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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| HAWKS | 26 | 21 | 27 | 25 | 99 |
| MAGIC | 13 | 27 | 15 | 30 | 85 |
Recap:
Poor performances in the first and third quarters cost the Orlando Magic a win in their season opener Wednesday night as they lost to the Atlanta Hawks 99-85 at Amway Arena. The Hawks played consistently throughout the game, notching at least 21 points in each of the four quarters and five players in double-figures.
The Hawks’ defense played well in the first quarter, forcing the Magic into six turnovers and only 20 percent from the field. Orlando was also outrebounded by a 17-7 margin. Mike Bibby led the Hawks with six points in the quarter, while Mickael Pietrus and Hedo Turkoglu led the Magic with four points.
The Magic came out with much more energy in the second quarter and it showed on the scoreboard. Rashard Lewis and Pietrus led the Magic comeback, each bringing their point total to 11 in the game. While Dwight Howard struggled on the offensive end, he played hard on the boards, pulling down seven rebounds in the half. With their second quarter push, the Magic came to within 47-40 heading into the half.
As the third quarter began, Orlando reverted to its first quarter ways, scoring only 15 points as a team and allowing the Hawks to drop 27. No Magic player scored more than four points in the frame. Meanwhile, Josh Smith began to attack on the offensive end and scored eight points in the quarter, bringing his total to 13 in the game. Joe Johnson also added five in the quarter, helping to lead the Hawks to a 74-55 lead.
Once again, the Magic weren’t willing to give up. The fourth quarter was played at an up-tempo pace by both teams and it allowed Orlando to get back in the game. The Atlanta lead was cut to seven on numerous occasions over the final six minutes, but Joe Johnson silenced the runs each and every time. He scored nine points in the quarter, finishing with 25 in the game.
For the Magic, Howard and Pietrus led the fourth quarter comeback attempts by scoring 12 and seven points in the quarter, respectively. Howard finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds in the game, while Pietrus finished with 20 in his Magic debut.
Mike Bibby made two free throws with less than a minute remaining after Hedo Turkoglu fouled him hard and it was ruled a flagrant one foul. Those free throws put the game out of reach and free throws closed out the game for the Hawks.
Orlando will head on the road to take on the Grizzlies in Memphis Friday night at 8 p.m. Atlanta will head home to take on Philadelphia at 7 p.m. Saturday night.
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Quarter-by-quarter Baseline Blog:
*Tonight's live play-by-play Baseline Blog is unavailable due to technical difficulties. We hope to have these problems resolved in the very near future. Until then, enjoy the quarterly updates!
1st Quarter: The Magic took the court and looked sloppy in the first quarter, turning the ball over and shooting poorly from the field. Dwight Howard had his shot blocked twice by Josh Smith in the quarter and Smith also beat Howard in a jump ball. Orlando went six minutes without scoring a point until Hedo Turkoglu hit a pair of free throws with 1:20 left in the quarter. Orlando finished the quarter shooting 20 percent from the field with six turnovers and was outrebounded 17-8. Even with their complacent play, the Magic stuck around and played well down the stretch by boxing out and grabbing offensive rebounds.
Atlanta 26, Orlando 13
2nd Quarter: Coach Van Gundy must have gotten his point across between periods, because the Magic came out on a mission in the second quarter. Orlando outscored the Hawks 27-21 in the quarter, led by Rashard Lewis’s nine points. Mickael Pietrus also played well in the quarter, upping his total to 11 points in the game to go along with a rebound and an assist. Dwight Howard picked up his third foul and was replaced by Marcin Gortat at the 2:06 mark. Gortat played well on the defensive end, giving the Magic a couple of fast break opportunities. The solid overall play by the team has gotten the Magic back in the game heading into the half.
Atlanta 47, Orlando 40
3rd Quarter: The third quarter felt much like the first, as the Magic fell behind by 19 points by the end of the period. Orlando continued to miss open shots from the field and finished the frame shooting only 32.8 percent from the floor. Josh Smith, Joe Johnson and Zaza Pachulia all chipped in to build the Hawks’ lead. The trio finished the quarter with 13, 16 and 13 points, respectively, in the game. Orlando continues to be beaten on the boards, being outrebounded 43-34 in the game thus far.
Atlanta 74, Orlando 55
4th Quarter: The on-again, off-again play of Orlando continued into the fourth quarter, as they came out scrapping and fighting to get back into the game. Lewis fouled out of the game with 10:54 left. The Magic climbed to within seven points numerous times, led by the play of Pietrus, Hedo Turkoglu and Howard. Howard bumped his numbers to a double-double in the quarter. Joe Johnson, however, played to his star status and made big shot after big shot, silencing the crowd twice with jump shots that ended Magic runs. Josh Smith went to the line after an and-one bucket with 1:25 remaining in the game. He missed the free throw, but Atlanta still kept a 92-83 advantage. The final minute proved that the lead the Hawks built in the third quarter was too much for the Magic to overcome. Mike Bibby nailed two free throws after a flagrant one foul was called on Turkoglu, giving the Hawks a 10-point lead and icing the game for Atlanta.
Atlanta 99, Orlando 85
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Shootaround:
The Orlando Magic kick off their 2008-09 campaign tonight against the Atlanta Hawks. Last year, Atlanta reached the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference and are looking to take the next step in developing their young team.
The Hawks are led by shooting guard Joe Johnson, who led the team in preseason scoring with 15.4 ppg. Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy knows that the Hawks have their eye not only on making the playoffs, but advancing on.
“This is a real talented team, a team that I know is very optimistic about their ability to rise in the East coming off a great playoff series with Boston,” Van Gundy said. Joe Johnson is one of the very best players in the league.”
Heading into tonight’s season opener, Van Gundy is pleased with where his team stands as well.
“As a coach, the things you like are, I like our talent, but I really like the way these guys work,” he said. “They work and concentrate, and I think they’re committed to getting better every day and that makes it a good group to coach.”
A player who will be making his regular season debut with the Magic tonight is Mickael Pietrus. Brought in for his length, athleticism and defensive abilities, Pietrus will probably spend much of the night chasing Johnson all over the court. In the preseason, Pietrus struggled with foul trouble but Van Gundy believes that problem will slowly fade away.
As for Pietrus himself, he believes that he will be bringing a lot more than defense to the Magic team.
“I’m a player and I’m going to do everything,” said Pietrus. “I’m going to be on the offensive boards, I’m going to be on the offensive side, the defensive side. I’ll make sure that I keep the best player under control … I’m not a specific type of player who is going to do one thing.”
One thing he does want to do tonight, along with his teammates, is make a statement that the Orlando Magic are for real. He sees opening night as an opportunity to showcase the team’s talent and what they will bring throughout the season.
“If we’re going to talk about a championship, the first night has to be a statement,” he said. “So I think that we’re really going to try to make sure our defense is strong and go throughout the season with it and win basketball games with it.”
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Preview:
Atlanta split two games with the Magic in the preseason, winning the October 6 match-up that was each team’s preseason opener by a score of 118-101. The teams met again on October 20 and the Magic pulled out a six-point win, 109-103. Oddly enough, each team’s win was on the road.
The Hawks’ preseason showed that they are one of the deepest teams in the NBA, as seven of their 14 players averaged 10 or more ppg. and two others averaged 9.6 and 9.4 ppg. Their offense is potent and stacked with athletic players who like to slash to the basket. That offensive strategy resulted in the Hawks shooting nearly 30 free throws per game in the preseason, making 75.2 percent of them. If they have a weakness it’s on the boards. Only two players on their roster, Al Horford and Zaza Pachulia, averaged more than four rebounds per game in the preseason.
Of players currently on the Magic roster, five averaged more than 4.0 rpg., led by Dwight Howard’s average of 9.4. Both teams are extremely athletic and like to get to the charity stripe. Expect a high-scoring, entertaining game where free throws could be the deciding factor.
Marvin Williams, in his third year out of North Carolina, is suspended for this game due to a flagrant foul in last year's playoff series against the Boston Celtics. Williams averaged 10.2 ppg., 3.8 rpg. and 2.0 apg. in five preseason appearances.
The Magic will play six of their first seven games at home to begin the season, while the Hawks will be on the road for six of their first eight.
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Keys to the game:
Emotions: This will be an emotional game on both ends. It is the season opener for both teams and the start of the Orlando Magic's 20th Anniversary season. Expectations are high for both teams, as the Hawks are looking to build on their first round performance against the eventual champion Boston Celtics, and the Magic are hoping to join the ranks of championship contenders. Emotions will be running high, and each team will have to handle them well in order to pull out an opening night victory.
Joe Johnson vs. Magic shooting guards: Ask any coach in the league, and when they name a list of the top five to 10 scorers in the league, Joe Johnson will be listed. He is an offensive machine and brought the Hawks to a place last season where they hadn't been in a long, long time -- the playoffs. He is the center of the Hawks' offense, so he is the player the Magic must stop. New addition Mickael Pietrus will be defending Johnson to begin the game. He was brought in for his athleticism and defense, and tonight we will get have a great opportunity to see that. He and his fellow shooting guards have a large task in defending Johnson tonight. They must realize that Johnson is a player who is not going to be stopped, but his offensive efficiency must be limited.
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Game Notes:
Oct. 29 vs. Atlanta (REGULAR SEASON OPENER): Orlando is 38-35 all-time vs. Atlanta (26-11 at home, 12-24 on the road) during regular season action, including 2-2 last season…Orlando is 4-1 vs. the Hawks during the playoffs (1996 East Semis)...The Magic have split the last 10 regular season meetings with the Hawks...Orlando has won six of the last eight match-ups at home, but lost six of the last seven meetings on the road…The winning team has only broken 100 points twice in the last nine meetings…Dwight Howard attended SW Atlanta Christian Academy…Anthony Johnson appeared in 181 career games with the Hawks during a combined five seasons (1998-2001, 2006-08)…Jeremy Richardson played 24 regular season games with Atlanta in 2006-07 and 2007-08…Trainer Tom Smith worked with the Hawks for six seasons from 2000-05 as the assistant athletic trainer…For last season’s stats and Magic career numbers vs. Atlanta, see p. 223 of the media guide…Oct. 6 vs. Atlanta (preseason) - Hawks 118, Magic 101: Six Atlanta players scored in double figures, led by Acie Law’s 20 points, as Atlanta defeated Orlando, 118-101, in a preseason game at Amway Arena. Maurice Evans netted 17 points, including 4-of-4 from three-point range for the Hawks, while Al Horford chipped in with 13 points. Rashard Lewis led the Magic and all scorers with 22 points, while Dwight Howard tallied 17 points and eight blocked shots. Atlanta trailed 51-49 at halftime, but exploded for 45 points during the third quarter. The Hawks shot 70.8 percent from the field in the period and took a 94-81 lead. Atlanta led by as many as 17 points during the second half.
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. HAWKS: 40 pts., Tracy McGrady (@ Atlanta, 12-8-01)
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAGIC: 40 pts., Joe Johnson (@ Atlanta, 3-19-06)
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