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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| MAGIC | 34 | 21 | 19 | 31 | 105 |
| SPURS | 28 | 22 | 22 | 26 | 98 |
Recap:
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Now that they look at the standings and see they stack up favorably with recent NBA finalists, the young Orlando Magic feel they've done some growing up lately.
Dwight Howard scored 24 points, Jameer Nelson had eight of his 22 in the final two minutes, and the Magic beat the San Antonio Spurs 105-98 on Sunday night.
Hedo Turkoglu added 21 points for the Magic (30-8), who are tied with the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers for the NBA lead in victories. Orlando has won four straight and 13 of 15 games.
"It feels good," Howard said. "We've been playing great basketball, but to come here and beat a great San Antonio team says a lot about our growth and maturity."
The Celtics beat the Lakers in last season's finals, and the Spurs won the title two years ago. The Magic won both meetings with the Spurs this season.
The Magic were 14-of-22 from 3-point territory.
"They did a great job from the 3-point line and really knocked them down," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, whose team has the best 3-point percentage in the NBA this season but was 3-of-13 on Sunday. "Some nights we don't shoot as well or get as many shots. That's just the way it is, and that was the difference."
Tony Parker scored 31 points for the Spurs (24-12), but missed a pair of layups in the final two minutes as San Antonio closed the game by missing six of seven shots.
"We knew the team that made the stops toward the end was going to win," Howard said. "We came up with some good stops and got a good win."
In the matchup against Howard, Tim Duncan had 18 points, hitting 7-of-14 from the floor and all four foul shots along with 10 rebounds. Howard was 9-of-12, going 6-of-7 on free throws and grabbed 14 rebounds.
The Spurs had won four straight. They next meet Los Angeles on Wednesday for the first time since the Lakers' five-game victory in the Western Conference finals.
Like they did last year against the Lakers, the Spurs had little left late in the game. It was tied when Manu Ginobili made a layup with three minutes left. But the Spurs made only one more shot from the floor the rest of the night.
The Magic went up 100-96 with 1:56 to go when they sandwiched 3-pointers from Nelson and J.J. Redick around a pair of free throws by Ginobili.
It was 102-96 when Nelson connected from 16 feet with 1:27 left, but the Spurs were down only 102-98 when Matt Bonner hit a jumper on the next trip down the court. It was the last shot the Spurs would hit, going 0-for-5 in the final minute.
Parker's missed shots, both on his familiar teardrop runners from inside 6 feet, could have tied the game.
"That's my shot," Parker said. "The teardrop is my shot, and it didn't go in."
The Magic took a 74-72 lead to the fourth quarter when Turkoglu made two free throws after a hand-check foul was called against the Spurs' Bruce Bowen.
The Spurs went ahead 77-74 on Ginobili's 3-pointer less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, but the Magic rallied to grab a three-point lead after consecutive 3-pointers from Keith Bogans, who had just checked into the game for the first time, and Lewis.
It was the first shot Lewis made since the first quarter after missing seven in a row.
Nelson made it 82-79 with 8:22 to go when he drew a shooting foul on Parker and made both free throws.
The Magic were 8-of-11 on 3-pointers in the first half, including one that had Popovich doubling over at midcourt after he watched Ginobili fail to get past a screen and defend Nelson.
Nelson hit the 24-footer with a second left for a 55-50 halftime lead, right after Parker had cut through the lane for a tough layup to make it a two-point game with less than 10 seconds left.
Parker provided most of San Antonio's second-quarter offense. He was 5-of-6 from the floor for 10 points, and at halftime he had 18 points and six assists.
Lewis was 0-for-4 in the second quarter, but he got Orlando started off on the right foot with a 4-for-4 first quarter. He and Howard combined to open the game by hitting eight of their first nine.
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Preview:
After their two consecutive games against the Hawks, Orlando will hit the road for a four-game West Coast trip that begins at 8:30 p.m. Sunday night in San Antonio.
The Spurs (24-11) are currently one game ahead of the New Orleans Hornets for the Southwest Division crown. After a slow start, the Spurs have once again ascended to the top tier of the Western Conference and are chasing down the Lakers for the top seed. Tony Parker is having an outstanding year for the Spurs and is averaging 20.9 ppg. along with 6.7 apg. But his shooting percentage may be the most impressive statistic of all; he is shooting 49.8 percent from the floor.
As impressive as Parker's statistics are, he will be taking on a point guard that is shooting even more efficiently than him this season. Jameer Nelson has been absolutely on fire this season, shooting 50.9 percent from the field and a blistering 43.5 percent from 3-point range. He is averaging 16.2 ppg. and 5.1 apg. in only 31.5 minutes of play each night. So as intriguing as the Dwight Howard-Tim Duncan match-up always is, the point guard battle may be the most important area of this game. Howard and Duncan are both double-double machines, ranking first and fifth in the league, respectively, in that category.
In addition to each team having multiple scorers, they are both deeply committed at the defensive end. The Spurs struggled early in the season with their defense due to injuries, but they have shut teams down since Parker and Manu Ginobili returned to the lineup. They have jumped up to fifth in the league in opponent points per game and are right back to playing the type of basketball the NBA has gotten used to from Gregg Popovich teams.
Orlando defeated the Spurs at home on December 18th by a score of 90-78. The Spurs were playing in the second night of a back-to-back and looked like they were playing on an empty tank from the outset of the game. They should go into this game looking to prove to Orlando that their first match-up was a fluke.
The Magic, on the other hand, will be looking to kick off their West Coast trip with a big win over one of the top teams in the Western Conference.
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Keys to the game:
Shutting down Tony Parker: In the two teams' first match-up of the season, Parker was a non-factor and as a result, the Spurs struggled mightily all night. He finished that game with only nine points and four assists, while Jameer Nelson dropped 24 points and dished out seven assists. Orlando can't think that they will keep Parker as ineffective as in the first game, but if they can keep his numbers modest they should have a great chance at starting this road trip with a win.
Not looking ahead: Both teams have very big games coming up following this Sunday night match-up and it will be key that neither of them look ahead. Naturally, when taking on a great team, concentration and preparation will be at its height. Orlando will be taking on the three Western Conference divisional leaders on this road trip. Still, the Magic must worry about this game and this game only on Sunday. The Spurs will be taking on the Lakers at home Wednesday night and that game will have huge implications on Western Conference seeding. So they, too, will have to concentrate on the Magic rather than thinking about Wednesday night.
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Game Notes:
Jan. 11 @ San Antonio: Orlando is 12-28 all-time vs. San Antonio (9-11 at home, 3-17 on the road) during the regular season, Including 1-0 this season (see recap below)…The Magic went 0-2 last season against the Spurs...The Magic have lost 11 of the last 15 meetings in the series...The Magic have lost six of the last nine match-ups at home, and 14 of the last 16 on the road…Hedo Turkoglu spent the 2003-04 season with the Spurs…Dec. 18 vs. San Antonio – Magic 90, Spurs 78: Jameer Nelson poured in a game-high 24 points, as Orlando defeated San Antonio, 90-78, at a sold-out Amway Arena. It was the fifth straight home win for the Magic. Five Magic players scored in double figures. Rashard Lewis scored 15 points, while Dwight Howard added 14 points and 13 rebounds. Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 19 points. Orlando led for most of the contest, stretching its advantage to as much as 23 points during the second half. The Magic held the Spurs to just 37.5 percent from the floor.
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. SPURS: 38 pts., Tracy McGrady (@ San Antonio, 1-20-01)
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAGIC: 47 pts., Tim Duncan (@ Orlando, 12-5-03)
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