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Dwight Howard and the Magic Bench Out Shine ‘Melo and the Nuggets
This is sure starting to be a strange start for the Magic this year. One look at the box score of the Magic’s 108-99 win over the Nuggets on Wednesday proves that.
Consider these numbers–26 (the number of turnovers the Magic had), 9 (the amount of points that the heralded Dwight Howard scored), and 34 (the amount of points Denver’s Carmelo Anthony scored–16 more points than any one Magic starter scored).
After looking at those numbers, one might have thought the Magic lost the game–big time.
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However, consider these numbers–50 (the field goal percentage of the Magic), 57 (the amount of points the Magic bench scored), and 10 (the number of three point field goals the Magic made.)
Those last numbers are the most important as they erased the previous negative numbers and were the reason the Magic beat the Nuggets and improved their record to 6-3.
If there is one stat that was most integral to the win, however, it would have to be that bench scoring. The Magic outscored the Nuggets by a 57-18 margin. Folks, that’s as close as the voting will ever be for BORAT being named the new prime minister of Israel.
Leading the way was Keyon Dooling, who led all of the Magic scorers with 25 points. He shot exceptionally well by making 8 of his 14 points. Not only that but he was the leader of the Magic’s most impressive run. In the third quarter when the Nuggets were leading by a nine point margin, Dooling sparked a 15-2 run by connecting on 3 three-pointers.
His three point shooting was especially stunning because the whole Magic team has had problems so far this season scoring from beyond the arc. On Wednesday, the team connected on 10-16 three-pointers making one think that the team hired Disney’s CGI team to make it appear like they made the majority of their shots.
That third quarter run helped the Magic overcome the Nuggets’ fast start in the game. The Nuggets built a three point first quarter lead and broadened that to 11 in the second quarter behind Carmelo Anthony’s play. Anthony scored 20 of his 34 points in the first half and looked unstoppable.
Luckily for the Magic, their offense from its bench players erased Anthony’s numbers. Carlos Arroyo played especially well in the second quarter as he scored 5 key points to bring the Magic within one point at halftime.
In the end, Dooling and the Magic won the game by having a much better second half. They outscored the Nuggets 58-46. The key to that advantage was the Magic making Anthony look like a mere mortal–he finished only making 9 of his 21 field goals.
Next up for the Magic is a game on Saturday against Charlotte where Orlando hopes to continue its current three game winning streak.
OTHER GAME NOTABLES
–Even though the Magic are at 6-3, Coach Hill must be a little worried about Dwight Howard’s offense, or lack of. The majority of the Magic’s turnovers on Wednesday were associated with people trying to force the ball into Howard. For the record, Howard only attempted 5 shots, making 2 of them.
–With all the attention being brought to Darko Milicic, people have forgotten about Trevor Ariza. Ariza is fast becoming the Magic’s best bench player on the frontcourt. Against the Nuggets, he scored 9 points on 4-6 shooting. Over his last three games, he is shooting 63%.
–Not all of the Magic starters had mediocre games. Hedo Turkoglu had a good game as he scored 18 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. |
