Ryan Anderson hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 18.1 seconds to play, Jameer Nelson drilled the clinching free throws, and the Orlando Magic rallied to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks by a 93-90 final on Monday, their third come-from-behind victory over Milwaukee in nine days. Dwight Howard tallied 28 points, 16 boards, four assists, three steals, and a block in the win, helping Orlando withstand a balanced attack that saw five Bucks score in double-figures, led by Brandon Jennings' 22 points.

The Magic fell behind after one period, 29-27, as a familiar problem cropped up: turnovers. Milwaukee converted six Orlando turnovers into 13 points, while committing only one turnover for no points itself. Small forward Carlos Delfino tore the Magic off the dribble, dishing five assists in the period en route to finishing with a career-high-tying eight. The turnovers marred an otherwise strong offensive showing, with the Magic shooting 10-of-17 from the floor.

They managed to control the turnovers in the second period, but the offense went in the tank anyway: Orlando missed 16 of its 24 shots, and none of its eight makes were assisted. But the Magic's defense stiffened, limiting the Bucks to 6-of-22 shooting, with Mike Dunleavy accounting for three of those makes on just six attempts.

The game didn't get real juicy, though, until the second half.

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Miami, winners of five games in a row coming into Sunday's game against the Magic, had not lost since a game since losing big to the Magic by 16 points on February 8th. The Heat no doubt were looking to avenge that loss with the Magic coming to Miami Sunday. Miami did just that, with a dominant 90-78 win over the Magic, as Dwyane Wade (27 points on 13 of 23 shooting) and LeBron James (25 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists) scored 52 of Miami's 90 points. The game was nowhere near as close as the final score indicated, with the Heat leading by 20 points late in the game. Miami outscored the Magic 70-32 on two-point field goals.

J.J. Redick, starting in place of Jason Richardson who was having chest pains before the game, led the Magic with 17 points, including 5 of 7 on three pointers. The five three pointers tied for the second-most three pointers Redick has made in a game. Dwight Howard struggled on offense, scoring just 12 points on 5 of 10 shooting, and 2 of 10 on free throws. He added 15 rebounds. The other three Magic starters, Jameer Nelson, Hedo Turkoglu, and Ryan Anderson, combined for just 17 points on 5 of 23 shooting.

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The Orlando Magic closed out their Friday game against the Milwaukee Bucks on a 17-0 run, rallying to defeat the visitors by a 94-85 final. Dwight Howard recorded game-highs with 26 points and 20 boards for Orlando, while Hedo Turkoglu scored 10 of his 14 points and dished three of his seven assists in the fourth period. Carlos Delfino scored 16 points to lead four Bucks in double-figures. Milwaukee shot 36.7 percent for the game.

The Bucks led the majority of the game, taking a 6-5 lead just three minutes into the contest and not relinquishing it until the 4:50 mark of the fourth quarter, as Turkoglu used a high screen-and-roll with Howard to take and make a fadeaway jumper going to his left. While battling back from a deficit which reached as many as 15 points, Orlando tied the score twice in the second half, only to allow Milwaukee to reel off 10 straight points on both occasions.

This Magic performance recalls some of their more memorable ones during more successful seasons in coach Stan Van Gundy's tenure: Turkoglu taking over in the fourth, Howard asserting himself on both ends, the whole team ratcheting up the defense in crunch time... it's a recipe for success, albeit one that requires Orlando to fall behind before it can be used.

The Bucks succeeded early despite poor shooting on the strength of their defense, which played energetically and with quick hands, throwing the Magic off their game. Orlando was ill-prepared for the Bucks' physical, aggressive defense.

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This game proved to be quite a difference for the Magic from their last performance 17 days ago against Philadelphia, when the Magic scored just 69 points. Wednesday night, in a solid, all-around performance, the Magic had six players score in double figures as they led from start to finish and held off every 76ers second-half run for a 103-87 victory. Jameer Nelson dished out a career-high tying 14 assists, and Ryan Anderson made a career-high tying 7 three point field goals. The Magic continued their strong three point shooting, making 15 of 25 (60%). Overall, they outshot the 76ers 53.3% to 42.4%.

Anderson led the Magic with 27 points, Dwight Howard added a double-double of 17 points, 14 rebounds, and Nelson scored 12 points to go along with his 14 assists. Reserve guard Louis Williams scored 21 points to lead Philly, and Andre Iguodala added 15 points.

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A well-balanced scoring effort and sound defense keyed the Orlando Magic to a 102-89 victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night. Orlando had six players score between 11 and 17 points, led by Jason Richardson, who continued his hot shooting. J.J. Redick, Hedo Turkoglu, and Jameer Nelson scored 14 apiece, offsetting mediocre nights from usual standouts Ryan Anderson and Dwight Howard (a combined 24 points on 9-of-23 shooting).

Orlando withstood double-doubles from All-Star power forward Kevin Love (19 points and 15 boards) and center Nikola Pekovic (16 points, 13 boards) with stifling defense, and profitted greatly from the Wolves' many mistakes, converting 18 Minnesota turnovers into 17 points.

Of the 10 Timberwolves to take the floor Tuesday, Ricky Rubio was the only one to shoot better than 50 percent from the field. The rookie point guard shot 4-of-7 for 11 points, while his teammates combined to shoot 29-of-73 (39 percent)... and Rubio himself committed five turnovers.

The Magic coasted throughout, taking the lead for good just 68 seconds into the game on a Turkoglu three-pointer. They pulled away in the second with great energy as their bench badly outplayed Minnesota's. Little-used reserve forward Earl Clark scored eight points and snared three rebounds in the period, and his strong play included a putback jam over Love, the NBA's second-leading rebounder.

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After a quiet first half with just three points on 1-of-3 shooting, much-maligned Orlando Magic shooting guard Jason Richardson exploded in the second half, scoring 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including an amazing 8-of-9 on three-pointers. He made four three-point shots in a 2:49 span late in the game to key a 16-0 Magic run, which erased an 88-78 Milwaukee Bucks lead. J-Rich finished with a career-high nine three-pointers in 11 attempts, and 31 points overall, his highest scoring game since he's been with the Magic. The nine three-pointers ties for the second-most three-pointers in a game by a player in Magic franchise history. The Magic made 15 three-pointers total in 37 attempts.

After struggling offensively for several games, the Magic's Hedo Turkoglu was a big factor in the Magic's comeback, scoring 19 points, including 12 in the second half, and added six assists, five rebounds, and a block. The 50 points combined on 18-of-31 shooting, including 12-of-19 on threes, from Richardson and Turkoglu more than offset below average games from Dwight Howard and Ryan Anderson, who combined for just 20 points on 8-of-23 shooting.

Former Magic power forward Drew Gooden led the Bucks with 21 points, eight boards, and four assists. Reserve power forward Ersan Ilyasova had a big game off the Bucks' bench, scoring 17 points along with 16 rebounds.

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The Orlando Magic dropped their record in overtime games to 0-3 on the season Friday night, falling to the Atlanta Hawks, 89-87, at home in an ugly rematch of the 2011 NBA Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Josh Smith, one day after learning he did not make the Eastern Conference All-Stars, stuffed the stat sheet with 23 points, 19 rebounds, and five assists for the visitors, while Joe Johnson scored two key baskets in the extra frame to propel Atlanta to victory. Ryan Anderson posted a team-high 21 points for Orlando, while Dwight Howard added 18 points and 18 boards.

It might be easy to point to the heave Marvin Williams nailed from just inside midcourt to end the first half as the difference in Friday's game--a miracle three helps Atlanta pull off a two-point overtime win--but that simply wouldn't be fair to the Hawks, who executed a sound defensive game plan to near-perfection. For much of the game's first three quarters, the Hawks succeeded in limiting Howard's effectiveness and Orlando's ability to shoot the three-pointer. Through 36 minutes, Howard shot 6-of-12 for 14 points against single-coverage from Zaza Pachulia, while the Magic managed to hoist only 16 triples, making six. Containing Howard on the interior and running the Magic's perimeter players off the arc proved effective for the Hawks.

None of this analysis is particularly insightful or fresh, given the fact that Atlanta implemented it in that aforementioned playoff series. What's different now, if only slightly, is the makeup of the Magic's roster. On a night when Orlando needed overtime to crack the 80-point barrier, scoring machine Von Wafer did not earn any playing time. Curious.

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It was a three point barrage for the Orlando Magic (16-10), as they set an all-time franchise record for most three point attempts in a game, outscored Miami 51-15 from the three point line, and never trailed in a 102-89 victory over the Miami Heat (19-7). Both Dwight Howard and Ryan Anderson had double-doubles, with Howard scoring 25 points along with 24 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks. Anderson had the third highest-scoring game of his career with 27 points, 11 rebounds, and three assists. Dwyane Wade led Miami with 33 points on 15 of 24 shooting. LeBron James had a sub-par outing pointwise, scoring 17 points on just 5 of 15 shooting, though he led the Heat with 10 assists.

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