Wizards-Magic Preview

By BRETT HUSTON
Posted Jan 31 2012 4:48PM

Dwight Howard ripped into his Orlando teammates after a 26-point loss late last week, but offered reassuring words about the Magic's confidence level following their fourth consecutive dreadful defeat.

He might not be so kind if that skid gets to five.

Howard and the increasingly dysfunctional Magic hope to begin turning things around Wednesday night against the Washington Wizards, who have lost 47 of 51 on the road and seven straight to Orlando.

A stretch of 10 wins in 12 games following a season-opening loss couldn't seem much more distant for the Magic (12-9), who have since dropped six of eight - often in embarrassing fashion.

Putting up 56 points in a Jan. 23 loss to Boston was bad enough, but Orlando managed to surpass that disappointment by blowing a 27-point lead in a rematch with the Celtics three days later.

Howard had seen enough after Friday's 93-67 loss in New Orleans - his exact words were, "I look at guys and they don't look like they want to play" - but the Magic hardly responded, losing by 21 at home to Indiana two days later. It was more of the same Monday in Philadelphia, where Orlando was behind by 19 late in the fourth quarter before a late surge cut the final to 74-69.

This time, though, Howard took a gentler approach.

"We're still a great basketball team, we're just going through a tough stretch. That's it," said Howard, who continues to address trade rumors and reportedly has a four-team list of preferred destinations. "There's no need for us to complain or point the finger or for anybody to panic. We're going to be fine."

Though Howard was pointing the finger just three days earlier, he defended those actions.

"As a leader, you've got to do things that people don't like. People hate what they don't understand," Howard said. "My teammates understand why I said what I said. They all agree."

While that may be the case, little progress is being made on the court. Aside from the three-time NBA defensive player of the year, the Magic are shooting 35.6 percent and averaging 57.5 points in their last six games.

The absence of point guard Jameer Nelson the past two contests hasn't helped Orlando's offense, though Nelson was averaging just 6.8 points and shooting 30.0 percent in his previous six games before suffering a jaw injury that's likely to sideline him at least three more games.

To coach Stan Van Gundy, though, Orlando's struggles boil down to one ingredient.

"They are going through a tough time, and of course confidence is a huge part of that," Van Gundy said. "But how do you get that back? Well, you push through it, and you have a good game and then you get it back."

The Magic should have the perfect chance to do so against the Wizards (4-17), who are 4-47 away from the Verizon Center since April 12, 2010.

Washington is 2-2 since Randy Wittman took over for the fired Flip Saunders, but both of those victories came against the last-place Bobcats - including the team's first road win this season, 102-99 on Saturday.

After shooting a season-best 52.6 percent at Charlotte, the Wizards fell back to 40.2 percent Monday in a 98-88 loss to Chicago.

Washington has dropped seven straight to the Magic - six by double digits - and the series has been especially uncompetitive in Orlando. The Wizards' four consecutive losses in central Florida have come by an average of 24.8 points.

Howard has shot 77.8 percent (70 of 90) and averaged 26.0 points during Orlando's overall winning streak against Washington.

Magic snap skid with 109-103 win over Wizards

By KYLE HIGHTOWER
Posted Feb 01 2012 11:25PM

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) The Orlando Magic came into Wednesday night playing dangerously poor basketball. For the losers of four straight games, injuries were mounting and morale was falling daily.

Thankfully for the Magic, they got a visit from a Washington Wizards team that was struggling even more and hadn't won in Amway Center for a long time. Minus a few late scares, Orlando found the remedy it was looking for in the form of a 109-103 victory.

Ryan Anderson scored 23 points, including six 3-pointers, to help the Magic end their skid and earn their eighth straight win over the Wizards, which dropped to just 1-9 on the road.

Dwight Howard and J.J. Redick added 21 points each in the Magic's first 100-point game since a win at Indiana on Jan. 24. Orlando had 13 3s as a team.

As good as it felt to win Anderson said afterward that no one in the Magic locker room feels like they are completely out of their funk.

"I think we need to look to the next game and bring the same effort and energy," he said. "We didn't want to focus too much on that streak because that's a week we'd all like to forget. Those games we'd all like to forget about and we can move forward and get a win next game and just start a little run.

"This started our confidence, but we need to follow through with it."

Magic coach Stan Van Gundy has harped on taking care of the ball and limiting mistakes in the half-court offense.

After struggling with turnovers throughout their recent skid, the Magic settled down after a rocky first half to commit just four in the final 24 minutes, while moving the ball wall in their sets to get Anderson and others open looks at the basket.

The night went so well that Howard, who also had his 17th double-double of the season with 18 rebounds, even was productive at the free-throw line going 11 for 16.

There were still some moments that reeked of the streak, like first-half turnovers that resulted from the Magic struggling to get the ball up the floor. Those fundamental things are what coach Stan Van Gundy said is where his focus remains to put his team back on track.

"It's frustrating to me as a coach because I can't figure out what we're doing wrong," Van Gundy said. "That hard thing tonight was we couldn't run anything. We couldn't get into our offense with their pressure.

"I thought our composure was fine, we're just struggling to take care of the ball."

Nick Young had 24 points and Rashard Lewis added 20 for Washington. The Wizards dropped to 1-9 on the road and still haven't beaten a .500 team on the road the past two seasons.

The Wizards trailed by just a point entering the fourth quarter and stayed close before the Magic took an 87-77 lead with 5:56 to play on a one-handed dunk by Howard in the post over JaVale McGee.

Howard ran down the court after the play and pointed toward Quentin Richardson before the two bumped chests.

It was a rare moment of celebration or levity for a team that had so very few of them during its skid.

"He really uplifts everybody," Anderson said. "When that exciting play happens, everybody kind of looks to Dwight to see where his reaction is. When he's excited and he's motivated, he's the one that we call kind of look to."

Washington, which had 12 3-pointers of its own, got to 104-100 with 34.8 to play, but the Magic were able to close it out at the free-throw line.

After coasting through the opening minutes during most of its recent losing skid, Orlando picked up its offense in the first half Wednesday and led by four at the break. But many of its recent headaches in its half-court offense persisted early on.

The Magic were up 11 points at one point. They also committed 11 turnovers, though, often leading to layups on the other end for the Wizards.

Washington used a 16-5 spurt to begin the second quarter to take a 36-30 lead before a 14-2 run by Orlando, which included three straight 3-pointers, nudged the Magic back in front.

"I told our guys `we can't stop playing as hard as we do,"' Wizards coach Randy Witmann said. "We've got nine guys under rookie contracts. Right now they're not getting the respect. That'll come."

Veteran Rashard Lewis said there has been a definite mentality change since Wittman took over five games ago following Flip Saunders firing.

"At the beginning of the season we'd always hang our heads," Lewis said. "...But recently we keep playing hard even when teams make runs. We don't give up until the end of the game...We have to take baby steps and take it one day at a time."

Howard said the past is the past for the Magic now.

"It happens to everybody in the league and we just have to continue to remind ourselves that we're a good team and we're going to have rough patches. We just have to stay together and remember we can't allow anything to separate us."

NOTES: The Magic waived G Larry Hughes after the game. Hughes appeared in nine games. His contract would have been guaranteed for the rest of the season on Feb. 10. Orlando's roster now stands at 14 players. ...Howard was whistled for his sixth technical of the year in the third quarter. ... Washington has lost 48 of its last 52 games on the road. ... Magic PG Jameer Nelson missed his third straight game with concussion-like symptoms and SG Jason Richardson was out his second consecutive game resting a bruised left knee.

Notebook: Magic 109, Wizards 103

By Dick Scanlon, for NBA.com
Posted Wednesday February 1, 2012 11:10PM

THE FACTS: The Magic broke loose with a 40-point fourth quarter in a 109-103 victory over the Washington Wizards, who proved to be the cure for Orlando's four-game losing streak.

Ryan Anderson scored 23 points and Dwight Howard and J.J. Redick added 21 each for the Magic, who shot 11-for-19 in the fourth quarter.

Nick Young scored a game-high 24 points for the Wizards, who have not won a road game against a winning team since April 9, 2010.

QUOTABLE: "I've been telling J.J. to stay aggressive coming off screens and looking for his shot. It's a great shot; don't waste it. Just let it fly."
-- Magic center Dwight Howard.

THE STAT: The Magic shot 39 free throws (making 30) while the Wizards shot only nine (making seven).

QUOTABLE II: "We've got nine guys playing under rookie contracts, and right now they're not getting the respect, but if we keep playing as hard as we play, night in and night out, we'll eventually get calls. Tonight . . . that's hard to overcome."
-- Wizards coach Randy Wittman.

TURNING POINT: Back-to-back 3-pointers by Chris Duhon and Von Wafer pulled the Magic away from a 71-71 tie and opened a 14-4 run in the fourth quarter.

HOT: J.J. Redick, starting for the injured Jason Richardson, scored 21 points while taking only seven field-goal attempts.

NOT: Washington point guard John Wall shot 1-for-12 and scored two points in 32 minutes.

GOOD MOVE: Backcourt pressure produced several Magic turnovers in a 22-5 run that gained the Wizards a six-point lead in the first half.

QUOTABLE: "I can't see a team that won't [press]. We're struggling with it very badly, and when you're doing that, we'll see the same thing until we get it solved."
-- Magic coach Stan Van Gundy.

BAD MOVE: Upset at a non-call in the third quarter, Dwight Howard smashed the ball down hard on the court at the feet of referee Scott Wall, drawing his sixth technical foul of the season

IN THE ARENA: Chants of "TRADE Dwight HOW-ard!" greeted the Magic center while he was at the foul line late in the game, but they were drowned out by chants of "Let's Go Magic!"

ROOKIE WATCH: Shelvin Mack came off the Wizards bench for a career-high 12 points in 16 minutes.

NOTABLE: The Magic released veteran guard Larry Hughes after the game . . . The Magic have not lost five straight since January of 2007 . . . The Wizards' only road victory of the season came at Charlotte on Saturday night. They have not won two straight road games since Nov. 27 and Dec. 1 in 2009 . . . Magic guard Jameer Nelson missed his third straight game with concussion-like symptoms, and he will miss at least one more.skiens . . . Kevin Seraphin matched his career-high with 12 points, helping the Wizards to a 51-21 advantage in bench scoring.

UP NEXT: For the Wizards, Friday @ Toronto, Saturday vs. L.A. Clippers, Monday vs. Toronto. For the Magic, Friday vs. Cleveland, Saturday @ Indiana, Monday vs. L.A. Clippers.

• Wizards: Blatche, Turiaf
• Magic: Nelson, Richardson

• Wizards: --
• Magic: Howard

• Lead Changes: 6
• Times Tied: 7

• Arena: Amway Center, Orlando, FL
• Officials: #9 Derrick Stafford, #28 Tommy Nunez Jr., #31 Scott Wall
• Attendance: 18846
• Duration: 2:25