It was once again a packed house on Thursday night in Orlando. While the San Antonio Spurs chased another win to bag for their record, Stan Van Gundy’s team was looking for the light at the end of the tunnel to chase away their losing streak.
They did just that.
With a new team and a new attitude, Orlando came out on top 123-101 to crush San Antonio’s 10 game winning streak.
The pressure was on. After a mediocre performance Tuesday night, the “new look” Magic was due for a win. After a much needed practice on Wednesday, the team seemed to be in sync and it was just a matter of time before the newcomers became official Magic players. Gilbert Arenas, who performed poorly against the Mavericks, delivered 14 points and 6 assists off the bench after Nelson left the court dehydrated. Jason Richardson helped his new teammates by adding 15 points to the scoreboard.
Here is how it happened.
First Quarter Jason Richardson scored the first two points of the game and then two more after a steal from Howard. The Magic maintained a good pace and led the quarter most of the time, but after a couple of fumbles, the Spurs and Tony Parker, who scored 16 points Thursday night, took the lead with four minutes left. Orlando calls time out and regroups, helping them take the lead back with 50 seconds left on the buzzer and the help of Arenas and a 24-foot three point jumper.
Second Quarter starts off with a 25-foot shot from Ryan Anderson behind the three point line. It’s the incentive they needed to keep the ball rolling, literally. With 8 minutes left, Howard with the assist of Arenas makes a slam dunk that had Van Gundy breaking into a smile. The Spurs’ Tim Duncan doesn’t let a problem like that get in the way and scores another 6 points for the Spurs. After a bad pass from Manu Ginobili, Ryan Anderson with a steal helps J.J Redick land three more points for the Magic. The Magic closed the half ahead by 9 points.
Third quarter was the highlight for those that came out on that cold night to watch their team play. Arenas, Howard, Richardson and Turkoglu all contributed to the 21 point lead the Magic had at the end of the quarter. With 9 minutes Jason Richardson made a 3-foot two point shot with the assist of Hedo Turkoglu that sent a shiver down the spine. Superman on a defensive rebound passed the ball along and helped Richardson slam dunk at 8 minutes. Another Richardson move on the 7 minute marker with a 23-foot three point jumper made the scoreboard 77-62. It was impossible to stop the team that had the arena on their feet.
The goal of the fourth quarter was to lead the way and keep the pace. But with the help of Tiago Splitter, the Spurs worked away to keep the Orlando team on their toes for the first few minutes of the quarter. Taking advantage of Magic turnovers, San Antonio closed the gap to 16 points.
A little distraction….
Howard picked up his ninth technical foul of the season late in the fourth quarter after fighting with San Antonio guard Ime Udoka. Udoka had undercut him in a rebound attempt and shoved at him as he came back down. Howard retaliated, leading to a ninth technical foul of the season. The episode only gave Howard the fire needed to take it home. He scored 29 points, had 14 rebounds and three blocks. San Antonio hustled and bustled but it didn’t matter. One, two, three down and the Magic were shooting over 50 percent on fast break points. It was a smooth road down to the last second, and the game closed with a Magic win, the first in 8 games.
“We all know with this team it’s going to take some time,’’ Howard said, “but we’re not playing for December or January. We’re playing for June. We want to be at our peak by the playoffs. We do that and I think we’ll be tough to deal with.”
As they watch Santa Claus descend upon chimneys across the country, maybe Magic fans should add one more wish to their list. The Orlando Magic faces the Boston Celtics on Christmas day at home.
Fernanda Barros
