Magic win a big game tonight against Sacramento, 114-111. Dwight Howard had a huge game, dropping 20 points and grabbing 16 rebounds while sitting out most of the fourth quarter. The game was a little too close at the end, and the difference was Howard.
There was a big difference in the team tonight. The change has been slowly coming over the last 2 games; tonight we saw the results. Five Magic players score in double figures led by Steve Francis with 29 points. Three Magic players had double-doubles. Howard had his 20/16 game, Cato added 13 points and 12 rebounds and Francis dished out 10 assists for his double-double.
Personal stats are one thing, teams stats is where you can tell the difference in the games. The Magic had 28 assists on 47 field goals while committing only 12 turnovers. Most of the turnovers were from hussle type plays. Overall shooting percentage was at 55%. The Magic moved the ball very well tonight, everyone contributed. The two main keys were Howard passing out of the post and Francis was passing on the perimeter.
Individually, Francis had a decent game, Hill had an efficient night, Jameer Nelson had a solid night at the starting PG and Howard had a monster night. Howard ended the night with 3 blocks. Doug Christie and Hedo Turkoglu saw limited minutes tonight. Not sure if Christie is still favoring the ankle or he just didn't fit with the plan tonight. Hedo was having defensive problems and I was glad to see Coach make the change early before Hedo got us into trouble. I still want to see both these guys get their minutes - but tonight, the players who played hard were played. Only thing I disagree with is Howard in the fourth. Coach chose to stick with who he had on the floor; I think Howard should have closed the game out.
Highlights were plentiful tonight. Howard had a huge rejection that brought the crowd to their feet and Tony Battie absolutely went off on him. It was the highlight on the game. Howard had several dunks, two specifically on which he almost broke someones arm. Is it just me, or are his dunks getting a little nasty lately?
I hope the team can keep this momentum and pick up a couple more wins. Someone told me awhile back that good habits are just as easy to form as bad ones. I hope the Magic formed a couple good ones with this victory tonight.
