If the Orlando Magic face off against the Milwaukee Bucks in the playoffs it shouldn’t be a problem for them to advance. The Magic are now 4-0 against the Bucks on the season.
Dwight Howard’s 28 points and 14 rebounds led Orlando to a 114-98 win Saturday night.
The Magic jumped up early in the first quarter behind Howard’s 12 points pushing the lead to as many as 17.
“When we get into our offense and we’re playing at a better pace, we tend to get easier shots,” Howard said. “But when everybody is just walking around, teams are able to defense us. We have to do more of that.”
A Milwaukee 39 point second quarter cut the half time deficit to one. This is something the Magic have become accustom to, giving up large leads.
However Orlando locked up on defense in the second half allowing only 38 total points.
“If we want to be a good team, we’ve got to start playing defense and quit playing the scoreboard,” Magic Coach, Stan Van Gundy said after the game. “If we’re going to have a bad night, and everybody will, it should be a bad night because we’re not making shots. It shouldn’t be a bad night because we’re not playing hard.”
Jason Richardson scored 18 points followed by Ryan Anderson’s 16. Six Magic players reached double figures on the night.
The Magic shot 51% from beyond the arc. With Howard dominating the post and the shooters drilling shots from deep they are almost impossible to stop.
“We’re a tough team to guard, because you have to pick your poison,” said Anderson, who made three shots from behind the arc. “If you want to double-team on Dwight and take him out of the game, you’re going to leave open one of our shooters.”
Brandon Jennings led the Bucks with 27 points who have now lost three straight.
The Magic (24-14) will travel to play the Toronto Raptors Monday night, tip off set for 7pm.
