Print RSS Feeds Insider Magic Texts

Magic Pull Out Close Win Against Sixers
December 9, 2006 - Amway Arena
1 2 3 4 F
SIXERS 25 25 20 14 84
MAGIC 31 22 18 15 86
Box Score | Play-By-Play | Recap | Video | Photos


Postgame: Coach Brian Hill's Press Conference (Usually 10-15 minutes after the conclusion of the game)



Tickets
Game Time: 7:00 PM ET

Find Tickets

TV

Radio


Theme Night
Hardwood Classics Night, Scout Night

Tonight's Giveaway
None


Today Only: Basketball Clock - $25




Subscribe to INSIDER
Sign up now to receive INSIDER, the official newsletter of the Orlando Magic.



By Matthew Gardner | OrlandoMagic.com

One night after a close loss at home to Detroit, the Orlando Magic rebounded on Saturday night with a 86-84 victory against the Philadelphia 76ers. Dwight Howard led the Magic with a season-high 28 points, while Grant Hill chipped in with 23 and Trevor Ariza got a season-high with 13. Philadelphia, playing without Allen Iverson, was led by 19 apiece from Chris Webber and Andre Iguodala. Orlando returns to action on Monday when they face Phoenix.

Despite holding a 10 point lead at one point, the Magic couldn't get rid of the 76ers. Iverson, who is bothered by back spasms and requesting a trade, did not join the team for the trip to Orlando. Still, the Sixers seemed determined to establish an identity and snap a six-game losing skid. They kept the game close, thanks to some late buckets by Andre Iguodala and Kyle Korver that pulled Philly within one at 85-84.

Keyon Dooling hit 1-of-2 free throws to make it a two point game with 5.7 left. The Sixers had one last chance for a win, but Kevin Ollie's shot at the buzzer was blocked by Jameer Nelson.

Orlando shot only 44 percent for the game, but limited its turnovers to only 11. The team did lose starting shooting guard Keith Bogans in the first quarter to a right ankle sprain. Bogans was starting for Hedo Turkoglu, who suffered almost the same injury on Friday night. Both ankle sprains happened in almost the same location on the court.

9:30PM: Magic inbounds the ball and Keyon is fouled with 5.7 left. He misses the first one, but hits the second one. Philly's last chance....Ollie's shot is blocked by Jameer. MAGIC WIN!!

9:27PM: Webber's shot misses and ball goes out of bounds off of Philly. There's 10.4 on the clock and Magic have an 85-84 lead. You can expect a foul to come from the Sixers, so let's him some free throws here!

9:25PM: Korver drives to the basket, makes the shot and is fouled by Hill. Korver makes the bucket and it's a one point lead for Orlando, 85-84. Dooling misses a shot with the shot-clock winding down and Sixers call timeout. They'll have 21.1 on the clock and a chance to win the game.

9:21PM: Grant drives to the lane and Ollie called for a blocking foul. Grant hits the first free throw, but misses the second. But he comes up with the offensive board and Howard puts back a Dooling miss. It's a four point Magic lead with 52.9 left. Sixers call timeout. Howard now has 28 points and Hill has 23. Dwight needs two points for a career-high. Let's Go Magic!!

9:19PM: Iguodala hits a fader over Grant Hill and Hill misses at the other end. The Sixers drive down the floor and Iguodala is fouled by Dooling as he goes to the basket. Andre at the line where he hits the first and misses the second. Magic lead is now one with 1:36 left.

9:16PM: Kevin Ollie gets one to fall to make it a four point game. This one is still close with 2:28 left!

9:14PM: A pair of Grant Hill free throws put Orlando up by four and Dalembert is called for goaltending on Howard and the Magic lead is now six, 82-76. Howard has 26 points.

9:08PM: Howard finally gets an opening and hits the shot to put Orlando back up by two, 78-76 with 5:35 left. Timeout on the floor.

9:05PM: Webber hits a bucket, followed by one by Iguodala to tie the game. The Magic struggling to find good shots and that's making for bad shots and turnovers. However, Philly can't take advantage and turnover the ball with an opportunity to take the lead. The double-team on Howard is limiting the big man's opportunities. He has at least two Philly defenders on him every time he touches the ball.

9:01PM: A dunk by Trevor and outside make from Keyon and the Magic lead is now four, 76-72. Ariza now has a season-high with 13 points. Dwight leads the Magic with 22 points, but has only scored two in the second half. For Philly, Webber has 17, Iguodala 14, Korver 13 and Dalembert 12. They are still shooting 56 percent.

8:57PM: Fourth quarter opens and Trevor Ariza goes to the free throw line where he hits 1-of-2. The Magic get the offensive board off his miss on the second and a few more offensive boards before turning the ball over and Philly fastbreaking to tie the game at 72. Darko had a couple opportunities to put back the shot and wasn't able to on that possession. He's only 1-of-7 in this game. Magic shooting percentage has dropped to 46 percent.

8:54PM: End of the third and the Magic lead, 71-70. Let's get things going in the fourth quarter.

8:52PM: Grant Hill now has 20 points. His season-high is 25 points - also against the Sixers on Nov. 3.

8:50PM: Gotta give the 76ers some credit as they are fighting to the bone for this win. They are playing some gritty ball tonight and it's still a one point game, 71-70 with 57.4 left in the third.

8:45PM: A Grant Hill make increased the lead to three, 67-64, but the Magic still gotta do something about the Sixers shooting. Philly's hitting at the 55 percent mark so far. Korver hit for 28 points when the Sixers were here last month, so it's important to keep a body close to him. Ariza is doing a pretty good job when he's been in the game - despite the screens Korver is coming off of for shots.

8:41PM: With a pair of Webber free throws and a bucket, along with a three from Korver, the Sixers have pulled within one, 65-64 with 4:33 left in the third. Coach Hill calls a timeout to fire up his team.

8:33PM: Iverson might not be here, but it doesn't seem the tension is gone from the Sixers. Webber was trying to bring all five of his teammates together for a quick word and Iguodala didn't seem to want any part of it, which didn't go over well with C-Webb. Both players seemed a little miffed for one reason or another. The Magic lead is now five, 61-56 with 7:26 left in the quarter.

8:28PM: First touch of the third quarter looks good for Dwight. He dunks it in and is fouled on the bucket. But he misses the free throw and the counter stops at 22.

8:27PM: Third quarter underway here in Orlando. Magic need a little better defensive effort in this second half to stop the Sixers, who seem to be doing well without Iverson. They also played well in the first half last night against Washington, but fell apart in the second half. Let's see if that trend continues tonight. Dwight needs 10 points in the second half for his first 30 point game.

8:09PM: Final minute of the first half and Orlando can't extend its lead as Milicic misses from just inside the three-point line. Philly tries to move closer to the lead, but Korver misses a three. One last try for Orlando and Nelson's drive to the lane doesn't fall. Halftime and the Magic lead, 53-50.

8:06PM: Philly moved within one on a Korver free throw, but Nelson found Hill on a fastbreak to give them a three-point lead, 53-50 with 1:26 left.

8:03PM: The Sixers are shooting 64 percent in the game, but the Magic are dominating the boards and have taken 14 more shots than Philly. Webber was just fouled while making a shot and went to the line and hit the free throw. The Magic lead is now only four, 51-47 with 2:42 left in the half. Iguodala's layup cuts the lead to two, 51-49 at the 2:21 mark.

7:59PM: Philly cut the lead to three, but Trevor Ariza has hit on two straight trips to bring the lead to seven, 47-40. But Korver hits a three to make it a four point game. However, Ariza once again finds the basket and the Magic lead, 49-42.

7:51PM: Dwight now has 20 points with 8:33 left in the second quarter. Dwight's career-high is 29 points. Trevor Ariza just hit from outside and the Magic now lead 43-34.

7:43PM: Dwight scores again and now has 17 points in 14 minutes of action as the Magic build a 10 point lead, 35-25. But Kyle Korver hits a shot and is fouled in the process. He goes to the line and hits the free throw. At the other end, Keyon Dooling misses a shot, but Dwight is there for the rebound. He is fouled going back up and will go to the line. Howard hits the first and the second and now has 19 points and Orlando leads, 37-28.

7:40PM: As part of the Magic's Commitment to the Past night, former player Jeff Turner was honored at the end of the first quarter. One of those true hard workers, Jeff is one of those guys that you're always proud to have in a Magic uniform.

7:38PM: One quarter in the books. Orlando 31, Philadelphia 25.

7:36PM: We've got a highlight show going on here. Magic on a fastbreak this time and Nelson feeds the ball to Hill. He fakes a pass to a wide open Howard and goes in for the dunk. Magic lead, 29-22 in the final minute of the quarter.

7:33PM: Update on Keith Bogans. He's got a sprained right ankle and is questionable for return. Dwight with another big dunk (15 points now) and the Magic lead 27-17. But Philly just went on a fastbreak and it finished with Green feeding Iguodala for a alley-oop of their own. Iguodala really liked that one.

7:30PM: Nelson and Howard just connected for a great alley-oop. You could see Howard get Nelson's attention, and the rest is history. Magic now lead, 25-17. Dwight already has 13 points and 3 rebounds in the first nine minutes of play.

7:24PM: Bogans is being helped off the court and appears to have hurt his right ankle - scary how similar this is to Hedo's injury last night. I'll let you know if I hear something about Keith. Keyon Dooling checks in. Magic lead, 19-13.

7:22PM: Oh no...deja vu for Orlando. Keith Bogans is down on the court, very close to the same spot Hedo Turkoglu went down last night. I'm not sure what happened.

7:20PM: No Iverson, but Philly certainly isn't going to lay down. Dalembert has six points and the Sixers have a one point lead, 11-10. That's until another Grant jumper gives the Magic the lead.

By the way, if you are unable to catch the game on TV tonight, first I'm sorry. Second, the Magic are wearing their black pinstripe Hardwood Classic Night jerseys...and boy do they look sharp.

7:18PM: Magic off to a good start. Howard scored the first six and Grant added a jumper as the Magic grab the early lead. Grant just found Howard inside and Dwight dunked another one down. It's now Magic 10, Sixers 7.

7:13PM: Tip-off time and it goes to Orlando. First possession for the home team....the ball goes inside to Dwight and the 21-year-old (I can say that now) banks in off the glass. At the other end, the Sixers are on the board as Iguodala hits from the free throw line. But Howard isn't done and he dunks back a Tony Battie miss. Magic 4, Sixers 2.

7:09PM: Starting lineup time in Orlando. For the visiting Philadelphia 76ers, rookie Rodney Carney, Chris Webber, Samuel Dalembert, Andre Iguodala and Allen Iverson. Just kidding! No A.I. in this building! Kevin Ollie starting in place of the soon-to-be traded Iverson. For the Magic, Keith Bogans (filling in for Hedo Turkoglu), Tony Battie, Dwight Howard, Grant Hill and Jameer Nelson.

Anyone wonder what Iverson is doing right now?

What happened to the Philadelphia 76ers?

You remember that November 3rd game in Orlando? You know, the one where Allen Iverson scored 39 points, including the game winner? Yeah, the same one where Kyle Korver decided to have a good night - hitting 10-of-13 shots from the field for 28 points?

Isn't that the same Philadelphia 76ers team that ended up winning its first three games, were leading the Eastern Conference and were the "buzz" around the NBA?

Boy, did things go down hill fast! Since winning in Orlando that Friday evening, the Sixers have won just three more times and have picked up an 'L' in the other 13.

They've heard grumblings that Chris Webber isn't happy with his playing time. They've seen Shavlik Randolph go out with a fractured left ankle. They've lost five in a row and seven straight on the road. That early lead in the Eastern Conference is long gone and the Sixers are scrambling to get out of the cellar in the Eastern Conference standings.

But the bottom completely dropped out on Friday night when the Sixers announced that Allen Iverson wouldn't be joining the team in Orlando and that his days in Philly were numbered. The Sixers are saying they will look to trade Iverson and he's saying he's probably played in a Philadelphia uniform for the final time.

So tonight, look for the Magic to avenge that earlier loss to Philly. Enough said.
This page automatically refreshes every 60 seconds. The views expressed in the Baseline Blog do not reflect the views of the Orlando Magic or the NBA, but solely the individual contributing to the Blog.

ORLANDO MAGIC

BOGANS
HOWARD
BATTIE
HILL
NELSON

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS

CARNEY
WEBBER
DALEMBERT
IGUODALA
OLLIE

POSTGAME QUOTES

NEXT HOME GAME:

vs.

Mon., December 11, 7:00PM
Amway Arena
Find Tickets
Orlando Magic 86, Phoenix Suns 84

Orlando Magic Head Coach Brian Hill:
“Well you guys may not be, but I am very pleased with this win. I’m sure everyone out there expects us to win by more. This game has scared me all day long, I’m just very happy to get out of it with a win. I’m just very proud of our guys tonight because I think we’re a tired basketball team right now. We’re coming off an 11 day trip when we had six games in nine days staring us in the face and I thought it was a heck of an effort from our guys down the stretch to be able to pull it out. Obviously a huge play by Dwight, some big defensive stops down the stretch, we had an advantage on the offensive glass. Give Philadelphia credit, I thought they played extremely well.”

On Philadelphia without Allen Iverson
“Well if you remember last year, we played them four times and they came in here without Allen Iverson and beat us, then we beat them the other three times with Allen Iverson. They beat us the first game of the year with Allen Iverson. Without Allen Iverson we go right down to the buzzer. They’re a team that has something to prove, they want to prove they can win without the guy and they enjoy playing without him. It’s a heck of a performance by them tonight.”

On Keith Bogans’ injury
“High ankle sprain is all I know, that’s about it.”

On the small forward position
“You know fortunately we still have Trevor there. It just meant that Trevor and Keyon really had to bear the brunt of playing Kyle Korver all night long where Keith would have been involved in that mix also. I thought those two guys did a heck of a job and it takes a lot out of you chasing him all over the floor and off screens and dribble hand offs and everything else. I though those guys were fantastic. Grant was big for us offensively and Trevor not only did a great job defensively but came in with 13 points and a couple of real big offensive rebounds.”

On the physical and mental toughness of the Magic
“I think we’re developing that mental and physical toughness that we need to be one of the really successful teams in the league. The more games you have like this the more it brings it out of you and the more you find out. They say adversity doesn’t test your character it reveals your character and I think that’s one area where this team is really above the approach as far as character of guys we have. We have guys that will fight you tooth and nail right to the end, we may not win it all the time, but they’ll fight you to the end.”

Orlando Magic Forward/Center Dwight Howard:
“It was a great game. We made some big shots at the end, we came up with some great stops. Glad we got this one.”

“Tonight, we executed down the stretch. And we stopped them when we needed to get stops.”

“One of the guys said that we needed to get some energy. So I wanted to do whatever I can to bring the energy for our team, to start the game off.”

Orlando Magic Guard Grant Hill:
“I think all in all, not to make excuses, but we were a little tired out there. It wasn’t great energy. (We) came in at halftime, everybody looked dead. So we just had to find a way to grind it out. It wasn’t pretty, but it was a win. We did what we had to do at both ends of the court to get the win.”

“I was just in the flow. I got more looks, I played a little longer too because Hedo and Keith were out. So I tried to take advantage of some opportunities.”

(So will you ask for more minutes?)
"Yeah, you know, hey, it’s cool. I don’t even know if I was supposed to play tonight. I was supposed to sit out on the back-to-back. But Hedo went down yesterday and that all changed.”

Orlando Magic Guard Jameer Nelson:
(On Grant Hill)
“He did a great job. When I came back into the game, I fed the ball to him in the post. I knew it was crunch time, I knew that I hadn’t been shooting the ball well and I knew that he had. So it’s just recognizing the situations and time to score and getting him the ball.”

(On blocking Ollie’s shot)
“He stepped on my foot, so he slipped a little bit. It just probably helped me out a little bit. I’m explosive enough to block a shot. But when I normally block shots; they call me for a foul.”

(Ever won a game by blocking a shot?)
“No, not all. I mean just blocking shots is just a big for me as hitting the shot. I think we did a good job as a team at the end of the game just getting stops and getting rebounds.

Philadelphia 76ers Head Coach Maurice Cheeks:
On the loss:
“I liked our game, I thought our game was very solid. I thought the first quarter the way they played Dwight Howard, controlling the boards, particularly the offensive boards was a reason why they got a little lead. I thought our game got better as the game went on. I liked the focus we showed and the way we moved the ball through out the game. I like our defense as the game wore on. I thought in the first half we gave up 11 lay-ups and as the game went on we got a lot better. As I’ve been saying all along, we got to make our own breaks and get a break here and there. I just liked our game. I liked our overall offensive game and as the game wore on I thought our defense got a lot better. Of course, getting those two big offensive rebounds from the late in the game and our foul shots hurt us, but we kept fighting and that’s the big key for us. The guys we put out on the floor have been great. Those guys in the locker room, the attention to detail has been there, it’s just unfortunate we lost that game. We played winning basketball but it’s unfortunate we lost that game.”

On Chris Webber’s drive late in the game:
“That was a judgment call by the official. He has to make that decision and unfortunately for us he didn’t make that call for us and fortunately for them he did make it for them. It’s a judgment call but I like the way we played and we could certainly use a break here and there but we haven’t gotten it. But if we continue to play the way we’ve been playing I think we’ll get some breaks.”

On giving themselves a chance to win:
“We had to eliminate some of Dwight Howard’s moves to the basket. We decided to double team Dwight a little more. He was kicking it out and we weren’t getting out and challenging the shooters as much as we could have. I thought that was a big key for us to get out and challenge the shooters and not allow Dwight Howard to score as much as he did. In the first half he had 20 points and a lot of them were offensive rebounds and just quick moves to the basket and we eliminated a lot of that and unfortunately for us we didn’t get that break towards the end that possibly could have given us the win.”

On Dwight Howard:
“Dwight Howard is a young player and he’s getting better every time out. It seems like when we play him we have to pay so much attention to him because he starts out the game so explosive like he did tonight with offensive rebounds and he’s always smiling on the court as he’s dunking the ball it kind of upsets you. But he’s such a young kid that he plays the game with such valuable energy he’s just getting better every night.”

Philadelphia 76ers Guard Kyle Korver:
“We were right there. We made a couple of comebacks at the end. We played real hard and played great defense in the second half. That is something we have been stressing and definitely improved on. But we couldn’t pull it out on the end.”

“We played great defense (fourth quarter) but they kept getting the offensive rebounds. Our bigs kept on blocking it and getting inside position, then their seven footers would get it but would get it blocked again. Our guards have to come in and get those. We didn’t do it.”

(on 76ers offense flowing through Webber tonight)
“He was huge. With Allen out he is our leader. He had 8 assists, 11 rebounds and a bunch of points. He is playing great basketball. It is really fun playing with him. I love cutting off of him. I need to go get some tape of Peja and watch how they did it in Sacramento. I have to watch how they did it. That is how we are going to play now. We need to learn how to feed off him more. Chris is obviously a great passer.”

“I love playing with Chris. There was nobody more excited than me when Chris Webber came to Philadelphia. That is great basketball to me.”

“Allen is a great basketball player. I love playing with him, but when he is not in the game things have to change because you don’t have a guy that can come in and score 30 points. The whole thing changes. We are going to go through Chris more and get the ball into the low post and at the elbow. I thought we did a good job of that at parts of tonight’s game.”

Philadelphia 76ers Forward Chris Webber:
(on getting his teammates involved in the offense)
“That is just how I play. I am not trying to say that in a cocky way, but everybody has their own style of play. I just wanted to get our players involved and it kind of makes the basket bigger when you are getting easy lay ups. It is a fun style of play.”

(on no-call late in game when he drove to basket)
“I definitely thought it was a foul.”

(on his distributing ball tonight)
“Andre is so powerful around the basket. I love seeing him inside. Kyle is such a great shooter that they (defender) hug him. They won’t let him come off. I don’t think there is anything wrong with passing the ball and getting your teammates involved. It is fun for us. It lets guys get a feel for what is going on. Hopefully I can keep playing that way.”

“Things have changed a lot. He (Iverson) is one of the best players in the NBA. We will have to depend on each other more. It changes a lot.”

“We are good. He is a friend of mine and someone I still talk to. This is a business and I just wish the best for him.”

POSTGAME NOTES
• The Magic improve to 15-7 with a 86-84 win over the Sixers tonight.
• Dwight Howard had a season high for points with 28, which is one point shy of his career high of 29 which came on 3/16/05 at the Los Angeles Clippers. He also tied a season high for points in a quarter by any Magic player with 15 in the first period of play. Keyon Dooling also had 15 points in a quarter vs. Denver on 11/15/06.
• Dwight Howard also tied a season high for points in a half with 20. This is his second game doing so; the other was vs. Chicago on 11/1/06. Keyon Dooling also tallied 20 points in a half vs. Denver on 11/15/06.
• The Magic are now a perfect 5-0 in the second game of back-to-back contests. The Magic will play in a total of 21 back-to-back games this season.
• Orlando has held its opponents to less than 90 points in seven out of the last nine games. Orlando has held opponents to 90 points or less 10 times this season, going 9-1 in those contests.
• The Magic’s record improves to 3-0 when Keith Bogans is in the starting lineup. Bogans got the start tonight for the injured Hedo Turkoglu.
• Trevor Ariza had a season high in points with 13, going 6-of-9 from the floor. Grant Hill also added 23 points in 36:03 of play.
• The Magic are now 8-2 in games decided by five points or less.
• The Magic are getting used to playing in front of a sold out crowd, as tonight was the seventh of the season.
• Samuel Dalembert tied a season high in blocks tonight with five. Chris Webber also tallied a season high in assists with eight. Webber also had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds.