Magic vs Spurs: What Went Wrong/Right

The Magic fell a bit short in their bid to knock off the defending NBA Champions as they lost 107-97, in front of a packed house at the Amway Arena. Orlando battled for four quarters, but they were forced to play short-handed as they lost both Hedo Turkoglu and Jameer Nelson early in the game.

What went wrong:

1. Defense- The Magic were slow on rotations for much of the night and allowed the normally poor shooting Spurs to shoot 54% from the field (40-74).

2. Injuries- Orlando lost both Hedo Turkoglu and Jameer Nelson in the first half. Neither player returned, and the rest of the Magic rotation had to log extra minutes.

3. Free throw shooting- The Magic missed their fair share of free throws, as they connected on just 20 of 30 free throws. Keith Bogans was one of the main culprits as he missed 4 of his 5 attempts.

4. Poor ball movement- The Magic had too much one-on-one play and they had just 15 assists on 35 field goals.

What went right:

1. Three-point shooting- The Magic were hot from behind the arc as they connected on 7 of 16 shots from long distance. Rashard Lewis hit 3 of 5 threes.

2. Double-double for Dwight- Howard scored 24 points and grabbed 21 rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Howard’s presence on the defensive end forced San Antonio to take a lot of jumpers.

3. Lewis was hot- Rashard Lewis single-handedly kept the Magic in the game as he scored 24 points on 7-12 shooting.

4. Dooling off the bench- Keyon Dooling made a nice contribution as he scored 19 points and played tough defense on Tony Parker. Dooling was one of the few bright spots for Orlando.