Archive for March, 2010

The Orlando Magic will look to win for the 11th time in 12 games when they travel to Philadelphia to take on the 76ers on Monday night. The Magic have enjoyed some rest – they have not played in three days. Their last game, back on Thursday night, was a 108-102 victory over the Miami Heat in overtime. Philadelphia has played twice during that same span, losing 92-88 in New York to the Knicks on Friday night and 98-84 at home against Chicago on Saturday. The 76ers have lost seven of their last eight and 12 of their last 14. [...]

Vince Carter has never won 50 games in his NBA career. Carter knew when he joined the Magic, NBA Finalists last spring, that he would have a chance to play in meaningful, big games again for the first time in years. And he hoped that if all things went well, he’d finally be a part of a 50-win team and a division champion squad in Orlando. “Nope, never have won 50 games. Crazy, huh?’’ Carter said, somewhat shocked himself. “Sometimes not even going deep in the playoffs have we won 50 games.’’ Carter, 33, seems energized late in the season [...]

Per Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, Mickael Pietrus is not expected to play when the Orlando Magic take on the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night. Backup small forward Mickael Pietrus did not practice because of his sprained left ankle, though he did some shooting. Coach Stan Van Gundy said he doesn’t think Pietrus will play against the Sixers. “They’ll tell me in the morning, I guess,” Van Gundy said. Pietrus said he hopes to play Wednesday in Atlanta. You can find more on this story here. (Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger and a contributor at NFL [...]

On Sunday, it was all about Orlando’s Centers. George Diaz of the Sentinel called Adonal Foyle Orlando’s “most important player.” But if you peek behind the curtain, where games are won and lost in the day-to-day grind of practice, or in the privacy of the locker room where discussions are held about a team’s focus or post-retirement options, Foyle is a million-dollar bargain. “He may not be the Most Valuable Player but he is the most important player we have on the roster,” said Magic General Manager Otis Smith. “He’s a veteran who can help young guys deal with the [...]

Here’s the official word from the Magic: DWIGHT HOWARD NAMED WINNER OF 2009-10 RICH & HELEN DeVOS COMMUNITY ENRICHMENT AWARD FOR FOURTH TIME **Through the Orlando Magic Youth Fund, a fund of the McCormick Foundation, nearly $700,000 was distributed to 23 Central Florida organizations** Orlando, Fla. – The Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard was named the 2009-2010 winner of the Rich & Helen DeVos Community Enrichment Award Saturday night at the 20th Annual OMYF Black Tie & Tennies Charity Gala Presented Bright House Networks held at the J.W. Marriott Grande Lakes.  This marks the fourth time and third consecutive year Howard [...]

The Orlando Magic are preparing for the playoffs. “We can’t be satisfied just getting to the playoffs at this point, with what we went through last year. To have a taste of the championship, you want to win it. It’s what we’re playing for. We’re not one of those teams that are happy all year and let’s celebrate just because we made the playoffs. We’re one of the teams that want to win it all, to have a legit chance, you know,” says Nelson. When asked if he pays attention to the standings or potential matchups, Howard shakes his head. [...]

It took overtime but the Orlando Magic defeated the Miami Heat 108-102 on Thursday night. Brian Schmitz wonders if the Heat could present a problem for the Magic if they meet in the postseason. When the Magic look back at their four games against the Heat, including Thursday’s night’s thrilling 108-102 overtime victory at American Airlines Arena, they certainly wouldn’t be strutting into a postseason match-up with their chests puffed out to here. They’ve been warned. The Magic needed to play bonus basketball just to emerge from the season series with a 2-2 draw. “You can’t sleep on these guys,” [...]

In a game that was very close and back-and-forth, the Orlando Magic let a 12-point fourth quarter lead slip away but bounced back in overtime to defeat the Miami Heat 108-102. Dwyane Wade went off for 36 points and 10 rebounds and was instrumental during Miami’s comeback. Dwight Howard once again got into foul trouble and his struggles against the Heat continued, so the Magic relied on Vince Carter’s 27 points and Rashard Lewis’ 24 points to lead them to victory. It was Orlando 10th victory in their last 11 games. NBA

The Orlando Magic will look to stay hot when they take on the Miami Heat on Thursday night. Orlando’s 110-84 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday was their ninth win in their last 10 games. Th Heat, before losing to the Spurs on Tuesday night, had won three in a row and six out of seven, so both teams come into the game playing well. These two teams have already met three times this season. The Heat took the first two meetings before the Magic got a win over the Heat on February 28th. Basketball Stats

The Orlando Magic got back on the right track Wednesday night, defeating the San Antonio Spurs 110-84. Vince Carter was excellent in the victory. Combining Carter’s spectacular 24-point, eight-assist night with statistically the worst shooting performance of Tim Duncan’s stellar career produced a surprisingly easy 110-84 whipping of the San Antonio Spurs for the Magic. A nationally televised audience and a sellout crowd at Amway Arena were treated to a show by the 33-year-old Carter. It was vintage Vince when the guard scored 16 first-quarter points to get the Magic off to a blazing start. In the game, he made [...]