Los Angeles Clippers 107, Orlando Magic 102 (OT)

He played great defense stealing the ball from Blake down the stretch. Unfortunately I think he tried to do to much on offense also. That late turnover cost us the game imo.

The Magic went on a 19-4 run in the opening quarter to lead 30-15, and had a 30-21 lead after one. The Magic shot 13 of 19 (68.4%), including 3 of 7 on threes in the first, while holding the Clippers to 8 of 20 (40%) shooting.

In the second and third quarters, the Magic were outscored 44-32, and shot just 13 of 38 from the field (34.2%), including 2 of 12 on threes.

The Magic bounced back in the final quarter, scoring 32 points on 11 of 18 FG shooting (61.1%), including 4 of 7 on threes. In the OT, though, the Magic shot just 3 of 11 as the Clippers scored 11 of the last 13 points of the OT.

Dwight Howard had 31 points through three quarters, but scored just two points the rest of the way on 1 of 2 shooting.

Hedo Turkoglu’s zero point performance was one of the worst games of his career. He had never before played so many minutes in a game without scoring. He did have four assists.

Jameer Nelson had his first double-double in nearly 10 months, and the 12 assists was just the fifth time in his career he has had as many as 12 assists in a game. The final three minutes of the game and in OT, though, Nelson shot just 1 of 6 from the field along with two turnovers.

The 13 Clippers’ three pointers was just the sixth time in the Stan Van Gundy era the Magic have allowed at least 13 three pointers in a game.

No technical fouls Monday night for the Magic (except for a defensive 3-second tech), a game after they lost their composure and were called for six techs.

One could point to a lot of things and say that if only the Magic had done this… or done that… they would have won the game. Really nice effort against a legitimate contender in the West, but the Magic ran out of gas in the OT.

I was really surprised by Davis’ defense at the end…it was spectacular..now if he’d only stop taking those ill-advised shots. This game was ours to win..better ball protection and shot selection in the end would have sealed it.

Not trying to come off as a jerk, I was just wondering.

The positives were Jameer’s stellar return ( although lack of conditioning is understandable) and J-Rich’s performances (now for three games in a row). The negatives were Hedo’s going back to his inconsistent self, and our ineptness to contain dribble penetration (I don’t mean against Paul, but Billups and Williams?).

There are more tough games ahead (this week and next week), upon conclusion of which we would know where we stand in the East – and league overall – and whether or not we could still be considered an elite team. Say what you will about Vince Carter, and the make-up of the team prior to Dec 2010 trades, but that team was an elite team capable of winning the championship had they not bumped into a hot Boston’s team primed at the right time. The team after the trades, in prior season, was not an elite team, although this year’s team – with Anderson and Duhon improving, and J-Rich having more time in SVG’s system – may prove to be better than last year’s squad. We have to wait and see. Fire Otis Smith.

Courtesy of the Yahoo! Sports game recap:

“Our guys played hard. The only thing I fault our guys for was the start of the third quarter. The first six minutes, we came with no energy whatsoever. The rest, it’s on me.”

SVG needs to play VON WAFER over Q Rich…i know he had a good game tonite, but Wafer brings more to the table offensivley, and we need a offensive boost with our 2nd unit. I thikn Wafer would be capable of defending players realtively ok given his speed, and he is kinda tall (6 foot 5)…the only thing is he only weighs 210, so bigger SFs could post him up, but with D 12 helping, I think we should give it a shot.

Also, once Ish Smith learns the playbook (2 weeks max?), he should definitely be the backup PG over Duhon…Duhon SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! even though he is doin’ better than last year, he SUCKS! his PER is horrible, he takes 10 seconds to bring the ball up the court, and can’t do anything on offense except hit the occasional wide open 3. Ish Smith can at least penetrate and dish it to our reserves.

My Proposed Bench Lineup:

PG: Ish Smith
SG: JJ Redick
SF: Von Wafer
PF: Anderson
C: Davis

thats a decent bench lineup…a pg that can pass and push the tempo, 2 lights out shooters, an athletic good shooting SF, and a hustling, pretty good defending C

… was how well the pick-and-roll was working with Howard and Nelson. 33 points for Dwight, and 15 points, 12 assists for Jameer. Even though Nelson faded late in the game and the OT, this was his best all-around game of the year when it comes to points and assists.

Jameer needs to build on this game for future games. He had too many mediocre games before his concussion, but the more success he and D12 have in utilizing the pick-and-roll bodes well for both players and the offense in general.