Trailing by just one point with under a minute to play, the youthful Orlando Magic replayed a familiar script that has been seen throughout the season. With the score 87-86 Chicago, the Magic had multiple chances to take a late lead, including the final possession of the game. Chance #1: Nik Vucevic turnover with 46 seconds remaining. Chance #2: Beno Udrih turnover with 10 seconds left. Final Result: another close loss without the execution of a final play.
It was an injury ravaged game from the get-go. Chicago has still yet to see Derrick Rose return, but were also without Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson and Rip Hamilton. Orlando was once again without Jameer Nelson (ankle) and just eight minutes into the game, lost stud rookie Maurice Harkless for the remainder of the night due to a sore left ankle. Harkless’ injury is not thought to be serious and was held out in the second half as a precaution.
The remaining eight for the Magic played with their typical up and down focus. One second filling you with promises of hope and the next reminding you that they are just a half game from the worst record in the league for a reason.
The ups were fun though. Beno Udrih went into full on ‘Melo mode in the 3rd quarter scoring 17 points before finishing with 27 points. Unfortunately that would be the end of his scoring onslaught. Nate Robinson took over the Beno fire in the 4th quarter for Chicago, scoring 12 in the final period and finish with 19. Luol Deng also had 19 for the Bulls. read more…
It was a different game but the same story for the Orlando Magic Wednesday night. The Magic fell behind early, rallied, but came up short, falling to the San Antonio Spurs 98-84. The Magic will get back to work Friday night when they take on the Chicago Bulls.
The Magic are 19-57 and trail the Charlotte Bobcats by just a half-game for the worst record in the league. After a victory over the Brooklyn Nets Thursday night, the Bulls are now 41-33, sixth in the Eastern Conference.
These two teams have met twice this year and played two very close, competitive games. On November 6 in Chicago, the Bulls rallied to defeat the Magic 99-93. Luol Deng led the Bulls with 23 points. On January 2, Carlos Boozer scored a season-high 31 points to hold off a later Magic rally, giving the Bulls a 96-94 victory. Jameer Nelson, who missed the first matchup, led all scorers with 32 points.
The Magic rank 27th in offensive rating (99.3), 26th in defensive rating (106.8) and play at the league’s 14th-fastest pace (94.48). The Bulls are 25th in offensive rating (100.1), fifth in defensive rating (100.0) and play at the league’s fourth-slowest pace (91.99).
Tip-off from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois is scheduled for 8:00 pm EST and will be shown locally on FS Florida.
As always, if you can’t watch the game, you can listen on the radio – in English on AM 580 WDBO and FM 96.5 and in Spanish on AM 1270 WRLZ.
The officials for tonight’s game are Tom Washington, Jason Phillips and Eli Roe.
The Line: Chicago – 8.5 (190.5u)
Starters:
Chicago Bulls
Nazr Mohammed
Carlos Boozer
Luol Deng
Jimmy Butler
Kirk Hinrich
Orlando Magic
Nikola Vucevic
Andrew Nicholson
Tobias Harris
Maurice Harkless
Beno Udrih
- Joakim Noah remains out with a foot injury.
- Jameer Nelson is out again with an ankle injury.
Bulls Resources:
Blog-A-Bull
Bulls By The Horns
Bulls.com Blog
Chicago Bulls Confidential
Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Tribune
Da Bulls Eye
ESPN Chicago
Pippen Ain’t Easy
Follow Andrew on twitter here.
Tobias Harris is trying to prove he can consistently defend NBA big men, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel:
Harris knows that opposing teams will continue to challenge him defensively whenever he matches up against bigger players.
“You’ve got to definitely use your quickness,” Harris said. “You’ve just got to find ways to push them out of their position.”
According to John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com, Andrew Nicholson envisions a lot of future success with the Magic:
The 6-foot-9, 250-pound power forward sees all of this and knows that brighter days are ahead for the currently-under-construction Magic.
“If we stay together and continue to work hard I think the sky is the limit for this group,’’ Nicholson said. “We have a lot of good pieces and we all seem to fit together well. So I think we have a bright future.’’
Per Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, Spurs coach Greg Popovich, Magic head coach Jacque Vaughn has done a “great job.”
He’s done a great job of just instituting a system,” Popovich said of Vaughn. “He what knows wins and what loses, and he knows that in the long run certain elements of the game have to be established and standards have to be set. That’s really where he’s put his emphasis.
Vaughn played for Popovich from 2006-2009 and was an assistant on his staff from 2010-2012.
Magic general manager Rob Hennigan worked for the Spurts for four years and the Magic are clearly trying to become a disciplined, well-coach and savvy franchise like the Spurs.
Magic coach Jacque Vaughn is a product of that Spurs’ system – both on the playing and coaching sides – and he hopes that, in time, his squad filled with five rookies and three second-year will morph into something similar to the well-oiled Spurs.
“They’re just a team that has been there, done that over and over again, and they were able to capitalize on our small details,’’ Vaughn said. “Those things matter on every possession. Really good teams like San Antonio put you in a position when you have to (execute) over and over again.’’
Reunions are fun, except when your master destroys you. Jacque Vaughn, Rob Hennigan, Beno Udrih, and Hedo Turkoglu (still buried in obscurity) all have had previous stints in San Antonio. No Manu Ginobili, Kawhi Leonard, or Tony Parker at Gregg Popovich’s disposal, but the Spurs still had that Tim Duncan guy for thirteen minutes and enough hot shooting from its bench to pound the visiting Magic 98-84. Not much you can say other than Orlando’s defense is still going under screens and switching way too much, leading to open jumpers galore.
Orlando kicked off Wednesday evening with its 26th different starting lineup of the season that featured Harkless at SG, Tobias at SF, and Nicholson sliding in at PF. I’ve been begging for Jacque to make this move for weeks now and was hopeful of great success. Not sure what was more painful, hearing Matt Guokas’ voice, or witnessing the Magic struggle mightily to score in the first 5 minutes. Spurs were up 14-4 before Coach Vaughn’s bench came in to compete. 10 points off the pine from DeQuan was a massive boost in keeping Orlando within just five points after the first period. It also helps when Vucevic, Harkless, and Tobias each swatted 2 shots.
Don’t ask me why, but I think Gary Neal is a huge pain in the ass. Had 19 points back in November, and was the only Spurs player in double figures at the break with fourteen thanks to 4-of-5 3-point shooting. The Magic were able to run up-and-down and kept San Antonio’s lead at a respectable 51-46 at halftime.
Duncan didn’t play in the second half. That’s fine by me as the Spurs still were leading despite Popovich utilizing the end of his bench. Aron Baynes dominating you in a career-high fashion isn’t an encouraging sign. Nor is Matt Bonner manhandling you in the post. Orlando was dead in the water down 8 entering the final twelve minutes of regulation. Danny Green would pour in daggers in the fourth. You may as well have switched to the McDonald’s All-American game to see such great talents like Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker because the Spurs punched their foot on the gas pedal in the last period. Orlando heads to Chicago to take on the Bulls on Friday.
Adam Papageorgiou runs Orlando Magic Greek and is a proud MBO contributor.
After another loss, this time in Houston against the Rockets, the Orlando Magic will return to the court Wednesday night when they take on the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday night.
The Spurs, who has lost two in a row, enter with a record of 55-19, one game ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder for the top spot in the west. The Magic are 19-56. It’s a battle of the teams with the second-best and second-worst records in the league.
These two teams met on November 28 in Orlando. Behind a combined 39 points from Manu Ginobili and Gary Neal, the Spurs cruised to a 110-89 victory.
The Magic rank 26th in offensive rating (99.4), 26th in defensive rating (106.9) and play at the league’s 15th-fastest pace (94.42). The Spurs are fifth in offensive rating (107.0), third in defensive rating (99.0) and play at the league’s eighth-fastest pace (96.10).
Tip-off from the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas is scheduled for 8:30 pm EST and will be shown locally on FS Florida.
As always, if you can’t watch the game, you can listen on the radio – in English on AM 580 WDBO and FM 96.5 and in Spanish on AM 1270 WRLZ.
The officials for tonight’s game are David Jones, James Williams and Leon Wood.
The Line: San Antonio – 14.5 (198.5u)
Starters:
San Antonio Spurs
Boris Diaw
Tim Duncan
Stephen Jackson
Danny Green
Nando de Colo
Orlando Magic
Nikola Vucevic
Andrew Nicholson
Tobias Harris
Maurice Harkless
Beno Udrih
- Manu Ginobili (hamstring) will miss three to four weeks. Tony Parker has a sore ankle and won’t play. Both Tim Duncan (sore knee) and Kawhi Leonard (sore knee) missed Monday’s loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
- Jameer Nelson (sprained right ankle) missed Monday’s loss to the Houston Rockets and will not play Wednesday.
- Magic coach Jacque Vaughn played for the Spurs from 2006-2009 and coached there from 2010-2012.
Spurs Resources:
48 Minutes Of Hell
Air Alamo
Pounding The Rock
Project Spurs
San Antonio Express-News
Spurs Dynasty
Follow Andrew on twitter here.
Moe Harkless had a career high 28 points but it wasn’t enough to beat Jeremy Lin and the Rockets
The Orlando Magic started a new losing streak on Monday night as they fell to the Houston Rockets by a score of 111-103. The second game of a five game road trip brought the second consecutive loss for Orlando.
The Magic found themselves trailing by double digits just over three minutes into the game and wouldn’t cut the lead to single digits until there was less than three minutes left in the game. After trailing by as many as 25, the Magic made a furious fourth quarter comeback against the Rockets backups.
A Tobias Harris layup cut the lead to five with 1:32 remaining, but the team would not be able to get any closer as Nik Vucevic missed three consecutive shots before Houston sealed the game at the free throw line. Harris finished the night with 18 points and 11 rebounds, but missed all six of his 3-point attempts. Vucevic had 12 points and 13 rebounds. read more…
Linsansity leans his momentum into the lane for two of his 11 points.
The Orlando Magic suffered through another loss Saturday, falling to the Atlanta Hawks 97-88. The Houston Rockets are coming off of a 98-91 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. Jameer Nelson has already been ruled out for tonight’s game with a sprained ankle and James Harden is also likely out. Chander Parsons missed the morning shootaround due to food poisoning and it is unclear if he will play tonight.
The Magic are now 19-55 while the Rockets enter with a record of 40-33.
These two teams met a month ago at the Amway Center. The Rockets, behind 24 points, eight assists and seven rebounds from James Harden, rallied for a 118-110 victory. Tobias Harris led all scorers with 27 points and 10 rebounds.
The Magic rank 26th in offensive rating (99.4), 26th in defensive rating (106.8) and play at the league’s 15th-fastest pace (94.38). The Rockets are sixth in offensive rating (106.8), 17th in defensive rating (103.6) and play at the league’s fastest pace (98.50).
Tip-off from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas is scheduled for 8:00 pm EST and will be shown locally on FS Florida.
As always, if you can’t watch the game, you can listen on the radio – in English on AM 580 WDBO and FM 96.5 and in Spanish on AM 1270 WRLZ.
The officials for tonight’s game are Danny Crawford, Tre Maddox and Scott Wall.
The Line: Houston – 12.5 (205u)
Starters:
Houston Rockets
Omer Asik
Greg Smith
Chandler Parsons
James Anderson
Jeremy Lin
Orlando Magic
Nikola Vucevic
Tobias Harris
Maurice Harkless
DeQuan Jones
Beno Udrih
- James Harden (sore right foot) likely won’t play and Orlando native Chandler Parsons could miss the game due to food poisoning.
- Nikola Vucevic returned from his concussion Saturday, scoring 17 points and grabbing 15 rebounds.
Rockets Resources:
Clutch Fans
Red 94
Rockets Nation
The Dream Shake
Ultimate Rockets (Houston Chronicle)
Follow Andrew on twitter here.
The Orlando Magic fell to the Atlanta Hawks by a score of 97-88 Saturday night. The Magic were without the services of point guard Jameer Nelson, who suffered a sprained ankle in last night’s win over the Wizards. Orlando did welcome back center Nik Vucevic for the first time in five games, and Nik responded with his customary double-double of 17 points and 15 rebounds. Vucevic looked out of step early in the game, but finished well, hopefully putting any concussion problems behind him.
Beno Udrih led the Magic in scoring with 20 points filling in for Jameer at the point. Tobias Harris contributed a double-double of his own with 11 points and 10 boards, but it took a 5-18 shooting night to get there. Tobias was frustrated most of the night battling with Josh Smith on both ends of the floor.
Smith finished the night with 21 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals. Ivan Johnson led Atlanta in scoring with a career high 21 points and 10 rebounds.
The Hawks were without many key players tonight including Al Horford and Zaza Pachulia, both of whom usually hurt the Magic with their scoring and toughness. Going into this game, Orlando hadn’t beaten Atlanta since the 2011 playoffs, when the Magic managed to win one game before being eliminated by the Hawks. The Magic played well in the first half. DeQuan Jones, getting the start in his hometown, provided a spark in the first quarter netting 7 points. Orlando went inside with ease, exploiting the absence of Horford and Pachulia, and only trailed by one at halftime. read more…
Only a few of the former Bucks spoke tonight as the Magic were hustling to reach their team plane for a swift flight to Atlanta. Beno Udrih is not afraid to to keep taking jabs at Milwaukee. The Slovenian also wasn’t shy to rip into John Wall’s selfishness.
Beno Udrih: “Now I’m here, very happy to be here. Coach has confidence in me, that’s great. Getting the confidence back that I want and I can only start to play better and better.”
Tobias Harris: “You know all my life I’ve wanted to be in the end of a game just to try to close out the game and that’s just a part of me, growing as a player…There are certain times being in a Magic uniform where we’ve struggled to close out games and tonight was a good step for me as a player, closing out not only on the offensive end, but defense.”
Adam Papageorgiou runs Orlando Magic Greek and is a proud MBO contributor.
Kyle O’Quinn received a flagrant for this foul on John Wall. I don’t see it. OK, maybe.
The Orlando Magic finally broke their 8-game losing streak on Friday night pulling in a rare victory 97-92 over the Washington Wizards.
The Magic came out on fire and scored at will in the first half, spurred on by a general disinterest in defense from the Wizards. The Magic led 58-46 at the half after outscoring their opponents 34-20 in the paint. The team averages just 43 points in the paint per game this season.
Washington opened the second half on a 15-4 run to cut the halftime lead to one before Jacque Vaughn was forced to call timeout. The teams battled back and forth from that point before the Magic were able to seal the game with free throws at the end.
Tobias Harris led the team in scoring , putting up a new career high of 30 points and while also pulling in 11 rebounds. Rookie Maurice Harkless was next on the score sheet with 18 points.
“When I was in Milwaukee with him, I always knew he had the potential and talent to be a great player. Ya know, in Milwaukee, I think they were just holding him back. They didn’t give him the real chance to show what he can do. Here he got a chance and he definitely proving himself and taking advantage of the chance.” – Beno Udrih speaking on Tobias Harris after the game.
The injury bug continues to strike Orlando as starting PG Jameer Nelson exited for the night during the first quarter after spraining his right ankle. E’Twaun Moore and Beno Udrih stepped up in his place, combining for 25 points and 14 assists on the night.
The Magic were also once again without starting big man Nik Vucevic (concussion) but did see the return of one bigger body in Andrew Nicholson. Nicholson finished the night with an impressive 14 points.
The blazing John Wall continued his impressive play since returning -the team is 21-17 with him in the lineup- and put up 35 points on the night for the Wizards. Washington played without former University of Florida standout Bradley Beal (ankle) and also without Nene (knee).
The Magic youngsters fought hard tonight and met the inevitable Wizard comeback with urgency. They played smart basketball throughout and gave the home fans a treat. They get a chance to put up an even rarer back-to-back win streak tomorrow night in Atlanta when the Magic face off the Hawks. Tip is set for 7pm.
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After another loss, this time at the hands of the Charlotte Bobcats, the Orlando Magic will return to the court Friday night when they take on the Washington Wizards.
The Magic enter with a record of 18-54, second worst in the league, while the Wizards are 26-45.
This will be the fourth meeting between these two teams. On December 19 in Orlando, the Magic defeated the Wizards 90-83. Nine days later the teams met in D.C. and the Wizards came away with a 105-97 victory behind 27 points from Jordan Crawford (Crawford is now a member of the Boston Celtics). Led by Emeka Okafor’s 19 points and 12 rebounds, the Wizards again defeated the Magic at the Verizon Center, 120-91. Nikola Vucevic had 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Magic.
The Magic rank 26th in offensive rating (99.5), 26th in defensive rating (107.0) and play at the league’s 15th-fastest pace (94.33). The Wizards are last in offensive rating (97.5), seventh in defensive rating (100.2) and play at the league’s 14th-fastest pace (94.36).
Tip-off from the Amway Center is scheduled for 7:00 pm EST and will be shown locally on FS Florida.
As always, if you can’t watch the game, you can listen on the radio – in English on AM 580 WDBO and FM 96.5 and in Spanish on AM 1270 WRLZ.
The officials for tonight’s game are Bennett Salvatore, Mark Ayotte and Brent Barnaky.
The Line: Washington -3.5 (197u)
Starters:
Washington Wizards
Emeka Okafor
Trevor Booker
Chris Singleton
Garrett Temple
John Wall
Orlando Magic
Kyle O’Quinn#
Tobias Harris
Maurice Harkless
DeQuan Jones
Jameer Nelson
- The Wizards have several injuries. Big man Nene (sore knee/wrist/shoulder), forward Trevor Ariza (flu), guard Bradley Beal (ankle), big man Jason Collins (flu) and guard A.J. Price (sore right groin) all missed Wednesday’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Martell Webster (strained abdominal) is out indefinitely while Leandro Barbosa (left knee surgery) is out for the season.
- Nikola Vucevivc (concussion) and Andrew Nicholson and (ankle) did not make the trip to Charlotte Wednesday.
Wizards Resources:
Bullets Forever
Truth About It
Wiz of Awes
Washington Post
Washington Wizards Blog
Follow Andrew on twitter here.
