Hot off their win against the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, the Magic cruised to a 113 – 87 win against the other LA team.
Before Tuesday night’s game with the Clippers, Coach Van Gundy celebrated his team for their performance against the Lakers, but added that the same intensity needs to be present during every game, not just when they play the league’s best.
Clearly, the Magic took their coach’s words to heart as they dominated the 25 and 39 Clippers Tuesday night at the Amway Arena.
Superman Dwight Howard finished the game with 22 points, 15 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots. Jameer Nelson was not far behind with 17 points, 8 assists, and 5 rebounds. Rashard lewis contributed a solid 15 points. Vince Carter and Matt Barnes both had double digit tallies.
Orlando kept LA at arm’s length for the whole first-half, maintaining a 10-point lead in the first quarter and going into half-time in spectacular fashion as the big-man, Dwight Howard, grabbed a loose-ball blocked-shot by Brandon Bass, taking it coast to coast before cutting into the paint and dishing the ball back to Bass for the dunk.
The Magic were up 67 – 41 going into half-time.
After the game, Dwight joked with reporters, showcasing his signature Charles Barkley impression and insisting that it’s Chuck telling him to “bring the ball up the court at least twice a game so everyone can see your ball-handling skills.”
The Clipper’s Baron Davis was the lone bright spot for the struggling LA team, scoring 16 points, 9 assists, and 4 rebounds. Drew Gooden and Chris Kaman both had 12 buckets.
The second half played out a little better for the Clippers as they outscored the Magic by 3 points (27-24) in the third quarter and kept it close in the fourth landing 19 points to Orlando’s 22. However, the damage was already done and there was no coming back for LA.
At the end of the night, Dwight Howard acknowledged Orlando’s history of letting teams back in the game saying, “Usually, when we have a big lead coming out after half-time, we play around a little bit and we let teams back in… tonight we came out and I think we did an excellent job of putting them away.”
With this win against the Clippers, Orlando Magic seal their sixth consecutive win.
Now it’s on to Chicago to face the 31 and 32 Bulls.
By: Charles Montoya
