Our very own Jameer Nelson soars to the basket for a layup during the Magic's 123-117 victory over Golden State. Nelson scored 22 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and handed out 11 assists in a career-best performance.
Photo by Rocky Widner, NBAE/Getty Images
As most Magic fans are aware by now, Orlando defeated Golden State last night in overtime by a score of 123-117. 14 players total scored in double-figures. Here's the boxscore.
This recap is up several hours too late because, frankly, I couldn't handle the pressure of staying up late to listen to a close game AND the pressure of staying up late to finish a presentation, which I just got back from completing. There was just too much on my plate, so to speak, and I apologize.
We did our damndest to give this game away, though. Despite shooting 48% from the field and 44% from three-point range, we nearly lost due to committing too many turnovers and allowing the Warriors too many offensive rebounds. Our turnover problem seems to have improved from last season, but it's nights like last night that show just how badly we miss Tony Battie. I know he's not a great player, but I'm sure he could manage to BOX OUT MONTA ELLIS, the Warriors' 6'3" combo guard who managed to pull down 12 rebounds, just one shy of the 13 total rebounds 6'10" forwards Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis combined to pull down. Embarrassing.
There's also the matter of Dwight Howard's backbreaking technical foul call. After missing a dunk attempt on which he was fouled, Howard slapped the basket standard, earning him an automatic technical foul. Stephen Jackson hit the technical free throw for Golden State, but Howard countered by hitting his two free throws on the other end. Still, the game would never have gone into overtime if he managed not to lose his temper. But maybe I'm being picky. After all, we did win the game.
Can we please give a rousing ovation to Jameer Nelson? He played the game of his life last night, coming just two rebounds shy of a triple-double. Hats off also to Keith Bogans, who scored 22 points AFTER I put him on the bench in my fantasy leagues. Thanks, Keith. Oh well. At least I had Monta active.
For more on last night's game, check out these links:
- John Denton: MAGIC SURVIVE TO BEAT WARRIORS IN OT FOR 4-1 ROADTRIP
Orlando dug its way out of a four-point hole late in regulation with some clutch work from Rashard Lewis and Dwight Howard and then won the game 123-117 in overtime with some calm, cold-blooded execution
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- Golden State of Mind: RECAP: Warriors 117, Magic 123 - A Wise Man Once Said, "D'oh."
Okay, this is the part where I drool over Howard for a bit. As well as we stopped him on offense (anything under 20 from him and I consider us defending him well), I can't believe how big this guy is going to be in the league. He's a rebounding machine and turned out 7 swats against us tonight. (Some of them were pretty embarrassing.) In the first half, it felt like our boys were driving into the lane and trying to shoot over Redwoods.
- NBA Glue: 12/3/07
This Magic team is for real, folks, and you'll hear me saying it all the way 'til June.
- Orlando Magic Blog: Magic stun GS in OT thriller to move record to 16-4
The Magic end the 5 game west coast road swing at a terrific 4-1, and are proving themselves as a top NBA team. They finally get a break in the schedule with only 2 games in the next 7 days, both home games, starting FRI against IND.