The Orlando Magic jumped out to an early lead against the Dallas Mavericks in their first preseason game of the 2009/2010 NBA season, but trail at the half by a 47-45 score, as Dallas closed the half on an 8-0 scoring run.

Dwight Howard leads Orlando with 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots. Jameer Nelson has 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting--all three-pointers--while Rashard Lewis has added 10 points as well. High-profile newcomer Vince Carter has contributed 6 points on 2-of-6 shooting. Notably, 5 of his shot attempts have come from long-range.

Jose Juan Barea leads all scorers with 13 points in 14 minutes off Dallas' bench, as he's had no trouble getting into the lane against the Magic's sluggish defense. Dirk Nowitzki has 11 points on just 2-of-7 shooting, but has converted 7 of his 9 free-throw attempts.

As far as the Magic's rotation is concerned, Jason Williams was the first man off the bench, replacing Nelson at point guard after he picked up his second foul in the game's first 90 seconds. We've also seen J.J. Redick come in for Carter, Matt Barnes spell Mickael Pietrus at small forward, Brandon Bass replace Lewis at power forward, and Marcin Gortat relieve Dwight Howard at center. Ryan Anderson is the only Magic newcomer on a guaranteed deal not to appear in the game.

The Magic's offense stagnated at times with the lineup of Nelson, Redick, Pietrus, Bass, and Howard on the floor. I'm curious to see if that lineup fares better with another creator--Carter, most likely--in it.

The second half is due to get underway at any moment.

Thanks to solid ball movement and hot outside shooting, the Orlando Magic have taken a 45-38 lead over the Boston Celtics into the locker room at TD Banknorth Garden. Rafer Alston and Hedo Turkoglu lead the Magic with 10 first-half points apiece, while Ray Allen--who has clearly snapped out of his shooting funk--leads Boston with 13 points.

Despite the lead, there are three causes of concern for the Magic. First, Dwight Howard and Turkoglu are in foul trouble, with 3 fouls each. They need to stay on the floor for most of the second half if Orlando is to hold on. Second, Allen has gotten hot, as I mentioned earlier. If the Celtics continue to give him the ball, it won't matter whom Stan Van Gundy assigns to guard him. Third, the Magic's poor ballhandling has undermined their great shooting. Orlando would have a much bigger lead were it not for some silly turnovers. If their shooting touch leaves them, they may have to buckle down even harder defensively.

The Orlando Magic have gunned their way to a 53-41 halftime lead over the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals thanks to a combination of porous Celtic defense and superb ball movement. Although the Magic have only 7 assists on 19 field goals, they've nonetheless done an exemplary job of finding the open man, who has then in turn been able to get into the paint and put the ball into the basket. Orlando did not make a shot outside the painted area until well into the second quarter, but it didn't matter. The Celtics have, for most of the night, looked a step slow on defense. Rashard Lewis and Anthony Johnson lead all scorers with 11 points apiece, while Courtney Lee has added 10 in his first game since sustaining a fractured sinus over a week ago. Rajon Rondo leads Boston, which is shooting a mere 40.9% from the field, with 9 points.

Although the Magic have looked sharp offensively, there's still some cause for concern. There's no reason to think the Celtics won't improve their defense in the second half, which means fewer layups and dunks will be available. Orlando has struggled shooting from the perimeter the whole night, and a cold-shooting spell could let Boston back into the game. Additionally, Dwight Howard has not been a factor offensively. He has 8 points on 4-of-5 shooting, but Boston has defended him well on 4 of his 5 shot attempts.

Orlando may need to lean on its defense in the second half. So far, it's been solid. Other than some lapses on out-of-bounds plays under their own basket, Orlando has mostly kept Boston out of the paint. Rondo continues to take silly teardrops from 15 feet, which is obviously not what Boston wants. Ray Allen and Paul Pierce 5-of-16 for 12 points. One of the two will likely get it going.

With Rafer Alston suspended, Johnson has done a fantastic job on Rondo. As expected, though the Magic have gone to a no-point guard lineup, with Hedo Turkoglu as a point-forward, in order to check Rondo with Lee. It's working so far.

The second half is about to get underway.

The Orlando Magic jumped out to an early 30-15 lead against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series, and have not really looked back since. The Magic hold a commanding 62-48 advantage at intermission, resembling an offensive juggernaut in the process.

Rashard Lewis has indeed seized the opportunity to carry the Magic to victory, leading the team with 17 points, 3 assists, and 2 blocked shots, so the 56% of 3QC readers who picked him to pace the team in scoring this evening look pretty smart right now. With Dwight Howard suspended, Lewis has more freedom to operate in the low post, from which he has scored effectively. In fact, Philadelphia hasn't defended anyone particularly well. The best defense on Rafer Alston (6-of-11 for 14 points in 18 minutes) and Hedo Turkoglu (10 points on 4-of-4 shooting in 16 minutes) has been played by themselves; Skip has missed his fair share of layups, while Turk has committed 3 turnovers. J.J. Redick has lit up the Sixers with 9 points on 3-of-3 from three-point range. Even Tony Battie has gotten in on the act, with 7 points in 7 minutes off the bench. 7 first-half minutes for Battie, with is 28-times as much time he played in Games 4 and 5 combined.

Orlando's hot start from the field has limited the Sixers' vaunted transition offense, thus forcing them to execute in the halfcourt, in which they are far less effective. Andre Miller and Louis Williams, the point guards, have 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting; the rest of the team has 25 on 10-of-28. Obviously they need more production from Andre Iguodala from Thaddeus Young. Don't count against those guys eventually turning it on... but the entire team--save for the veteran Miller--has looked rattled in what is an elimination game for them.

Orlando needs to maintain its defensive intensity. If it does that, it stands a great chance of coming back to Orlando with the series in hand.

The Orlando Magic are fortunate enough to hold a 6-point lead at halftime in their Game 5 against the Philadelphia 76ers; the 6-point margin ties their largest lead. A 1-of-12 shooting slump in the second quarter hurt their cause, but the 76ers were unable to capitalize on Orlando's poor shooting.

Both teams are 16-of-37 from the field, but Orlando holds a 9-point advantage from beyond the three-point arc. The three-point looks have been open for most of the night: Philly's defense has been below-average so far.

Interesting to note Orlando's high level of efficiency despite the tremendously slow pace of the game.

The Orlando Magic and the Philadelphia 76ers are tied at halftime, 36-36, in Game 4 of their best-of-seven first-round series. The Magic need a victory today in order to tie the series, and the way the first half transpired, they have to feel good about their chances.

Orlando's defense has been superb, forcing the 76ers to milk the clock. Philly has managed to pull even thanks to its remarkable 5-of-10 mark from three-point range. However, the Sixers are a woeful 10-of-34 on two-pointers. Nearly every shot in the half-court has been contested, yet Orlando has done an outstanding job of not fouling. Philly has attempted only two foul shots.

The Magic have turned the ball over 9 times, a horrible number in a low-percentage game. Yet they're shooting 48.4% from the field. Hedo Turkoglu, shooting 7-of-30 from the field in the first 3 games, is 5-of-6 in the first half. If Orlando can continue to play stellar defense, and can play more under-contorl offensively, they should send this series back to Orlando tied, 2-2.

If the Orlando Magic hope to win Game 3 against Philadelphia tonight, they're going to have to really ramp up the intensity on both ends of the floor.

About the only thing they're doing well is consistently attacking the basket. Orlando has played horrid defensively save for one possession at the start of the second quarter, when it forced Andre Miller into a contested jumper with the shot-clock winding down. Philly is scoring in transition, but more impressively, finding ways to score in the half-court, which has been one of its bigger weaknesses this season. Miller and Andre Iguodala are breaking the Magic down off the dribble, combining for 31 points on 12-of-20 shooting. They're not the only ones getting it done for the Sixers, though. Lightly regarded Willie Green has made all 3 of his shots for 6 points in 9 minutes; and Donyell Marshall has come off the bench to drill a three-pointer (expected) and to throw-down an alley-oop (most unexpected). Every Sixer to play has scored. Additionally, Thaddeus Young (1-of-5) and Royal Ivey (0-of-1) are the only Sixers not shooting at least 50% from the field. It's easy to understand why everyone else is sizzling from the field, as the Sixers made their last 4 shot-attempts--all layups--to end the half.

The Magic have their work cut out for them. Their offense hasn't been much better than their defense, although they did a much better job moving the ball and creating open looks near the end of the first half. That said, Dwight Howard is the only Magic player to really assert himself on that end, with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting. The conventional wisdom was that Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu would finally get back on track and have a big game. It hasn't happened, with the pair combining for 14 points on 3-of-11 shooting to go with 4 turnovers (all Turkoglu's). The three-pointer has been kind to the Magic, in terms of percentage (42.9), but Orlando has only been able to uncork 7 treys against a solid Philly defense.

In short, not much of anything is going right for the Magic, and it's going to be incredibly tough for them to come back and win this one, as resilient as they've been on the road during Stan Van Gundy's tenure. The D has to improve. The O has to improve. The effort--check out the offensive rebounding in the chart above--has to improve.

From an Orlando Magic fan's perspective, which statistic from tonight's NBA action embarrasses you the most? If you elect "Other," please specify in the comments section. For your reference, here is the boxscore.

GO MAGIC!!!11