MAGIC: Quotes: 04/09/08 vs. Chicago

FINAL: Orlando Magic 115 - Chicago Bulls 83

April 9, 2008 - Amway Arena

	1	2	3	4	F
BULLS	26	23	21	13	83
MAGIC	26	36	19	34	115

Orlando Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy:
On the overall game�
�I thought that was a very, very good performance tonight. And I thought, not only did we play well, but we had a real good focus on the things that we need to do, first and foremost the rebounding. They lead the league in offensive rebounds per game. I thought we had an outstanding focus on rebounding the ball tonight. I thought we did a pretty good job getting back. They got some fast break points because we didn�t take care of the ball very well, but I thought we did a pretty good job getting back. We played with better energy offensively, and we did a great job of getting the ball in to Dwight (Howard). We worked on that hard this morning. And the guys had a real focus on it, but he worked a lot harder too to get the ball. He was energetic and really worked it, putting people on his back and running the court and all of those things. That�s how he�s going to have to play and we�re going to have to play. Our ball movement obviously was pretty good, 30 assists, a pretty high night. Other than our turnovers, that�s the only negative I really see. I thought it was a good night. I thought our bench guys gave us a huge lift. Adonal (Foyle) coming in for a long stretch with Dwight in foul trouble. I thought that Keyon (Dooling) and Carlos (Arroyo) were outstanding. They really gave us some energy in the backcourt. I was really happy.�

On Dwight�s performance tonight after having a few sub-par games�
�Everybody�s going to have bad nights, but I think the understanding as far as from the offensive end is that he really needs to get how much people are going to come after him and how hard he has to work to get the ball in spots where he can be effective. It�s not easy, and I think the tendency is for him to say they�re not getting me the ball. And that is partially true. It�s not all on him, but he�s got to work harder to get it too and tonight he did. And the guys did a great job delivering the ball.�

On whether focus is a challenge with only 10 games left�
�Yeah, but it shouldn�t be. In 10 days we�ll be opening the playoffs, so it should be pretty easy to focus right now on what you need to do, and getting your game together and the whole thing. We understand we�re locked into position, but at the same time there are still things we want to accomplish in the regular season. We really need to get ready and we�ve got to be very focused to do that.�

On the significance of possibly winning 50 games�
�It�s a nice round number. I think there�s always a level of respect in this league for 50 win teams. You�ll hear that term a lot, �they�re a 50 win team.� Then there�s always one or two 60 win teams. And then of course the Bulls made it ridiculous with Michael (Jordan) and became a 70 win team. It sort of lifts you out in people�s mind, out of the realm of mediocrity, when they say they�re a 50 win team. So it�d be nice to have. I think our guys quite honestly really want that. It�s important to them right now and I think they really want to get that done. And so do I, I think it does � it puts you at a different level.�

Orlando Magic ForwardRashard Lewis:
�It is good to get a win. We want to build some type of win streak, confidence and momentum going into the playoffs, so the win was very important. It can help in the first round of the playoffs.�

�In practice yesterday and shootaround this morning, we tried to get the ball inside, play inside-out. Because we know he (Dwight) gets us going and he makes a high percentage underneath the basket and we did that tonight. He got us rolling.�

(On getting to 50 wins) �It is a special club. Wining 40 games is an O.K. season. But when you�re 50, it�s a great season, especially in the NBA. A lot of teams are not able to win 50 games. We have a chance to do something special this year.�

(On playing in 4th qtr. & wining by 20 pts.) �No, I think he�s coaching us, getting us ready for the playoffs. He knows when to take us out. But I think the main focus is he wants to continue to let us have the rhythm, and shooting the ball, and getting it inside-out so we can be ready for the playoffs.�

Orlando Magic CenterDwight Howard:
(On his swollen lip) �It�s not affecting my arms and my legs. It is affecting my modeling career for a couple days. I don�t know what side, maybe it�s this side is my good side.�

�The main thing I saw tonight was we played with a lot of energy, from the beginning of the game. And that�s what we have to do coming into the playoffs, win the last four games we got.�

(On anticipating opponents in playoffs) �Well, I know they�re going to do the Hack-A, call me �Shenaynay� right now because of my lip, so the Hack-A-Shenaynay. They�re going to really pay attention to everything in the paint, making sure to send me to the free throw line. You know they did that last year. So one thing that Patrick (Ewing) has been talking to me about is stepping up to the line and making them. It�s confidence, it�s all in my mind.�

�I just wanted to come out and play a lot better than the last two games, I didn�t think I brought myself mentally and physically to the game. So I just wanted to come out and give a great effort on both ends.�

Chicago Bulls Head Coach Jim Boylan:
On trying to match-up against Dwight Howard
�Yeah, he�s a tough, physical match-up for us. Joakim [Noah] tried to battle him, but you could see the obvious, physical difference, and with a little more experience. I put Aaron [Gray] out there, and he was a little too quick for Aaron. We tried Tyrus [Thomas] on him, and he was again a little too physical. You know, we caused a couple turnovers on him early. You know they are a good combination of inside and outside. They�ve got a lot of perimeter shooters and they�ve got the big fella inside, so it was tough for us. We tried to hang with them. We came out in the third quarter and made a little bit of a run at them, and we had it down to eight I believe is as low as we got it, but then they kind of just ran away from us in the fourth quarter.�

On the overall game
�Well we played last night, and this time of the year, our guys get down a little bit, and it�s hard, you�re searching, you�re trying to find some combinations that might be effective, and you want to give some guys some playing time, so we were trying to spread it out a little bit, and we had a lot of foul trouble, so we didn�t have a lot of big guys out there to play. So, we were out there kind of scrambling around with different lineups, but we just didn�t have enough beef around the basket to be quite honest about it, so that was the difference.�

On the Magic�s team heading into the playoffs
�You know, they�re there with the other teams. I don�t know�certainly Boston has to be, at this point, one of the favorites. Detroit�s been there so many times before. So, I would put them somewhere in the third or fourth position in terms of teams that I would think. But, you know, you never know how things go, and they�re a perimeter team that has a good, strong, inside guy. Now, if you can deal with him inside, and the team starts relying on the perimeter game, you know sometimes that�s with you, and sometimes it�s not. So, over the course of a series, you�re going to be playing against some really good teams with power inside. They are definitely formidable, but you never know, it depends on the match-up they get and they�re certainly not, you know, the top three at this point I don�t think. I think they�re probably more the fourth best team, third or fourth best team, somewhere in there.�

Chicago Bulls GuardBen Gordon:
On the loss:
�I think they�re just a better team. We got within 10 and we were fighting hard but they made another run and put the game out of reach. Tough game.�

On if it�s hard to get motivated for games after a tough season:
�It�s tough to get motivation. Anybody who says it isn�t is not telling the truth. We just have to be professional and try and come out every night and try to win.�

Chicago Bulls CenterJoakim Noah:
On coming back to play in Florida:
�I feel like I got a lot of love. I�ve had some great times in this state. I wish we could�ve played a little bit better. Dwight Howard was a beast. It put things in perspective a little bit.�

On whether losing can affect his mental outlook:
�I feel like it has. Losing is the worst feeling. It spreads throughout the whole team. It�s just really hard right now because regardless of what we do there is no light at the end of the tunnel, especially for this season. I feel like we�re not really playing with a lot of pride and respect for the jersey in front of us. It�s just hard because you can�t point at anybody individually, it�s just the togetherness of the team is just bad.�

On whether he believes the nucleus of the team is in place for future success:
�Not the way we�ve been performing. There�s potential. I think there�s potential on any team in the NBA. That doesn�t mean anything at the end of the day. The only thing that matters is W�s and L�s. That�s the only thing that matters in this league. When you win, everyone�s happy. The fans are happy and when you lose they�re not. Sometimes you might play better than the other team and still lose the game because it comes down to one or two possessions sometimes and that�s the difference between happiness and unhappiness. In the long-term it�s all about making the sacrifices and we�re definitely not making the sacrifices right now.�

POSTGAME NOTES

� The Orlando Magic defeated the Chicago Bulls 115-83 in front of a sold-out crowd at Amway Arena. This is the Magic�s 31st sellout of the season, compared to last season�s 25 total soldout games. The win improves the Magic to 49-29 for the season, just one win shy of meeting the 50+ win mark. The last time the Magic won 50+ or more games in a season was during the 1995-96 season when they finished 60-22.
� The win also improves the Magic to 34-35 all time versus the Bulls, 20-14 all-time at home. The loss drops the Bulls to 30-48 on the season, 12-28 on the road. The Bulls are now 1-4 in the month of April.
� The Magic finished the night with nine 3-pointers, making it the 78th consecutive game (every game this season) that the team has recorded at least five 3-pointers in a game. This feat is the longest streak in the history of the NBA. The last time the Magic failed to make at least five 3-pointers was April 18, 2007 vs. Miami. The old record of 51 consecutive games with at least five 3-pointers made was set by Phoenix from Jan. 19, 2005-Nov. 18, 2005.
� The Magic�s defense held the Bulls to just 83 points for the night, making it the 44th time this season that the team has held its opponent to 100 points or less. (37-7 record). By holding the Bulls to just 41 percent from the field, the Magic are now 45-14 when holding their opponent to under 50 percent shooting from the field.
� The Magic are now 30-1 when holding their opponent to 95 points or fewer.
� Center Dwight Howard finished the night with his league-leading 67th double-double of the season with his 30 points and 14 rebounds. Howard now has 219 double-doubles during his career and is just one double-double shy of matching the team record for most double-doubles in a season set by Shaquille O�Neal during the 1992-93 season.
� Howard�s 30 points for the night marks the 11th times this season that he has scored 30 points or more. He was one rebound shy of notching his 11th 30-point/15-rebound game as he finished with only 14 rebounds.
� Forward Rashard Lewis finished the night with his 32nd 20+ point performance as he tallied 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field, 4-of-9 from beyond the arc.
� Carlos Arroyo came off the bench to add 13 points on 6-of-8 from the field, while also dishing out six assists.
� Forward Hedo Turkoglu rounded out the double-digit scoring with 12 points, while also passing out eight assists and grabbing six rebounds.
� Tyrus Thomas tied a career high in blocks with five on the night. The last time he notched five was on Jan. 15, 2007 vs. San Antonio. He finished the night with 10 points on 3-of-7 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 from the line.
� Kirk Hinrich was the leading scorer for the Bulls, racking up 19 points in 25 minutes of action followed by Aaron Gray and Ben Gordon with 13 points apiece.