With a win tonight the Magic would tie the Hawks for second place in the South Division of the Eastern Conference. The Magic played most of this one like they had a 10 game lead on the Hawks. Maybe we can chalk tonight up as a trap game after a big victory over Miami on Wednesday. Only two games separate these two teams and a playoff rematch looks very possible, if the Magic want to avenge last year’s post-season dismissal at the hands of the Hawks, they are going to have to play like they remember it.
The defensive intensity was missing early, Orlando failed to run down jump shooters and hustle back on transition defense. Atlanta shot six for eight inside the paint during the first quarter, a statistic you don’t expect from a Dwight Howard led defense.
Atlanta opened the door in the second quarter when they went scoreless for the first four minutes but the Magic couldn’t manage a lead larger than three points with Richardson, Nelson and Howard on the bench. Glen Davis cut multiple possessions short with a flat fade-away that he couldn’t get going. Ryan Anderson scored a few hustle buckets off rebounds and cuts through the lane, but Jeff Teague was able to score enough against Chris Duhon to keep the Hawks close. The Magic were about to take a lead into the half before Marvin Williams swished a 60 footer at the buzzer. A play the Magic defense took off, but a 60 footer doesn’t take much effort to defend when you know it’s coming. A tough lesson learned in game won by two points.
At halftime there was no player on either team in double digits and it was apparent this game was going to whoever worked for it. Neither team found a rhythm in the second half but the emotion surfaced. Dwight Howard and Zaza Pachulia continued to not get along as Pachulia played the antagonist as Dwight got a technical while complaining about a missed call.
The Magic seemed all too aware of their shooting woes as they became hesitant to launch the open jumper. Hedo Turkoglu committed back to back turnovers on crucial possessions and the Hawks found themselves up seven points with 2:30 remaining in the game. That’s when the Magic woke up. They got consecutive stops as the Hawks couldn’t ice the game from the free throw line. Turkoglu came through when it mattered with a three pointer and Jameer knifed through the lane to cut the lead to two with under a minute. On the final possession Dwight Howard sent the game to overtime with a tip slam with 1.3 seconds remaining.
The overtime stayed close until the Magic were forced to foul down two with 10 seconds left. Orlando corralled the rebound from a missed Jason Richardson three pointer but couldn’t get a good look as the Hawks stole one from the home team.
The Hawks maintain the number two spot in the division with an ugly win, but it’s well-earned nonetheless. Josh Smith has spent his entire career with the Hawks and the yearly improvement of his team is welcome to the Atlanta star, who contributed 23 points and 19 rebounds, “Early on in my career, the margin of defeat was 25… 30 points. Being able to get established here and be in every ball game as of late definitely shows you the thought process of this basketball team.”
The Magic play in Milwaukee Saturday night.
