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Recap: CHARLOTTE (NBA.com exclusive) -- The Charlotte Bobcats and Vince Carter.
That was all it took for the Orlando Magic to rebound from its disappointing 28-point loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder Sunday. With just nine players seeing action, Orlando benefited from Carter's return and a balanced attack to down the Charlotte Bobcats 93-81 Tuesday.
Carter, who missed four of the previous five contests due to a sprained ankle, came off the bench to lead the team with 15 points while adding four rebounds, two assists and a steal.
"I was totally surprised," Stan Van Gundy said. "He made the decision, not me. He had a good run (extending) the lead in the fourth quarter."
Orlando coaches and players were under the impression that the All-Star would once again be out after Carter didn't participate in the team's shootaround Tuesday morning. Van Gundy even received a text message from the Orlando trainer indicating Carter was officially out. That all changed though after Carter received treatment late in the afternoon.
"I wasn't even sure," Carter said. "I just wanted to give it a shot. I didn't feel so good this morning and went through my treatment. A few hours later I came back to the arena and said what the heck."
Van Gundy wanted to insert him in the starting lineup immediately, but deferred to Carter's wishes and let him come off the bench.
"I wasn't in shootaround and didn't really get the game plan and I just felt better to do so," Carter said. "I didn't want to disrupt what was going on out there."
Carter sat the entire first quarter but was out on the floor for the beginning of the second and made his mark early. He scored nine of his 15 points in the second period and knocked down three of his 3-point attempts as well.
Van Gundy was extremely critical of his team's play in Oklahoma two nights earlier, but was much happier with his team's performance in this game.
"I thought we started the game with (lots of intensity) and finished with it as well," Van Gundy said. "It was a step in the right direction."
A lot of that intensity and good start came from Brandon Bass who was making his second start for the Magic. Bass accounted for 12 points in the opening period and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor.
"I just wanted to go out there with more intensity on the defensive end and let it translate on the other end," Bass said. "I just wanted to go after it tonight."
The Bobcats, who are last in the NBA in scoring, continued to struggle on offense. Charlotte went 2-for-17 from behind the arc and committed 17 turnovers.
Gerald Wallace summed up much of the night offensively for Charlotte. The team's high-flying forward missed three dunks including an alley-oop and fast break opportunity that could have brought some much needed energy for the Bobcats.
"We played the last four minutes of the first half with a lot of energy," said Charlotte coach Larry Brown. "We had to fight uphill and they're hard to guard, especially when Vince is in there.
"We have to establish a post presence. That's the way to get to the free throw line. We have to be able to drive the ball. We have to work on it."
Preview: STATS -- Their record may indicate otherwise, but Stan Van Gundy certainly isn't convinced the Orlando Magic are a very good team right now.
After their latest performance, it'd be hard to disagree.
The Magic look to bounce back from one of their most lopsided defeats in years Tuesday night when they visit the Charlotte Bobcats.
Orlando's five wins have come by an average of 12.4 points, and the common cog to those victories has been outstanding shooting. The Magic (5-2) have made 49.8 percent of their shots in those five games, 44.4 percent from 3-point range.
It's been a far different story for Van Gundy's team in its two losses. The Magic have shot 36.7 percent from the field and hit 25.5 percent from beyond the arc, droughts that rarely happened as they rode their hot shooting to the NBA finals last season.
Orlando hit 3 of 16 from 3-point range Sunday in a 102-74 loss at Oklahoma City, the second-most lopsided defeat in Van Gundy's three seasons at the helm.
"We're not a good basketball team right now. I've been saying that, but nobody's listening," Van Gundy said. "We're totally predicated on shooting. We do not have any kind of defensive mindset, we don't have much toughness and we're not very smart. So, right now we're not a very good team."
The Magic were missing Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson, both down with ankle injuries, and Rashard Lewis, who still has three games of his 10-game league-imposed suspension left to serve.
It was initially thought Carter would play against the Thunder, but team officials don't want to rush him back after he tweaked his ankle in a game versus Detroit last week. Van Gundy also said he'd be "shocked" if Anderson plays in the next week.
While the eventual returns of Lewis, Carter and Anderson figure to help the Magic from the outside, rebounding and defense are still concerns to Van Gundy. Dwight Howard has averaged 6.0 rebounds in the two losses, and Orlando is giving up 99.6 points per game - 5.2 more than last season.
"We are one of the worst defensive teams in the league and it showed (against the Thunder)," Van Gundy said. "We are a white-collar team right now and those teams won't win on the road."
The Bobcats, on the other hand, have split their first six games due almost entirely to their defense. Charlotte averages a league-worst 85.3 points but gives up 87.7 and has allowed 100 once - in a double-overtime win.
The Bobcats are also one of the league's top rebounding clubs (46.5 per game) - Gerald Wallace averages 13.8 - but were edged on the boards for the first time Saturday in Chicago. They also blew a nine-point second-half lead and remained winless on the road with a 93-90 loss.
"We weren't playing the right way," said forward Boris Diaw, who scored a season-high 20 but committed six turnovers. "We had no movement. We were sloppy."
The Bobcats have averaged 23.5 turnovers in their past two games.
Charlotte is 3-0 at home, but it couldn't get past the Magic there or on the road last season. Howard was limited to 27 combined points in three of Orlando's four wins, but he had a career-high 45 points, 19 rebounds and eight blocks in a 107-102 overtime victory at home Feb. 17.
Game Notes: Nov. 10 @ Charlotte: Orlando is 12-7 all-time vs. Charlotte (8-1 at home, 4-6 on the road)…Orlando went 4-0 last season against Charlotte…The Magic have won eight of the last nine meetings overall…The Bobcats recorded their first win in franchise history over the Magic on Nov. 6, 2004 (111-100)...Vince Carter played collegiately at the University of North Carolina…J.J. Redick played collegiately at Duke University. BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. BOBCATS: 45 pts., Dwight Howard (@ Orlando, 2-17-09)
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAGIC: 36 pts., Gerald Wallace (@ Charlotte, 1-16-08)
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