MAGIC: GAMETIME: 04/01/08 vs. New Orleans

FINAL: New Orleans Hornets 98 - Orlando Magic 97

April 1, 2008 - Amway Arena

	1	2	3	4	F
HORNETS	21	23	30	24	98
MAGIC	27	26	23	21	97

By Nick Adams | OrlandoMagic.com

FOURTH QUARTER
The Amway crowd begins the fourth quarter on their feet but the Hornets quickly quiet the crowd as David West buckets a jumper to give them a 78-76 lead.

Bogans htis a big three-pointer and Howard throws in a hook shot over Chandler to give the Magic a three point lead, three minutes into the final period.

We are witnessing a battle here at Amway tonight as there have been about five lead changes just this quarter and Lewis throws down a dunk to give the Magic a one point lead with just under six minutes remaining.

Lewis has been on fire tonight and he hits a big triple from the top of the key giving him a game-high 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting. Turk follows Lewis' trey by bucketing his 24th point while giving the Magic a two point advantage with 3:54 to go.

I am not going to bother to write anything down until one of these teams takes a four point lead because they have gone back and forth the entire quarter. I lied...Keyon Dooling throws down a disgusting one-handed slam in transition to absolutely blow the roof off the place. Hornets take a timeout with the game all knotted up at 92 with 2:14 left. That sure renewed my wow.

Lewis feeds Evans in the corner and he drills a three-pointer as the place erupts once again. No offense Mickey but Amway Arena has to be the most entertaining venue in Orlando right now. This place is going crazy, all 17,00 fans are on their feet chanting "D-Fense" as the Hornets cling to a one point lead with just under 30 second remaining.

The Magic are forced to foul and send Peja Stojakovic to the free-throw line where he calmly strokes two to give the Hornets a three point lead. The Magic call a timeout to set up a final play to try and tie the game with 12.3 seconds left.

Hedo slams in a quick two rather than going for the three...the Magic foul Paul sending him to the line with 6.1 left trailing by one.

The quick two may just end up paying off as Paul misses both free-throws. The Magic call their last timeout as they trail 98-97 with 6.1 seconds left.

Rashard drives and kicks out to Dooling who pump fakes drives to the right elbow and misses a jumper to end the game with the Magic losing a heartbreaker.

Final: New Orleans Hornets 98, Orlando Magic 97

THIRD QUARTER
The Magic played a great first half at both ends of the floor shooting above 50 percent from the floor while only committing seven turnovers, and held the Hornets to under 40 percent shooting at the defensive end.

Lewis, who leads the Magic with 13 points at halftime, continues to shoot the lights out as he strokes back-to-back triples to give the Magic a 59-45 lead. Lewis has made five treys tonight and the Magic have made eight as a team while shooting 53 percent from downtown.

The Hornets go on a 6-0 run to force an Orlando timeout three minutes into the second half. The run is now up to 12-0 as Peterson strokes a triple. Turk finally ends the Hornets' run by bucketing two free-throws as they Magic lead 61-57 halfway through the period.

Howard converts a three-point play to put the Magic back ahead by five points and Turk brings the crowd to their feet as he makes good on a tough reverse layup. Turk and Evans bring the house down as they net back-to-back three-pointers to force a Hornets' timeout as the Magic lead 72-61 with 4:21 left in the third.

The college all-star formerly known as Mo-Pete knocks down another three to end the Magic streak to quiet the crowd briefly. Turk gets the crowd right back into it drilling an impossible fadeaway jumper as the shot clock sounds.

New Orleans cuts the Magic lead down to two points as the quarter concludes.

End of Third: Orlando Magic 76, New Orleans Hornets 74

SECOND QUARTER
Turk strokes a jumper to score the first points of the second period and Keyon Dooling gives the Magic a huge spark as he hustles to block a shot at the defensive end and then nets a jump shot at the other end.

The Magic are on fire as Lewis and Bogans hit back-to-back jumpers to give the Magic their largest lead of the game at 40-27, four minutes into the third. The Magic have shot 57 percent from the floor including 56 percent from beyond the arc. The Hornets quickly answer back with seven straight to force a Magic timeout.

Howard checks back into the game and immediately gets involved by hitting a 10-foot jump hook followed by a layup to put the Magic back ahead by double digits.

I just leaned to one of my co-workers and made the comment that Chris Paul has yet to score with five minutes remaining in the first half and as soon as I finish my sentence Paul steals the ball, sprints down the other end and dunks home his first two of tonight's game. I have yet to win money tonight...nothing...wait for it....wait for it...still nothing.

The Magic, Arroyo and Dooling in particular, have done a tremendous job on Chris Paul tonight holding him to just two points and three rebounds thus far. Paul hits the deck hard and takes a while to get up off the floor as he walks off holding his right side.

West throws in a hook but Turk answers right back with a trey to give the Magic a seven point lead as we head under a minute.

The Magic get another bucket to close out a well-played first half.

Halftime: Orlando Magic 53, New Orleans Hornets 44

FIRST QUARTER
Good evening Magic fans and welcome to Amway Arena for tonight's great match-up as the Southeast Division Champion Magic face the Western Conference leading New Orleans Hornets

The Magic play for the first time at home since being crowned division champs and the crowd gives the team a huge ovation as they meet the Hornets at center court. Starting for the Magic tonight will be Carlos Arroyo, Mo Evans, Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis, and Dwight Howard. The New Orleans "Don't call me Charlotte" Hornets start Chris Paul, Morris Peterson, Peja Stojakovic, David West, and Tyson Chandler.

The Hornets score the first points of the game as Stojakovic hits a free-throw and Chandler hits a hook but the Magic answer quickly back with three of their own capped off by a Howard two-handed monster slam in transition.

Both teams are off to good starts as Peterson knocks down a trey and Lewis answers with one of his own from downtown. The teams continue to play the back and forth game but Evans puts the Magic ahead at 10-8 with a layup.

Very much a playoff-like crowd and atmosphere in Amway tonight as the crowd hangs on every dribble. The game has become extremely physical as Howard, Lewis, West and Chandler battle in the paint. West has a few words for Lewis after he cans a jumper in Rashard's eye and that lights a spark under Lewis who proceeds to hit two three-pointers in the grill of West. Lewis pounds his chest as the Hornets are forced to call a timeout with the Amway crowd on their feet with their team leading 18-10 halfway through the opening period.

Lewis and West exchanged words earlier in the game and have been going at each other ever since. This physical play has benefited the Magic who force Chris Paul into his second foul as Arroyo steps in to draw a charge against him.

The Hornets go on a 9-2 run to force a timeout from Van Gundy as the Magic cling to a 20-19 advantage with 1:54 remaining in the first.

Tonight is the Magic's CEO and President Bob Van Weide's birthday and the Magic have games and fundraisers going on all game to support the Boys and Girls' Clubs of Orlando.

Van Gundy must have said something profound during the timeout because the Magic come out firing going on a 7-2 run to close out the quarter leading by six points.

End of First: Orlando Magic 27, New Orleans Hornets 21

SHOOTAROUND
Prior to the season, if you told NBA experts that the New Orleans Hornets would be leading the Western Conference on April 1st, they would have definitely thought you were playing an "April Fools" joke.

The 50-22 Hornets are no joke, and are in fact leading arguably one of the most competitive Conferences in NBA history.

Magic forward Rashard Lewis, who played his previous eight NBA seasons out West, is just as shocked as everyone else in regards to New Orleans' success.

"I am very shocked and I think nobody picked them to be leading the Western Conference," Lewis commented, "but they have been playing well and together. I think Chris Paul has played tremendously and is playing like a MVP for them this year."

Paul (21.5 ppg, 11.4 apg, 2.7 spg) has been perhaps the biggest reason for the Hornets' emergence and is seriously being considered as a candidate for the NBA's Most Valuable Player award.

"He has had an incredible year," stated head coach Stan Van Gundy at Tuesday morning's shootaround. "He is doing all the things you look for in an MVP. Anytime you have a great individual season and are the best player on a team that's winning you are certainly an MVP candidate."

Tuesday's match-up will be the first time Orlando faces Paul this season as he had missed the two teams' first meeting in mid-November with an ankle injury.

Orlando was victorious in that game, 95-88, but New Orleans still impressed the Magic without their floor general.

Chris Paul is an excellent player, but it is not all just him," Dwight Howard stated. "Their whole team is playing at a high level right now and playing like they want to win a championship."

Helping out Paul has been power forward David West who is having a career-season in making his first All-Star appearance while averaging 20.4 points and 9.1 rebounds.

Checking West for most of the night will be Rashard Lewis who is well aware of his counterpart's talents.

"David West is obviously a great player. He has been playing well and he spreads the floor a little bit because he can shoot the jump shot as well as post up."

Lewis and the Magic hope to contain the Hornets as they take the floor for the first time Tuesday as Southeast Division Champions.

Injury Update
Brian Cook injured his right hand Monday at practice when Dwight Howard's swat attempt at the ball missed and struck Cook's shooting hand. Cook was in a cast at Tuesday morning's shootaround and stated that the doctor said he would be out for at least three weeks.

"It hurts but I have broken my hand three times, so I have been through this before," said Cook. For now I am just going to work as hard as I can to come back in time for the playoffs."

"He (Cook) has been the first forward off the bench since the All-Star break anyway and now that changes," Van Gundy stated. "From now on that will be Pat (Garrity) and I know he will be ready."

Furthermore, point guard Jameer Nelson, who has missed the last game and a half with a jaw contusion, did participate in walk through Tuesday morning and Van Gundy said that he assumes Nelson will be ready to play against the Hornets.

PREGAME
MVP candidate Chris Paul, and the Western Conference leading New Orleans Hornets, visit Orlando Tuesday night with a 50-22 record including an outstanding 23-12 record on the road.

Paul (21.5 ppg, 11.4 apg) and All-Star power forward David West (20.4 ppg, 9.0 rpg) have led an emerging Hornets squad to a storybook season, improving their win total for all of last season by 11 victories thus far.

Similar to the Magic, the Hornets thrive in shooting from beyond the arc as New Orleans ranks two spots ahead of the Magic in three-point field-goal percentage at nearly 40 percent.

With their abilities to play inside/outside, and Paul facilitating the basketball with few turnovers, the Hornets have a potent offense which ranks ninth in the league in scoring at just over 100 points per game.

The 100-point plateau is one in which the Magic will strive to hold the Hornets below because New Orleans is 37-2 when scoring 100 points or more.

The Magic accomplished that feat in the two teams' only other meeting this season, holding the Hornets to 88 points on their way to a 95-88 victory in a mid-November match-up in New Orleans.

In that game, five different Magic players scored 15 points or more led by Dwight Howard's 24 point, 15 rebound performance.

Expect a playoff-like atmosphere inside Amway Arena on Tuesday night as two of the top teams in the NBA battle for playoff positioning in their respective Conferences.

Side Note: Brian Cook suffered a fracture to his middle finger on his right hand at practice Monday morning (third metacarpal). He will be out 10-14 days and re-evaluated at that point.

MAGIC INJURY REPORT
Tony Battie � Out, torn rotator cuff, left shoulder � underwent successful surgery on Oct. 24; will likely miss the entire season.
Jameer Nelson � Day-to-day, jaw contusion
Hedo Turkoglu � Day-to-day, sprained right wrist
Brian Cook - 10-14 days, middle finger fracture

TONIGHT�S OPPONENT:
Apr. 1 vs. New Orleans (Orlando, FL): Orlando is 29-31 vs. New Orleans (16-13 at home, 3-3 at New Orleans, 0-1 at Oklahoma City, 9-13 at Charlotte) during regular season action, including 1-0 this season (see recap below)...Orlando is 1-3 vs. the Hornets in the playoffs (2002 first round)...The Magic have won five of the last seven meetings between the two clubs...Orlando has won four of the last seven matchups at home�On Mar. 26, 2007 @ New Orleans, the Magic overcame a 20-point deficit and recorded a 97-95 win, tying for the fourth-largest comeback in franchise history�Assistant GM Dave Twardzik was director of scouting and director of player personnel for the Hornets while they were in Charlotte from 1990-95�For last season�s stats and Magic career numbers vs. New Orleans, see p. 269 of the media guide� Nov. 19 @ New Orleans � Magic 95, Hornets 88: Dwight Howard tallied 24 points and 15 rebounds, as Orlando defeated New Orleans, 95-88, at New Orleans Arena. It was the Magic�s fifth straight win and a team-record seventh consecutive victory on the road. Five Orlando players scored in double figures, including Rashard Lewis with 19 points and Jameer Nelson with 16 points. Peja Stojakovic led the Hornets with 21 points. New Orleans was without Chris Paul and lost Tyson Chandler midway through the first half with a knee injury. Orlando dominated the first half, leading 33-17 after the first quarter and by as many as 21 points. New Orleans fought back during the second half and took a 78-73 lead with 6:17 left in the game. The Magic responded with an 11-2 run and later sealed the win on a jumper by Nelson with 45.8 seconds remaining.
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. HORNETS: 46 pts., Shaquille O�Neal (@ Charlotte, 11-9-94)
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAGIC: 40 pts., Jamal Mashburn (@ New Orleans, 3-26-03); Glen Rice (@ Charlotte, 2-17-97)
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAGIC: 47 pts., Tim Duncan (@ Orlando, 12-5-03)