Denton: Magic-Knicks Postgame Analysis

By John Denton
November 29, 2009

Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Magic and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.

Maybe it was only fitting that the Orlando Magic were playing on Broadway Sunday night. All of their high-profile stars were out in full force.

Rashard Lewis scored 26 points, Dwight Howard pumped in 24 points and Vince Carter added 23 as the Magic closed out a perfect three-game roadtrip with a 114-102 whipping of the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

That stellar performance from the Magic’s all-star trio suggested that chemistry is finally forming for a team that was slowed by injuries, illness and suspension early in the season. With all three firing on all cylinders

Sunday night, Orlando improved to an Eastern Conference best 14-4 overall and 8-2 on the road.

Lewis, who missed the first 10 games because of a NBA-mandated suspension, feels that the Magic are finally starting to mesh. And their full complement of all-stars is not even whole yet because Jameer Nelson is out following arthroscopic knee surgery.

``Everybody is starting to gel together, especially with Vince being a new addition to this team,’’ Lewis said following his best game of the eight he’s played so far. ``We still have to learn how each other plays and we’re not where we want to be yet, but we’ve just got to continue to get better. And we’re still missing Jameer Nelson, another all-star, and when he comes back we’ll have to fit him back into the rotation.’’

The win was especially impressive when considering that Orlando was playing its fourth game in five nights and had won a late-night game in Milwaukee Saturday night. Because the game in Milwaukee tipped off at 8 p.m. Central Time, the Magic didn’t arrive in New York until 3 a.m.

The Magic were able to shake off a sluggish start with a stellar third-quarter performance. They pushed a two-point halftime lead to nine by the start of the fourth quarter after Lewis scored 13 in the third period.

``We do have a target (on our back) and every team that we play wants to knock us down,’’ Howard said. ``We understand that, so we have to come out here every night with our best effort. We came out (on Sunday) a little slow, but picked it up in the second half and got a good win.’’

A good win, indeed, considering the circumstances the Magic were playing under. Here is a look at the good, the bad and the ugly from Sunday Night’s win in the Big Apple:

THE GOOD

---- Lewis had struggled mightily with his rhythm and his jump shot since coming back from the suspension, shooting just 37.2 percent from the floor and 24.3 percent from the 3-point line before Sunday. He made more 3-pointers than anyone in the NBA last season, but too often this season his shot had been flat and often forced.

But Lewis broke out of that slump in a big way against the defensively indifferent Knicks. Riding the momentum of Saturday night when he made the game-winning shot with 44 seconds to play, Lewis made eight of 15 shots and five of nine 3-pointers against the Knicks.

And he was downright unstoppable in the third period. He started the quarter off with a 3-pointer off a pick-and-roll with Carter, and he later extended Orlando’s lead with two more 3-pointers and two free throws. And by the time he made a short baseline shot off a hard drive, the Magic were up 79-69 and on their way to a big win.

Lewis said his legs and rhythm felt as good Sunday night as they have felt in his eight games back with the team.

``I feel good. I feel my legs getting back under me. A lot of people don’t know when you miss 10 games –actually 13 because I missed the last three preseason games – you’ve got to really catch back up to the rhythm of the game. My legs are starting to get back under me and my shot is coming back to me. I should continue to get better every night out.’’

---- When Lewis and others were shredding New York from the outside, Howard destroyed the Knicks inside with his dominant low-post game. Converted power forward David Lee had no chance of stopping Howard, who made eight of nine shots, got to the free throw line 15 times and grabbed five offensive rebounds.

Howard talked after the game about how former Knicks legend Patrick Ewing, now a Magic assistant coach, has helped him progress.

``I work on my game constantly. The thing that Patrick (Ewing) brings is somebody to mentor me -- not just post moves, but situations off the court and also what happens on the court,’’ Howard said. ``It’s just about me trusting my teammates and me just trying to be a better player for my team.’’

---- Carter once again didn’t shoot a high percentage, but he again showed that the Magic are a better team with him attacking. Orlando was a plus-17 in scoring in Carter’s 35 minutes because of his play-making skills.

He made just one of seven 3-pointers, but the rest of the time he was attacking the rim. And when he’s getting into the lane it usually opens up 3-point shooters or even allows Howard to get in position for easy put-back slams.

THE BAD

---- The Knicks are abysmal defensively and were shredded inside and out again by the Magic. Lee can’t guard most centers in the NBA because of his lack of bulk, second-year forward Danilo Gallinari is a finesse power forward and both Chris Duhon and Larry Hughes are substandard players at guard on both ends of the floor. Hughes missed eight of his nine shots and Wilson Chandler missed nine of 15.

The Knicks have the NBA’s fifth-highest payroll at $85.9 million, meaning they will be on the hook for another $16.9 million in luxury tax dollars after the season. Still, they have little chance to win and have pinned the franchise’s entire hopes on scoring big in free agency in July. If they swing and miss – and the guess here is that they will because the roster is so devoid of talent – it will be interesting to see which direction the Knicks head to try and improve a ragged roster.

THE UGLY

---- For a second consecutive night an opposing coach tried the Hack-A-Howard method in an attempt to get back in the game. Trailing 106-96, Mike D’Antoni opted for the desperate move, but Howard thwarted it by making two free throws.

When Scott Skiles used a similar move a night earlier in Milwaukee, Howard made one of two free throws.

Howard’s stroke at the line was again a struggle Sunday night as he made just eight of 15 tries. After climbing to as high as 69 percent earlier in the season, Howard has dropped back to 56.1 percent from the stripe.

John Denton writes for Orlandomagic.com. His Orlando Magic ``Behind the Scenes’’ segment can be heard on ESPN 1080 AM on Thursday at 5:05 p.m. Submit questions to John for his ``Ask J.D.’’ mailbag feature that will appear every Friday at AskJD@orlandomagic.com.