MAGIC: GAMETIME: 04/11/08 vs. Minnesota

FINAL: Minnesota Timberwolves 102 - Orlando Magic 101

April 11, 2008 - Amway Arena

	1	2	3	4	F
T-WOLVES	31	22	20	28	102
MAGIC	37	26	18	20	101

By Nick Adams | OrlandoMagic.com

FOURTH QUARTER
It seems that when the pace of the game slows down, it favors the T-Wolves. They outscored the Magic in a low scoring third quarter 20-18 to cut once double digit Magic lead down to seven. Every time the pace of the game is fast, the Magic run the lead back up to double digits, so let's hope the Magic can up the tempo and run the T-Wolves right out of the gym in the final period to grab their 50th win of the season.

Orlando does in fact come out increasing the tempo but the T-Wolves have answered the call by drilling five of their first seven shot attempts to force a Magic timeout with Orlando clinging to a 91-86 lead.

Maurice Evans hits a huge three-pointer to gain back a little momentum while increasing Orlando's lead back to eight points.

Minnesota keeps hanging around and have cut the Magic lead down to just two points as we head under two minutes.

"Mr Fourth Quarter" Hedo Turkoglu comes up big once again by converting a running left-handed layup to put the Magic back ahead by four as Minnesota calls a timeout.

McCants hits another three-pointer to bring the T-Wolves within one point at 101-100 with 41.2 seconds remaining.

The Wolves have a chance as they control the basketball with under 12 seconds remaining. There is a scramble for a rebound and Howard gets called for a foul sending Ryan Gomes to the free-throw line. Gomes calmly strokes both to put the T-Wolves ahead 102-101 with 2.9 tics left.

The crowd stands on their feet as Lewis inbounds to Turk who airballs a three-pointer at the buzzer. The Magic suffer a tough loss, 102-101.

Final: Minnesota Timberwolves 102, Orlando Magic 101

THIRD QUARTER
Both teams come out sluggish to start the second half but the Magic go on a 6-0 run as Lewis throws down a one-handed slam to force a Minnesota timeout with the Magic leading 70-56, four minutes into the half.

The Magic come out cold shooting 4-of-12 to start the second half while the Wolves heat up and go on a 9-2 run to trim the Magic lead to seven points. Van Gundy calls a timeout halfway through the third period in a 72-65 ballgame.

Howard comes out of the timeout and instantly gives the Magic and this Amway crowd the spark they needed by swatting a shot at the defensive end then sprints down the other end for a two-handed put-back slam. Howard and Jefferson have posted an identical 14 points and nine rebounds thus far.

Minnesota continues to cut the Magic lead and only trail by four points as we head under two minutes left in the third.

The Magic close out the half strong and take a seven point advantage into the final period.

End of Third: Orlando Magic 81, Minnesota Timberwolves 74

SECOND QUARTER
The Magic go on a 7-2 run to begin the second quarter capped off by a Rashard Lewis two-handed tip dunk that brings the Amway crowd to their feet as Minnesota calls a timeout with the Magic leading 44-33.

I know there probably are a lot of Florida Gator fans out there, so if you are reading this, please do your former buddy Corey Brewer a favor and send him a cheeseburger or better yet a protein bar because he is way too skinny. I think the T-Wolves should run a play to get Brewer cutting to the basket where Brewer turns sideways because no team could find him to defend it.

Brewer takes the ball to the basket strong and tries to dunk on Adonal Foyle but Foyle stands his ground and the two collide resulting in a foul on Foyle. I am not sure if Foyle, or a strong gust of wind from inside of the arena, knocked down Brewer but either way he heads to the line to shoot two. Brewer makes both but the Magic have a commanding 54-40 lead halfway through the second period.

The hyped match-up between Howard and Jefferson has been quiet thus far but the two go back and forth trading hook shots. Howard has eight points and five rebounds while Jefferson has a team-high 10 points and three rebounds.

Orlando has shot tremendously tonight going 23-of-34 (68 percent) from the field including 8-of-12 (67 percent) from beyond the arc. The T-Wolves begin to heat up as this has become a shootout with the Magic leading 60-54 as we head under a minute.

Nelson closes out the high scoring half with a triple to put the Magic ahead by nine.

Halftime: Orlando Magic 63, Minnesota Timberwolves 54

FIRST QUARTER
Good evening Magic fans and welcome to tonight's ballgame as the Magic get set to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves at Amway Arena.

The crowd is loud and on their feet as the two teams meet at center court with Dwight Howard and Al Jefferson comepeting for tonight's opening tip.

Joining Howard in the starting lineup is Jameer Nelson, Maurice Evans, Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis. The T-Wolves start Randy Foye, Kirk Synder, Ryan Gomes, Marko Jaric along with Jefferson.

Lewis feeds Mo Evans for a two-handed slam to start tonight's contest but Foye quickly answers with a jumper of his own. The Magic come out on fire as they hit their first four field-goal attempts to take an early 10-2 lead.

What a great start for the Magic against a T-Wolves team who looks completely out of it. The Magic have come out strong and haven't played to the T-Wolves level converting on eight out of their first ten field-goal attempts while out-working Minnesota at both ends. The T-Wolves are forced to take a timeout as the Magic lead 20-13 halfway through the opening period.

I think I spoke too soon because the T-Wolves go on a 12-5 run to knot up the ballgame at 25 forcing a furious Van Gundy to call a timeout with just under three minutes remaining in the first.

The Magic started off very strong because it seemed they were in control of the tempo which was fast but the game has slowed down significantly favoring the T-Wolves.

Orlando ups the pace at the end of the quarter and Turk drills a triple from the top of the key to give the Magic a 37-31 lead after the first.

End of First: Orlando Magic 37, Minnesota Timberwolves 31

SHOOTAROUND
There are certain numbers in sports that are synonymous when measuring success, numbers like batting .300 in baseball, rushing for 1,000 yards in football, or winning 20 games as a pitcher.

In the NBA, the number most respected and celebrated in terms of team success is the number "50", as in winning 50 games in an 82 game regular season.

The 49-29 Magic have a great opportunity to achieve this "50" win plateau on Friday night as they host the 19-59 Minnesota Timberwolves at Amway Arena.

The Magic spoke at Friday morning's shootaround about the importance and significance of accomplishing the heralded win total.

"The "50" mark has always been a symbolic step up from mediocrity," head coach Stan Van Gundy stated. "If you win 50 games in this league you get respect as a good basketball team."

"It means success," added Hedo Turkoglu. "It is very important for us to get to 50 wins as a franchise. In the four years I have been here we haven't even come close so to be a part of it right now is something special."

Point guard Jameer Nelson echoed his coach and teammate's sentiments, "It means a lot to us because of how far we have come in the last couple of years. We have made some big steps so far this season but we still have a lot to accomplish."

Nelson and Turkoglu also spoke about the reasons for the team's success this season and what possessed the major improvement over last season.

"We have had a lot of guys grow up and we have a great new coach," said Turkoglu. "We are a lot tougher and more aggressive this season in our desire to win."

"We have a winning attitude wherever we go now whether it is at practice, in the community, or out on the game floor," Nelson added.

After all the talk about the significance of the win total, in true Van Gundy fashion, the coach was quick to switch the team's focus.

"Let's keep in mind we haven't achieved it yet and we still have some work to do."

Most of Orlando's work Friday night will be trying to stop Minnesota power forward Al Jefferson who tallied 25 points and 10 rebounds against the Magic earlier this season.

"It will be a big challenge for us in trying to stop him tonight" Van Gundy stated. "They go to him a lot in the post and he is a very good offensive player."

Other than the chance to achieve 50 wins, the highlight of the evening should be the match-up between two of the best young big men in the league in Jefferson and Dwight Howard.

"I think they are two of the best young big guys in the league." Van Gundy continued, "Offensively they are both very good but I think the difference between them now that Dwight has more of a defensive presence and Jefferson is more of an offensive guy."

The exceptional individual match-up, along with the chance to win game number "50" at home, should make for an exciting night at Amway Arena.

PREGAME
The Magic host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night needing just one win to secure their first 50 win season since the 1995-1996 season.

Orlando has a great chance to reach the celebrated win total at home against a Minnesota team whom sports the worse road record in the NBA at just five wins and 33 losses. Overall, the Timberwolves have had a tumultuous season posting the league's third worst record at 19-59.

Minnesota is in a rebuilding stage after losing their franchise superstar Kevin Garnett last season to Boston in a three team blockbuster deal. In that deal, the T-Wolves received good young talented including emerging star, power forward, Al Jefferson.

Jefferson leads the Timberwolves in both scoring and rebounding averaging 21.2 points and 11.2 boards. In posting those averages, Jefferson and the Magic's Dwight Howard are two out of five players in the league who average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Their averages aren't the only thing the two young big men have in common as both grew up in the South, Howard from Georgia and Jefferson from Mississippi.

In addition, both entered the NBA draft straight out of high school in 2004, and were selected in the first round that year with Howard grabbing the number one overall pick while Jefferson was taken 15th by the Boston Celtics.

Howard got the best of Jefferson in their first match-up this season scoring 28 points and grabbing 16 rebounds while leading the Magic to a 111-103 victory in Minnesota.

Orlando seeks to sweep the season series from Minnesota while becoming just the fourth team in Magic history to record 50 or more wins in a single season by beating the Timberwolves Friday night.

MAGIC INJURY REPORT
Tony Battie � Out, torn rotator cuff, left shoulder � underwent successful surgery on Oct. 24; will likely miss the entire season.
Brian Cook � Out, fractured third metacarpal, right hand.
TONIGHT�S OPPONENT:
Apr. 11 vs. Minnesota (Orlando, FL): Orlando is 22-15 all-time vs. Minnesota (13-5 at home, 9-10 on the road) during regular season action, including 1-0 this season (see recap below)�The teams split 1-1 last season�The Magic have won 10 of the last 19 outings with the Timberwolves overall�Orlando has won 13 of the 18 outings at home, but lost five of the last eight games at Minnesota�The Timberwolves and Magic both entered the NBA as expansion teams in 1989-90�Trainer Tom Smith began his career as a student trainer for the Timberwolves back in 1990-91, went to Northwestern College (MN) and is a Minnesota native�For last season�s stats and Magic career numbers vs. Minnesota, see p. 265 of the media guide�Nov. 6 @ Minnesota � Magic 111, Timberwolves 103: Dwight Howard recorded season-highs of 28 points and 16 rebounds, while Rashard Lewis poured in a season-best 27 points, including 7-of-9 from three-point range, as Orlando defeated Minnesota, 111-103, at Target Center. It was Orlando�s second consecutive road win. Carlos Arroyo, starting in place of the injured Jameer Nelson (concussion), tallied 18 points and a team-high six assists. Al Jefferson led the Timberwolves with 25 points and 10 boards. Orlando shot 10-of-24 from three-point range and was 31-of-44 from the free throw line. The Magic also committed just nine turnovers on the evening and overcame an early nine-point deficit.
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. WOLVES: 53 pts., Shaquille O�Neal (@ Orlando, 4-20-94)
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAGIC: 36 pts., Ricky Davis (@ Orlando, 4-1-07); Tyrone Corbin (@ Minnesota, 4-13-90)