MAGIC: Quotes: 03/10/08 vs. Atlanta

FINAL: Orlando Magic 123 - Atlanta Hawks 112

March 10, 2008 - Amway Arena

	1	2	3	4	F
HAWKS	26	27	32	27	112
MAGIC	38	36	25	24	123

Orlando Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
On the overall game�
�Obviously offensively we were great particularly in the first half with only two turnovers and shooting the ball well. We hung on and kept a pretty comfortable lead and got the job done. For both teams it was not a defensive night that�s for sure. Fifteen guys in that game played 10 minutes or more and 11 of them shot over 50 percent. They came in averaging four 3�s a game at 34 percent and they made 11 at 64 percent. The good part for me is they didn�t have a bad night, they had an unbelievable night and we were still able to win comfortably. They made everything they took. Stoudamire was incredible, and he�s capable of doing that. He�s made 17 3�s on the year at 29 percent. He had an unbelievable night tonight. And while Bibby struggled to shoot tonight we know what he�s capable of. They were really on fire, they had a great offensive night and we were still able to win comfortably. I think that part of it is good.�

On Turkoglu being a candidate for Most Improved Player�
�Again I wasn�t here so that�s hard for me to say. I would think by his numbers he would certainly be a good candidate for that, but I�ve said all along and I firmly believe that I don�t really think his game has gotten better I just think based on our roster he�s gotten more minutes and more opportunities with the ball. I think his skill level has always been there. I think he�s responded to both the opportunity and the challenge of taking on more responsibility. His first half was pretty special.�

On the message he gave to the team before the game�
�I don�t really want to get into what I talked to them about, but I just think with our team I think we have to deal with situations better. And one of the situations for us is when things are going well. The other night we come off a big win in Washington. We come in, we�re playing well, we play Golden State and we have a good first half and then we sort of shut it down. We didn�t deal with the success of the first half very well, and we really didn�t tonight either coming out in the second half. We�ve got to get more into a 48-minute mentality of playing every minute. We have a tendency to really relax with a lead. I think that�s a maturity thing, but it needs to change and we need to take advantage of those situations and put games away. It�s really just about energy and focus and understanding that No. 1, we have a lot we need to improve before the playoffs and No. 2, we still have a lot left we need to accomplish. That�s sort of the message we�re trying to give the team.�

On the number of turnovers�
�And especially because the last time we played this team, it was just like the Golden State game. We couldn�t take care of the ball. Last time we played Atlanta we had 19 turnovers, just got them out on the break all night. We�re pretty good if we take care of the ball. And in the first half to score 74 points on two turnovers is pretty incredible.�

Orlando Magic GuardJameer Nelson:
(On Hedo�s night) �He�s playing great for us. We definitely put the ball in his hands a lot and he�s a facilitator out there on the court even though he�s a three-man.�

Orlando Magic CenterDwight Howard:
�Atlanta is a very hard team to put away. Every time I looked up, it seemed like they were still right there. Twenty-point lead in this league isn�t anything. I think the biggest lead you can get where you know you can win is probably 60 points and that�s not going to happen. You got to keep playing.�

�Everybody played exceptionally well tonight. Turk had a real good game.�

�I was playing keep-away from Turk. I knew that he was going to get it. It�s tough to get a triple-double. I�ve never had a triple-double my whole life. So I need to get one.�

�No, it�s not tough, I expect to get hit. All I have to do is make the free throws, try and finish they play as best as I can.�

Orlando Magic ForwardHedo Turkoglu:
�They were playing me a little tough at the end. It�s normal; it�s part of the game. I�m not complaining, I just keep playing hard and try to do my job.�

(On Magic 1st half) �We had great shots. Just play good defense, rebounding and running. We got a lot of guys that can be creative in the open court, being unselfish, making the extra pass, knocking down shots and help us get going.�

(On Dwight �stealing� some rebounds) �I was telling him all night, I need just one. You can see that points and assists are easy. But he�s the No. one rebounder in the league; it�s really hard to get a lot of rebounds off him. They have to bounce way off the rim, and you have to be right there. He did me a favor at the end, he let it go. I had it, it was nice.�

�They told me during the game that I needed just one. I was like, I need just one and then you can have all the others. Finally he gave up and gave me one so that one�s nice. I had my second career triple-double.�

Atlanta Hawks Head Coach Mike Woodson:
On overall game
I mean, if you can�t stop anybody at any point during the game, how can a team�you know look at the stat sheet and say, I mean, we shoot 51 from the field, 60 from the three-point line, we give up 120-plus points, you�re not gonna win�you know, doing that, and I thought we made a step forward against Miami defensively, and then we took a huge step backwards tonight against this team, and this team is playing well. Stan�s done a great job with this unit, but, you know, I mean it�s hard to win on the road, giving up 120 points, and somehow, you know, we gotta regroup. You know, we got 19 games left, and we gotta regroup and try to get back to defending the ball because those teams that do that, win.

You know, I tried to buy our bigs some time, but you know we�re gonna have to start playing our bigs when they�re in foul trouble. If Al picks up two, three early, we�re just gonna have to play him. Same with Zaza, it was like pick your poison tonight. You know, we tried to save them early, save some of the fouls, they made threes. So I mean this team is tough too, and you know, we�ve had some pretty good success against them but tonight we had no answer.

We�re not in the position to think that we are just going to come in people�s gyms and outscore them. We�ve been scoring the ball pretty well, and tonight again, we shot 50 plus from the field, and we lose by 20, and that tells me we�re not defending. We start the game, and we give up three straight lay ups, and it just takes the heart out of your defense and what it�s all about.

On what created problems for the Atlanta defense
I mean, defense is just effort, and I mean we try to make changes throughout the course of the game, just depending on what guys are doing what on the floor. You know, we never put ourselves in that position tonight, the way we started the game. We got down early, came back, got down early again. We just can�t keep coming back against good teams like that.

On Hedo Turkoglu�s Triple-Double I mean, he�s had a fine season so far for this Orlando team, and he�s a major problem because he plays the floor, and he handles the ball, so most forwards are not used to playing guys like that, that dribble the basketball and can shoot it, and put it down and make plays for others. He had 10 assists at halftime, so I mean he�s a major part of what they�re doing, and I think he�s having a great year.

Atlanta Hawks GuardJoe Johnson:
�It (logging many minutes of late) is tough but I am willing to sacrifice and go and try and help my team get a win. We came up a little short tonight. We dug ourselves in a deep hole and could not get out of it.�

�They are a great three point shooting team. With Rashard, Turkoglu it is hard to pay so much attention on them when they have Dwight in the middle. I thought we tried to help too much and they got wide open looks. They got into a rhythm and were knocking down threes left and right.�

�That is a tough team to beat especially when you catch them on a night like tonight. They were the better team tonight.�

�We knew we could get back into the game. I think we cut it down to 10 and gave ourselves a chance. They made another run at it and we never recovered from it.�

Atlanta Hawks ForwardJosh Smith:
�It�s kind of hard to guard a team like that. It is kind of hard to double-team Dwight, when Hedo and Rashard and Keith Bogans are hitting their shots like they did. The big thing tonight was Dwight was hitting his free throws. All that fouling by the rim is out of the picture. He hurt us on the free throw line.�

�We just wanted to come out (second half) and hit them first. We were able to do it but they withstood it. They were knocking down shots the whole game. Dwight was setting good screens and getting guys open. It is hard to beat a team when they have that many shooters in there. Everybody is able to shoot it as well as they did tonight.�

�We match up with those guys well. Our three and four men are the same size as theirs. It kind of benefits both of us at the same time. We have had great matchups against this team since last year and this year is going to be a good series between us. We have to play them two more times. Seeing them in the playoffs would be big because they are a division rival and I think it would be a good series if we were to match up.�

�That (Bibby acquisition) was real big for us and Joe (Johnson) because it relieved some of the offensive pressure off of him. You saw it tonight when he was knocking down shots from all over the place and getting everybody involved by dishing the rock. He (Bibby) got a little tired in fourth quarter, but we are getting better. We are jelling and make this push and make the playoffs.�

POSTGAME NOTES

� The Orlando Magic defeated the Atlanta Hawks 123-112 at Amway Arena to improve to 41-24 on the season, 19-12 at home, while the Hawks fall to 26-37 on the season, 7-25 on the road. The Magic are now 37-34 all time vs. the Hawks, 26-11 at home. The season series between both teams is now split at a win apiece.
� The Magic matched a franchise record for most points in a first half as they finished the first half with 74 points. The Magic previously scored 74 points in a first half on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks on Feb. 20, 1995.
� The Magic�s 74 points in the first half also marks a season-high for points allowed by the Hawks in the first half. The Hawks previously allowed 73 points in the first half against the Los Angeles Lakes on Feb. 19, 2008.
� Forward Hedo Turkoglu notched his second triple-double of his career with 2:50 left to play in the fourth quarter as he grabbed his 10th rebound of the game to go along with his 13 assists and 23 points. Turkoglu�s 13 assists also ties a season/career high for the forward, who previously matched this feat on Feb. 4, 2008 vs. the Dallas Mavericks at Amway Arena.
� Six players finished in double figures for the night as center Dwight Howard tallied 26 points while also pulling down 16 rebounds for his league-leading 56th double-double of the season, 208th of his career. Along with Turkoglu�s 23 points, forward Rashard Lewis finished with 22 points and Jameer Nelson rounded out the starters in double figures with 13 points.
� Coming off the bench, Keith Bogans dished in 19 points and Carlos Arroyo tallied 11 points to round out the double digit scoring.
� The Atlanta Hawks had four of its five starters finish in double figures for the night as guard Joe Johnson finished with 27 points and 11 assists for his fifth double-double of the season. Mike Bibby finished with 23 points and six assists, while Josh Smith finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds for his 15th double-double of the season.
� Sub Salim Stoudamire finished with 16 points in just under 17 minutes of action while starter Marvin Williams finished with 11 points and nine rebounds.