Nuggets-Magic Preview

Posted Nov 01 2012 8:03PM

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - The Orlando Magic take the first step in the post-Dwight Howard era Friday night when they open the season at home against the Denver Nuggets, and it's still anyone's guess as to what direction they are headed.

Howard was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in August. Gone too in offseason trades are power forward Ryan Anderson and shooting guard Jason Richardson, which means the Magic are without three of the four top scorers from last season when they finished 37-29 and lost to Indiana in the first round of the playoffs.

In fact, the only holdovers from last year's regular-season rotation are guards Jameer Nelson and J.J. Redick and forwards Glen Davis and Hedo Turkoglu. Throw in rookie head coach Jacque Vaughn, who brings a new style of play, and it's easy to understand why no one knows how the season will unfold.

"You can't put a timetable on something like this," Nelson said. "We don't know how many wins we're going to have or when we're going to be playing our best basketball, but I know that we work hard every day we're in the gym and it's going to pay off at some point."

Aaron Afflalo said low expectations for the Magic serve as motivation.

"A lot of people have us projected to finish last," said Afflalo, who played for Denver the past three seasons and was part of the four-team, 12-player trade package the Magic assembled when they sent Howard to the Lakers. "That lack of expectations is a great incentive for us to compete and do it with a chip on our shoulder. There's nothing wrong with that. We should use anything and everything to fuel our motivation in terms of how hard we compete."

Nikola Vucevic, who played in 51 games for Philadelphia last season, will replace Howard in the starting lineup. The 7-foot Vucevic started 15 games for the 76ers and averaged 5.5 points and 4.8 rebounds, but he has no illusions about making people forget Howard.

"Dwight is the best center in the league, you can't replace him," Vucevic said. "I will try to rebound, defend the lane and maybe contribute on offense, but I am still learning to be consistent."

Howard, an All-Star his last six seasons in Orlando, averaged a team-high 20.6 points and league-best 14.5 rebounds last season, but not everyone thinks his leaving is going to be a bad thing.

"Him being gone means it's somebody else's time to arrive," Davis said. "Who is it going to be? I think it's going to be me."

Davis led the Magic during the exhibition season with 16.9 points a game. For his five-year career, Davis has averaged 7.9 points and 4.3 rebounds while starting 44 times for Boston and Orlando. He is a full-time starter for the first time in his career and said people may be surprised at what they see.

"Every opportunity I got to be a starter, it was like wow! He's capable of doing these things?" Davis said. "People kept saying 'When can we see the Glen Davis we saw in the playoffs, the guy who hit the game-winning shot when he replaced Kevin Garnett (in Boston) and scored all those points in last year's playoffs (for Orlando)?' Well, now it's time."

And then there is Vaughn, at 37, the youngest coach in the NBA. He spent the last two seasons as an assistant to Gregg Popovich in San Antonio and has played for legendary coaching names like Jerry Sloan at Utah and Roy Williams at Kansas. He spent 12 years in the NBA, mostly as a backup point guard, and won an NBA title with the Spurs in 2007.

He said he expects his team to play at a much faster tempo than it did when Howard was the focal point at both ends of the court and the Magic were strictly a half-court team.

"We want to play with pace and we want to share the basketball," Vaughn said. "I saw that at times during the exhibition season. We had a couple of games where we had over 30 assists.

"I think we're still in the process of learning. When the games become real and they mean something in the won-loss column, you learn something more about individuals. There is still some learning from me to be done about guys on this roster."

Denver opened its season with an 84-75 loss in Philadelphia on Wednesday. Ty Lawson led the Nuggets with 16 points and Andre Iguodala scored 11 in his Denver debut.

The Nuggets shot 37.5 percent overall, going 4 for 18 from 3-point range, and committed 22 turnovers in their lowest-scoring game since losing 114-70 in New Jersey on Feb. 7, 2009.

"I think the video will show that it was one of those tough games," coach George Karl told the team's official website. "Finding confidence was very difficult offensively. ... It's pretty clear we have some work to do, and I think our guys are up for the challenge."

Denver has split its last four trips to Orlando after dropping 18 of its first 20 visits.

Davis scores 29, Magic hold off Nuggets 102-89

By KYLE HIGHTOWER
Posted Nov 03 2012 1:30AM

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) The kind of team the Orlando Magic eventually wind up becoming this season is a long way from being determined.

But after a summer of massive changes from top to bottom, for one night at least, all the uncertainty about the franchise's long-term future was an afterthought.

On this night, the Magic were plenty happy with what they have.

Buoyed by Glen Davis' 29 points and 10 rebounds, and J.J. Redick's 21 points off the bench, the Magic sprinted out to an early lead and held off the Denver Nuggets 102-89 Friday night.

Danilo Gallinari led the Nuggets with 23 points, with Ty Lawson chipping in 12. But Denver struggled offensively for the second straight game, unable to dig out of a 20-point first-half hole.

"Amazing, to get our first win in this fashion," said Magic guard Arron Afflalo, who was traded to Orlando this summer as part of the Dwight Howard multi-team deal and finished with seven points against his former team. "Obviously Glen and J.J. stepped up, but it was just a real inspired team effort today."

Afterwards, the team presented first-year coach Jacque Vaughn with the game ball to commemorate his first regular-season NBA victory.

Friday marked the Magic's season-opener and first one in eight seasons without Howard, who was traded this summer to Los Angeles Lakers.

"It's exciting man, there's been a lot of change around here," Afflalo said. "The expectations haven't been too high, so for us to get off to this type of start is a good feeling and we're gonna continue to take it one game at a time."

Vaughn thanked his team in the locker room before the game for working so hard to this point.

They responded with a coach he said made him "extremely proud."

"It was a good feeling," Vaughn said. "That's the progressive process that we're talking about, that it goes both ways. I'll give and tonight they gave as well."

Orlando did suffer a setback, though, with starting forward Hedo Turkoglu leaving the game in the third with a broken left hand. Vaughn said he would be evaluated again Saturday.

The Nuggets dropped to 0-2 on their season-opening three-game road trip. Much like its opening loss at Philadelphia earlier this week, Denver struggled shooting the ball and was stymied by an early deficit.

"The first half we weren't very good at either end of the court," Denver coach George Karl said. "In Philly, we didn't make shots, but we played great defense and stayed in the game because of that. The second half I thought we played with a lot of energy, and then you get down 20 points, that energy runs out of gas a little bit."

Denver trimmed a 21-point first-half Magic lead to eight points late in the third quarter, but struggled in the fourth as their offensive sets stalled and the Magic were able to get some easy shots on their end.

Gallinari was also the only Denver player to consistently make it to the free-throw line, as Orlando's defense was able to contain the usually active Andre Iguodala, who was held to nine points on 3 of 10 shooting.

"This is just the beginning and we have some new guys on the team and the guys who were injured last year are now trying to get back in shape," Gallinari said. "We didn't do a good job, but I am sure tomorrow we are going to do better."

Meanwhile, Orlando has stretches of offensive crispness both in transition and in the half-court, outscoring Denver 60-36 in the paint.

"I want to let everyone know I'm here," Davis said. "I'm here to seize the moment. I'm here to step in the gaps. It was a good night."

Injuries were a problem in the preseason with several Magic players missing part or the entire exhibition schedule with various ailments.

Turkoglu's injury means Vaughn will have to get creative to fill his slot in the starting lineup, with no true small forward healthy enough to immediately fill-in.

Rookie Maurice Harkless, who was acquired in the Howard deal, would seem to be the obvious candidate. But Vaughn said that he only recently was cleared for full-contact practice following sports hernia surgery and will need a few before he's ready for game action. He is currently day-to-day.

Afflalo, at 6-foot-5, is also an option and said he's willing to step into that role if needed.

"That's my brother from another mother, man," said point guard Jameer Nelson. "I've been with Turk so long. It's upsetting to see that. He'll be all right. He's a trooper and we'll pick him up."

Orlando led 58-37 at the break, sparked by Davis and Redick, who each had 15 first-half points.

Despite a roster dealing with several early-season injuries, Vaughn substituted liberally in the early going, playing nine different players.

The fresh legs helped the flow of the offense, with the Magic moving the ball well and getting assists on 16 of their 24 field goals for the half.

The Nuggets, who scored just 38 first-half points in their season-opener, managed only 37 in the opening 24 minutes on Friday.

Nelson said Friday's start was exactly what the Magic needed going forward.

"We're in this together," he said.

Notes: North Carolina coach Roy Williams sat courtside Friday to support Vaughn, who is the first former Williams' player to become an NBA head coach. Vaughn played for Williams in college at Kansas. ...Orlando opened the season without backup big man Gustavo Ayon (sprained left thumb), swingman DeQuan Jones (strained hip muscle) and F Al Harrington (knee). ... Karl said C Timofey Mozgov (left knee strain) ran during shoot around on Friday, and could be ready for their home opener Tuesday against Detroit...The Magic improved to 15-9 all-time in season openers.

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Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/khightower.

Notebook: Magic 102, Nuggets 89

Dick Scanlon, for NBA.com
Posted Fri Nov 02, 2012 11:27 PM - Updated Fri Nov 02, 2012 11:27 PM

THE FACTS: Glen Davis had 29 points and 10 rebounds and J.J. Redick scored 15 points in the first half to help the Orlando Magic open their post-Dwight Howard era with a 102-89 victory over the Denver Nuggets.

Redick, who finished with 21 points, sparked a 12-0 run in the first quarter that put the Magic ahead to stay. They led by as many as 23 points early in the second half.

Magic players awarded Jacque Vaughn the game ball after his first game as an NBA head coach.

Danilo Gallinari led Denver with 23 points, but the Nuggets shot 38 percent, as they had in a season-opening loss at Philadelphia.

QUOTABLE: "There's been a lot of change around here, and the expectations haven't been too high for us to get off to this type of start." -- Magic guard Arron Afflalo.

THE STAT: The Magic had a 60-36 edge in points in the paint.

TURNING POINT: The Magic's one-time 23-point lead was down to 10 at the start of the fourth quarter when E'Twaun Moore came up with a backcourt steal and drove for a layup, opening an 8-2 run that put Orlando back in command.

HOT: Davis made 13-of-25 shots, many of them killing Denver rallies.

QUOTABLE II: "It's one game, but it's a game to let everybody know that I'm here to seize the moment. I'm here to step in the gap."

-- Magic forward Glen Davis.

NOT: Orlando's starting backcourt of Afflalo and Jameer Nelson shot a combined 5-for-22.

GOOD MOVE: Redick replaced Hedo Turkoglu just 4:02 into the game and scored 10 points in the quarter. Vaughn explained that he made the move to keep Turkoglu available for late in the game, but Turkoglu left in the third quarter with a broken left hand.

BAD MOVE: At a time when the Nuggets were trying to claw back into the game late in the third quarter, Gallinari stepped into the lane too early, giving Josh McRoberts an extra free throw, which he made.

IN THE ARENA: University of North Carolina coach Roy Williams showed up to watch the head-coaching debut of Vaughn, who played for Williams at Kansas from 1993-97. "He'll forever be my coach," said a grateful Vaughn. "I'll call him coach until the end of time."

QUOTABLE III: "Expectations are high; we are not there yet, but we can get there. We just need to stay confident because you can lose your confidence if you start off real bad." -- Nuggets guard Andre Iguodala.

ROOKIE WATCH: Andrew Nicholson, Orlando's first-round draft choice, scored his first NBA basket on a fourth-quarter put-back.

NOTABLE: Turkoglu's broken left hand could move Afflalo up to small forward and Redick into the starting lineup. It could also mean more minutes for rookies Maurice Harkness and DeQuan Jones, neither of whom played in the opener because of injuries . . . Denver coach George Karl replaced Kenneth Faried with Wilson Chandler at the start of the second half in an attempt to get the Nuggets running. The move had limited success.

UP NEXT: For the Nuggets: Saturday @ Miami; Tuesday vs. Detroit; Wednesday @ Houston. For the Magic: Sunday vs. Phoenix; Tuesday @ Chicago; Wednesday @ Minnesota.

• Nuggets: Mozgov, Stone
• Magic: Harrington, Jones

• Nuggets: --
• Magic: --

• Lead Changes: 2
• Times Tied: 3

• Arena: Amway Center, Orlando, FL
• Officials: #27 Dick Bavetta, #8 Marc Davis, #77 Karl Lane
• Attendance: 18846
• Duration: 2:10