MAGIC: GAMETIME: 04/16/08 vs. Washington

FINAL: Orlando Magic 103 - Washington Wizards 83

April 16, 2008 - Amway Arena

	1	2	3	4	F
WIZARDS	19	22	19	23	83
MAGIC	24	23	23	33	103

By Nick Adams | OrlandoMagic.com

FOURTH QUARTER
Everyone rises to their feet to cheer on the Magic as they play their final quarter of the regular season. Tonight was "fan appreciation night" in the arena as the Magic organization treated the fans with gifts and prizes all game long. Let's hope the Magic players can show the fans their appreciation for them by bringing home a victory.

The effort by the Magic reserves has got to bring a smile to Van Gundy's face as Augustine and Dooling hustle on the ground for a loose ball. Gortat puts back a missed shot for his eighth point and tenth rebound as the Magic bench has increased their lead to the largest of the game at 78-62 with 8:30 remaining in the game.

J.J. Redick is on fire and hits three straight jumpers worth eight points to give him 12 points for the game.

Marcin Gortat has just recorded his first career double-double as he throws in a dunk to give him 12 points and 11 rebounds. Gortat only needs 68 more double-doubles to tie Dwight Howard's franchise record of 69 in which he set last night. The Wizards call a timeout with the Magic leading 93-79 with 1:55 left in the contest.

J.J. ties Rashard Lewis with his game-high 15th point and brings the house down with the final basket of the regular season drilling a three-pointer.

Final: Orlando Magic 103, Washington WIzards 83

THIRD QUARTER
Van Gundy has done a great job of balancing the players minutes tonight. He has given the starters adequate time to stay sharp while also giving them rest, and has played Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis in seperate spurts with the bench unit.

The Magic start with most of their bench as Redick, Garrity, and Gortat joing Arroyo and Evans to begin the second half. Former Magic DeShawn Stevenson scores the first points of the second half by stroking a triple.

Washington features a 3-2 zone in the half court and Evans finds a crease in the zone for an easy two-handed slam. The Wizards go on a 10-4 run to open the third quarter and tie the ballgame at 51.

J.J. breaks the tie with a jumper but the Wizards quickly answer back with a three-point play by Andray Blatche to take a one point lead. Evans cans a triple and throws in a layup on a nice feed from Redick to put the Magic back ahead by four halfway through the third quarter.

James Augustine finally checks into the ballgame and Gortat scores his first points of the game on a free-throw. The Magic's reserves have really come in and played well tonight showing energy and intensity at both ends of the floor.

Right on cue, Gortat hits the deck for a loose ball and the hustle play results in a three-pointer by J.J. to bring the Amway crowd to their feet. Augustine adds to the crowd's excitement by throwing down a two-handed slam as the Wizards call a timeout with the Magic leading 64-59.

End of Third: Orlando Magic 70, Washington WIzards 60

SECOND QUARTER
The Magic go to their bench to begin the second quarter as Keyon Dooling, Keith Bogans, Pat Garrity, and Adonal Foyle join Hedo Turkoglu out on the floor. Turk scores the first points of the second period by nailing a trey.

Turk soars to the basket for a slam and Dooling follows with a mid-range jumper to force a Washington timeout as the Magic lead 32-25 at the eight minute mark in the second period.

Turk is putting on an offensive clinic here as he schools the Wizards' Nick Young for a layup and then feeds Bogans who nails a three-pointer from the left wing. Bogans nets another bucket from downtown as the Magic jump out to their largest lead of the game at 11 points halfway through the period.

You know this is the last game of the season with nothing at stake because J.J. Redick and Marcin Gortat check into the game with four minutes to go in the first half.

The reserves log some good minutes and sustain a six point Magic lead heading into the half.

Halftime: Orlando Magic 47, Washington Wizards 41

FIRST QUARTER
Good evening Magic fans and welcome to Amway Arena for tonight's final regular season game as the Magic get ready to square off against their division rivals the Washington Wizards.

The game figures to be a final tune-up as both teams gear up for the playoffs this weekend. The rowdy Amway crowd welcomes the two teams onto the floor as Dwight Howard and Brendan Haywood compete for tonight's opening tip.

Joining Howard in the lineup for the Magic will be Carlos Arroyo, Maurice Evans, Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis. Starting alongside Haywood is Antonio Daniels, DeShawn Stevenson, Darius Songaila, and Dominic McGuire.

It appears as though both teams are resting some of their players as Jameer Nelson sits for the Magic and Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison and Gilbert Arenas sit for the Wizards.

Maurice Evans scores the first points of the game by converting a two-handed dunk in transition. Mo stays on a hot streak after recording a career-high 27 points in the Magic's win over the Atlanta Hawks last night.

Howard slams in a one-handed tomahawk to give the Magic an early 6-2 lead as the Wizards call a timeout just under four minutes into the opening period.

Turk and Dwight run the pick-and-roll to perfection as Turk feeds Dwight for an easy two plus the foul. Howard can't convert the three-point play.

I applaude Stan Van Gundy for playing his normal rotation because the guys stay focused and ready for the weekend. They are playing really well tonight and of late, so why ruin the team's confidence and momentum heading into the playoffs?

The game is a defensive battle tonight as both offenses struggle to find their mark. Not seconds after I typed that, Lewis nets a three-pointer and Turk converts a layup to put the Magic ahead 13-8 with just under four minutes remaining in the first.

After a slow start, both teams have begun to heat up trading baskets as Lewis strokes back-to-back triples to give the Magic a 24-18 lead.

The Wizards get a pair of free-throws as the half concludes with the Magic leading by five points.

End of First: Orlando Magic 24, Washington Wizards 19

PREGAME
The Magic host division rivals the Washington Wizards on Wednesday to conclude the 2007-2008 regular season.

Orlando and Washington have each locked up their playoff seed in the Eastern Conference as the Magic sit third and play the six seeded Toronto Raptors while the Wizards lock up in the fifth spot and play the fourth seeded Cleveland Cavaliers.

Orlando holds a 2-1 season series lead against Washington but the Wizards got the best of the Magic in the two teams' most recent meeting at Amway Arena edging out an 87-86 victory on March 19th.

In that game, Hedo Turkoglu poured in a career-high 39 points for the Magic but came up short on a potential game-winning layup attempt at the buzzer.

Washington has been plagued with injuries for most of the season but will be at full strength on Wednesday with All-Star guard Gilbert Arenas back in the lineup.

With a healthy lineup, the Wizards are playing their best ball heading into the post-season having won five out of their last six games.

Expect a hard fought game as both teams play their final game in preparation for the playoffs which begin this weekend.

FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT
The Magic will honor their fans when they host Fan Appreciation Night on Wednesday, April 16 as they face the Washington Wizards at Amway Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and doors will open at 5:45 p.m.

Highlighting Fan Appreciation Night will be a jersey presentation to 15 randomly selected Magic season ticket holders and 15 community partners, who will each receive a game-worn jersey from a Magic player following the game. The night will also include a number of activities centered around the fans, including pre-game festivities and in-game activities.

Additional highlights include:
� The first 10,000 fans will receive rally towels, presented by the Florida Department of Transportation.
� Fan Fest, beginning at 5:30 p.m. on the north side of Amway Arena, will feature balloon art and face painting, while Shari will be performing on the Bud Stage.
� Magic Dancers will be signing autographs on the concourse.
� Retail specials all night for fans including 50 percent off ALL jerseys and hats. � Magic fans will be entertained by Quick Change at halftime.
� Fairwinds Credit Union will present a check for $5,000 to the OMYF as part of the Orlando Magic debit card program.
� The Aleve Hustle Player of the Year will be announced in a halftime presentation.
� Through online entries, one previously selected winner will take a halfcourt shot in the Shot for $100,000 contest, presented by Bud Light.
� Fans will not want to miss the countdown to Blue and White Ignite for the 2008 Playoffs, where Dwight Howard will address the crowd following the game.
� The community partners who will be presented with a game-worn jersey following the game are:
BWOE-Mentoring Program, The House Next Door, Justice & Peace, After School All-Stars, House of Freedom, Girls & Boys Town, Florida Children's Hospital, Boys & Girls Club, Police Athletic League, Center for Drug Free Living, Big Brothers Big Sisters, House of Hope, Give Kids the World, YMCA Black Achievers and YMCA Hispanic Achievers.

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. 16 vs. Washington (Orlando, FL): Orlando is 47-28 all-time vs. Washington (28-9 at home, 19-19 on the road) during regular season action, including 2-1 this season (see recaps below)�The teams split 2-2 last season...Orlando has won eight of the last 15 meetings with Washington and 24 of the last 36 overall...Orlando has won nine of the last 12 and 18 of the last 22 games at home�The teams have split the last 12 matchups at Washington�Keith Bogans played four years at legendary DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, MD�J.J. Redick went to Cave Spring High School in Roanoke, VA�For last season�s stats and Magic career numbers vs. Washington, see p. 289 of the media guide�Nov. 3 @ Washington � Magic 94, Wizards 82: Hedo Turkoglu tallied season-highs of 25 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, as Orlando defeated Washington, 94-82, at Verizon Center. Orlando outscored Washington during the fourth quarter, 30-15. Rashard Lewis tallied 18 points (all in the first half) and eight rebounds, while Dwight Howard notched his third straight double-double with 17 points, a game-high 15 boards and three blocks. Caron Butler led the Wizards with 23 points. After trailing 50-42 at halftime, the Wizards outscored the Magic during the third quarter, 25-14, and took a 67-64 edged into the final stanza. Orlando responded by opening the quarter with a 12-4 run and never looked back. Turkoglu netted 13 of his points during the final 12 minutes of play�Mar. 5 @ Washington � Magic 122, Wizards 92: Dwight Howard tallied 20 points and 11 rebounds, as Orlando pounded Washington, 122-92, at Verizon Center. It was the third straight win for Orlando and the largest margin of victory for the Magic this season. Six Orlando players scored in double figures, including Maurice Evans, Keith Bogans and Rashard Lewis, who all scored 17 points each. Antawn Jamison paced the Wizards with 19 points, but was 6-of-18 from the floor. The Magic shot 56.1 percent from the floor and made 12-of-27 from beyond the three-point arc. Orlando led from start to finish and by as many as 34 points during the second half�Mar. 19 vs. Washington � Wizards 87, Magic 86: Antawn Jamison scored 31 points, as Washington edged Orlando, 87-86, at Amway Arena. Jamison also tallied 11 rebounds and four steals. DeShawn Stevenson chipped in with 14 points. Hedo Turkoglu poured in a career-high 39 points for the Magic, who had their five-game winning streak snapped. Trailing 87-85, Turkoglu went to the free throw line with an opportunity to tie the game with 33.4 seconds left. However, he missed the first attempt and the Magic will trailed by one. After a 24-second violation by the Wizards, Orlando had one last chance to win the game. Turkoglu drove to the basket as time expired, but his layup attempt was off the mark and Washington escaped with the win.
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. WIZARDS: 62 pts., Tracy McGrady (@ Orlando, 3-10-04)
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAGIC: 48 pts., Antawn Jamison (@ Wasington, 4-17-07)