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Magic 102, Timberwolves 93: fourth-quarter run gives Orlando first three-game winning streak of the season

Down by as much as 15 points, the Magic scored 53 points in the second half and defeated Minnesota, 102-93.

Dante Cunningham, Glen Davis, and Derrick Williams
Dante Cunningham, Glen Davis, and Derrick Williams
USA TODAY Sports

You probably weren't expecting the Orlando Magic (11-13) to pick up their third straight win on Monday, especially when the Minnesota Timberwolves (12-10) pounded the Magic in the paint in the first half, outscoring them by a 32-16 margin. But Orlando turned the game around after intermission to pick up a 102-93 victory behind Glen Davis' strong play, snapping Minnesota's four-game winning streak.

Glen Davis posted a game-high 28 points and made 76 percent of his 17 field goal attempts in 32 minutes. He led three other Magic players in double-digits: J.J. Redick scored 18 points and handed out seven assists; Nikola Vucevic notched a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds; and Arron Afflalo had 13 points and two three-pointers.

At first, the Magic's pick-and-roll defense wasn't clicking as forward Andrei Kirilenko and point guard Ricky Rubio spotted Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Love open near the basket several times during the first half.

But everything about the Magic's (11-13) woeful first-half performance Monday night was erased as they opened themselves for a strong second half.

The Magic checked off everything in their list of duties during the second half:

For one, they held the Timberwolves to 32 points.

They also more than doubled their points scored in the paint from 16 in the first, to 36 in the second. Overall, Orlando scored 52 points in the paint, whereas the Timberwolves had 50.

Random Highlights/Lowlights:

  • On the Magic's first possession, Davis found Maurice Harkless open on the perimeter. Harkless made the three-pointer, just his second in eleven attempts as a rookie.
  • Kevin Love drew a charge with Davis attempting to score. A frustrated Davis earned his second technical foul of the season for arguing.
  • Josh McRoberts had a pretty nifty dunk that got the crowd at its feet around the 3:30 mark in the third quarter; the Magic were on a 16-6 run when that play happened.
  • Orlando committed 17 turnovers, but Minnesota had 17 of its own.
  • As always, ball movement will help the Magic get wins - they had 31 team assists. In fourth quarter alone, J.J. Redick and Jameer Nelson combined for eight assists.
  • Orlando shot 53.7 percent overall. During the fourth, Orlando shot 63.2 percent and limited the Timberwolves to 33.3 percent.
In other fun news: since the Orlando Magic scored six-of-14 from downtown. Apparently, Tijuana Flats changed their 10 three-pointers per game promotion to five. This new promotion probably happened because of the Magic's new offense, seeing as they've had only two games (against the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers) when they knocked down 10+ treys. If you attended the game though, you can redeem your ticket stub for a free taco.

Orlando's next game is Wednesday against a John Wall-less Washington Wizards team at home. Tipoff starts at 7 PM.


Final - 12.17.2012 1 2 3 4 Total
Minnesota Timberwolves 29 32 17 15 93
Orlando Magic 27 22 25 28 102

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