Magic vs Raptors: What Went Right

Orlando’s 102-87 victory over the Toronto Raptors was far from a thing of beauty Tuesday night, but the Magic scored when they needed to and shut down the Raptors to win their 18th game at home this season. We’re going to look at what went right for Orlando.

1. Dwight in the fourth quarter- After toiling in foul trouble for three quarters, Dwight Howard came out with a vengeance in the fourth and scored 16 points and grabbed four rebounds in the period. Howard finished with 19 points (7-10 from the field) and 14 rebounds for the evening.

2. Turkoglu filling up the stat sheet- Hedo Turkoglu has turned it on of late, and Tuesday was no exception. Turkoglu scored 24 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and dished out eight assists as he nearly scored at will in the final period.

3. Explosive fourth quarter- The Magic blew the game open by outscoring their visitors from north of the border 31-19 in the final stanza.

4. Defending the arc- The Magic closed out well on the best outside shooting team in the NBA as they held the Raptors to just 14% from behind the three-point line (2/14). Toronto came in shooting 42% from behind the arc.

5. Efficient play by Jameer- Although Nelson’s shot wasn’t falling for much of the night, Jameer played solid defense and ran the Magic offense well. Nelson finished with 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists.

6. Good defense overall- We don’t get to commend the Magic very often for their defense, so we’re certainly going to take advantage tonight. Orlando controlled the paint and held the Raptors to just 40.9% shooting from the field (36/88).

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Charlie Bernstein is the Editor-in-Chief of MagicIllustrated.com, and a regular syndicated contributor to FoxSports.com, Sirius Radio, MySpace Sports and Sportsillustrated.com. Charlie is also a columnist for the New Smyrna Observer. Feel free to contact him -HERE- with questions or comments.


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