|
|
|
NBAE / Getty Images
D.J. Augustin scored nine points in Orlando.
|
April 15, 2009
Boxscore | Play-By-Play | Recaps
ORLANDO - The end of the regular season brought little for the Orlando Magic to celebrate.
The Magic have had plenty of great regular seasons before and are limping into this postseason with high expectations.
Tony Battie had 21 points, Mickael Pietrus scored 19 and the Magic tuned up for the playoffs with a 98-73 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night.
"I think they did everything they could do during the regular season,'' Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "I'm not even savoring it. But I have a lot of appreciation, I won't say savoring, but I have a lot of appreciation for what guys do.''
Dwight Howard had 10 points and 12 rebounds in limited minutes to help Orlando snap its season-longest three-game losing streak without starting forwards Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis. The third-seeded Magic will face sixth-seeded Philadelphia this weekend in the first round of the playoffs.
The Magic have said anything less than a title will be short of their goal.
"What else would the goal be?'' Battie said. "A championship is what's on our mind.''
The only bright note to the end of another losing season for the Bobcats (35-47) is that they finished with the best record in franchise history - two wins better than the 2006-07 team. Charlotte lost its final four games, all on the road, and seven of its last eight.
"I think we made progress, and we've got a chance to get better,'' Bobcats coach Larry Brown said. "It's hard to assess your season after a night like tonight, but we have to play a lot of young people and we know how far we have come.''
The Magic took care of business early and rested late.
Battie's put-back dunk on a missed jumper by Courtney Lee powered a 17-3 first-quarter run for the Magic. Howard had five points and four rebounds in the period and played only the first and third quarters, but he wasn't needed.
Orlando's reserves had this one.
Backup center Marcin Gortat capped a 13-4 Magic spurt in the second quarter with a rim-rattling, two-hand dunk on a foul called on Juwan Howard. Pietrus hit a pair of 3-pointers to help Orlando go ahead by 22 points before the half.
Raymond Felton had 13 points, and Nazr Mohammed added 12 for the Bobcats, who never came close.
"It is not a satisfying season,'' Felton said. "But at the same time, it felt good and we were productive.''
The Magic (59-23) finished with the second-best record in franchise history, one win shy of the 1995-96 team led by Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway. But there are plenty of questions surrounding Orlando heading into the postseason.
Turkoglu missed his second straight game with a sprained left ankle, and Lewis missed the last three games with right knee tendinitis. Neither is expected to miss time in the playoffs.
The Magic also had bad losses to New York, Toronto, New Jersey and Milwaukee - all teams that missed the playoffs - in the final two weeks that cost them the Eastern Conference's No. 2 seed. The losses were in part because of injuries, but also poor defensive play.
"If we play consistent basketball,'' Howard said, "we can beat anybody.''
Notes: The Magic were 3-0 against the 76ers this season, with two of those games at Philadelphia. ... Magic guard J.J. Redick addressed the home crowd before the game, thanking fans for their support on behalf of the team. "It's been a great regular season, but we look forward to your support as we make our run toward a championship this weekend,'' Redick said. ... Bobcats guard Raja Bell missed his sixth straight game with a calf injury.
Bobcats Head Coach Larry Brown
(On whether it’s too soon too assess the season)
"Not after tonight. I think we made progress and we’ve got a chance to get better. It’s hard to evaluate or assess your season after a night like tonight. But we have to play a lot of young people and we know how far we have to come because Orlando is so well coached. They’ve got a lot people that can play and it shows you the difference in the bench. Tony (Battie) gets to play, Marcin (Gortat) gets to play, they’re just deep at every position. Even with Jameer (Nelson) out I think they’ve done a wonderful job. It’s a measuring stick for us, we’ve got a long way to go."
(On how playoff spot got away from them)
"We had a lot games that were typical of the Boston game. We started off losing at Washington, lost at Minnesota, lost at Oklahoma, lost at Boston, lost a tough one at Miami. Coming in to today, we had 21-22 games, five points or less that we lost. In some ways you’re really proud of that because we’re in most games. This game and one in Indiana about a month ago are the only two games we haven’t been competitive in a long, long time. You feel great about that, but you know you’ve got to learn how to finish and the fact that we can play some meaningful games down the stretch, hopefully it’ll help us."
(On play at center)
"I wanted to give Nazr (Mohammed) a chance and then when Sean (May) was out there, I played Sean (May) at center a little bit. I was just trying to figure out ways to get guys some minutes."
Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace
"I am very proud of the growth of our team with everything that we had to go through. We had to go through the learning process with Coach Brown and trying to adjust with the certain style that he wanted us to play. He had to adjust to us. We had to adjust with all of the trades and guys coming in and out. For us to come out with 35 wins and still be in position to get in the playoffs was a pretty good scenario for our team."
"We let some games get away that we should have won. We just didn’t win them. We can’t blame anybody but ourselves for that. We feel we still should have been in the playoffs."
"They (Magic) are pretty good. I thought Jameer Nelson was coming back for the playoffs. I didn’t know that he was done for the season. They picked up a great point guard in Rafer. They still have a chance. It will depend on whether they are making shots or not. I think they rely too much on their three point shooting. Dwight is going to command the double team so it is going to depend on whether they can knock those shots down or not."
Bobcats guard Raymond Felton
"It is not a satisfying season, but at the same time it felt good and we were productive. I felt the team got better with some of the trades we made. I am looking forward to working with this team from the beginning. We are going to get better and get more adjusted with each other. It will be fun."
"I definitely want to be back. That is one of the things that I have been saying all year. There have been a lot of trade rumors from the beginning of the year throughout the trade deadline. At the same time it has been fun. I love Charlotte. I love the organization and these guys on this team. We all get along. I am definitely looking forward to coming back next year."
"He (Coach Brown) stays on top of you. He gets on you all the time because he just wants the best for you. He tries to bring the best out of you and that is how you have to look at it. He has definitely made me a better player. I have had my best year since I have been in the league."
"They are definitely going to miss Jameer. He is a vital part to their team. At the same time they are bringing in Rafer Alston who has playoff experience and who can get guys the ball in comfortable positions. They also have Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis who compliment Dwight very well. They are going to be a tough team."
Let us know what you think.
Send us your response to this article or video and we'll post it on bobcats.com using your selected screen name.