holding Hedo scoreless thus far and forcing him into two turnovers. Howard buckets a pretty reverse layup and blocks a Mikki Moore hook shot at the other end. Kevin Martin drills a triple but Lewis answers quickly back with his first points of the ballgame netting a trey of his own.
Artest gets an easy bucket forcing a timeout from Stan Van Gundy with the Magic trailing 19-14 with five minutes remaining in the quarter.
The Kings come out of the timeout in a 3-2 zone and Brian Cook, who just checked into the game, drills a three from the left wing. Howard is abusing Brad Miller down low as Dwight baskets his 11th point on 5-of-6 from the field. Howard is doing good at the offensive end but he needs to start becoming a factor on the glass as he hasn't recorded a rebound and the Magic as a team are getting outrebounded 10-5.
Somebody from the Magic is going to have to start protecting the paint as Brad Miller scores two easy layups putting the Kings ahead 29-21 as we head under a minute remaining in the first.
Howard posterizes poor Spencer Hawes bringing the Amway crowd to their feet. Howard finally records a rebound, drawing no reaction from the crowd but I sarcastically clap.
The quarter concludes with the Magic trailing by four.
End of First: Sacramento Kings 29, Orlando Magic 25
KEYS TO THE GAME
Crash the Boards
The Kings don't have an overpowering front line and rank third to last in team rebounding at 40.33 boards a night, so if the Magic crash the boards they will have chances for offensive rebounds resulting in second chance point opportunities.
Crashing the boards at the defensive end will help ignite the fast-break for the Magic helping them get some easy transition baskets.
Bring Intensity Defensively
Defensive intensity should be a key to every game but it is vital tonight that the Magic don't have one of their lackluster games defensively against the Kings who can put up some points. The game should be very high paced and the Magic have to focus on not getting caught up in the fast tempo play forgetting to play solid defense.
The Magic are a more talented team than the Kings but anytime you get caught up in a high scoring shootout, it is anyone's ballgame. The Kings have 26 wins and 25 of those have come when they score 100 points or more, so the Magic need to focus on getting some stops tonight.
SHOOTAROUND
The Magic and the Sacramento Kings went through shootaround Sunday morning as they prepare to face off at Amway Arena.
Defense was still the main focus at shootaround for the Magic and Van Gundy preached to the team that they have to bring their best effort against a high scoring Sacramento club.
As stated below, Sacramento ranks eighth in the NBA in scoring and play an up-tempo, face paced style much like the Magic.
The game features two high powered offenses but perhaps the best match-up tonight will be the individual battle between small forwards Hedo Turkoglu and Ron Artest.
Turkoglu has had a career season averaging 19.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.7 assists and is coming off a season-high 31 point performance in a win against the Sixers on Friday.
Artest has been known for his defensive and the 2003-2004 NBA Defensive Player of the Year ranks fourth this season in steals at 2.24 takeaways a game.
"It will be good for me to see how well I do against a great defensive player like Artest and I am looking forward to the challenge," said Turkoglu. "I have to just try to keep moving and stay active."
Turkoglu continued, "He is very strong and uses his hands very well so I have to make him move and run around trying to find any opportunities I can."
Not only is Artest a great defender but he is a very skilled offensive player and is second in scoring on the Kings averaging 19.4 points per game.
"He is a great player who plays hard all the time and it is going to be a good challenge," added Turkoglu. "Not only do I have to try get past him on offense but I also have to try and guard him on defense."
Artest and teammate Kevin Martin, who leads the Kings in scoring at 23.1 points per night, did not play in the two teams' first match-up this season in Sacramento, and both will play tonight.
The Magic appear ready to end the Kings three game winning streak while winning their second game in three nights at Amway.
PREGAME
The Magic return to Amway Arena for the second time in three nights as they set to square off against the Sacramento Kings Sunday night.
Sacramento visits Orlando with a very formidable basketball team, however; their 26-28 record has them ranked 11th in a stacked Western Conference.
Injuries have plagued the Kings all season with their two top players, shooting guard Kevin Martin (23.1 ppg) and small forward Ron Artest (19.4 ppg), missing substantial playing time.
The Kings have been playing better basketball of late having won their last three contests with Martin and Artest healthy, and the Magic will face the tandem for the first time this season as the pair missed the two teams' first match-up.
The Magic and Kings last met in early December in Sacramento and despite six three-pointers from Rashard Lewis, and a monster 29 point, 15 rebound performance from Dwight Howard, the Magic lost 104-100 as their big fourth quarter comeback fell just short.
Expect a high scoring game as the Magic enter the contest with the league's sixth highest scoring team at 104.3 points per game and the Kings come to Amway with league's seventh highest scoring team at 100.9 points per game.
The Magic will aim to improve their 35-22 record while extending their eight and a half game Southeast Division lead by evening up the season series against the Kings on Sunday night.
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. 24 vs. Sacramento (Orlando, FL): Orlando is 16-22 all-time vs. Sacramento (12-7 at home, 4-15 on the road) during regular season action, including 0-1 this season (see recap below)…The teams split 1-1 last season...Orlando has split the last six meetings, but lost 12 of the last 17 matchups overall…The Magic have won four of the last six outings at home…The Kings had won 11 straight meetings in Sacramento until last season’s 92-89 victory by Orlando on Dec. 4, 2006...Hedo Turkoglu played in 221 career games with Sacramento from 2000-03…Head Coach Stan Van Gundy is a native of Indio, CA…Assistant GM Dave Twardzik served as a scout for the Kings from 1999-2002…For last season’s stats and Magic career numbers vs. Sacramento, see p. 279 of the media guide…Jan. 8 @ Sacramento – Kings 104, Magic 100: John Salmons led five Kings in double figures with 21 points, as Sacramento defeated Orlando, 104-100, at ARCO Arena. It was the Magic’s third straight loss. Brad Miller netted 20 points, while Beno Udrih had 17 points, including 16 during the first half. Dwight Howard led all players with 29 points and 15 rebounds. Sacramento shot 50.0 percent from the floor and led by as many as 19 points during the fourth quarter. The Magic mounted a furious comeback, but it was too little, too late. Orlando went 10-of-28 from three-point range, but committed 19 turnovers.
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. KINGS: 44 pts., Tracy McGrady (@ Orlando, 11-19-01)
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAGIC: 42 pts., Mike Bibby (@ Sacramento, 1-15-06)
