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Showing posts with label stan van gundy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stan van gundy. Show all posts

Nowitzki's 29 powers Dallas past Magic, 105-95

Posted by Posted by Linda on Tuesday, February 3, 2009 , under , , , , , | comments (0)



ORLANDO, Fla. – Dirk Nowitzki had 29 points and six rebounds, Jason Terry had 23 points and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Orlando Magic 105-95 Monday night for their third straight win.

Dallas Mavericks guard Antoine Wright, left, gets off a shot over Orlando Magic Dallas Mavericks guard Antoine Wright, left, gets off a shot over Orlando Magic guard Courtney Lee (11)

Josh Howard and Jason Kidd added 13 apiece for the Mavericks, who held Orlando to 3-for-20 shooting from 3-point range.

Dwight Howard had 35 points and 11 rebounds, and Hedo Turkoglu scored 18 as the Magic ended their three-game winning streak. But that wasn't the worst news of the night for Orlando.

All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson left the game in the third quarter with a dislocated right shoulder. He was scheduled to have an MRI on Tuesday.

And Dallas took advantage in his absence.

Terry's 3-point play capped a 19-6 run as the Mavericks turned a tight game into a blowout, going ahead 75-57 in the third quarter. Dallas started fast in the fourth, using a 10-4 spurt to take an 87-67 lead.

A late rally by the Magic cut Dallas' lead to 99-90 with 2:29 remaining on a 3-pointer by Turkoglu. But each time Orlando nudged closer, Nowitzki and the Mavericks would answer back.

It was quite different early.

Mickael Pietrus' layup highlighted an 11-4 Magic run, giving them a 40-33 lead midway through the second quarter. But Dallas would answer, clamping down on Howard and getting out on the fast break.

Forcing turnovers and speeding up the tempo, the Mavericks closed the half on an 18-7 spurt that put them ahead 54-47. Dallas' perimeter defense was stellar, holding Orlando to 1-for-7 shooting from beyond the arc in the first half.

It wasn't as easy early in the paint.

Muscling through Mavericks at will, Howard nearly had a double-double by the end of the first quarter: He had 12 points and six rebounds, powering the Magic to a 27-25 lead.

But even Howard wasn't perfect.

He was rejected by the rim on an alley-hoop attempt in the first quarter, falling to the floor after misjudging his position under the basket. Josh Howard was able to keep the Mavericks in range early, scoring 10 points in the first quarter.

Notes: Magic coach Stan Van Gundy was named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for January. Orlando went 10-3 in January, while Dallas was 8-7. ... Earlier Monday, it was announced that Nelson will participate in the skills challenge competition as part of the All-Star break contests. He was already heading to Phoenix after being added as an All-Star reserve to the East roster, joining teammates Howard and Rashard Lewis. Howard will try to defend his slam-dunk contest title.

Magic C Howard sets NBA All-Star voting record

Posted by Posted by Linda on Friday, January 23, 2009 , under , , , , | comments (0)



ORLANDO, Fla. – He was the first to dress as Superman to win a dunk contest.

He's now the first player to get 3 million votes from fans.

Yes, the All-Star game is fast becoming Dwight Howard's personal showcase.

Orlando Magic forward Dwight Howard (12) blocks the shot of Los Angeles Lakers Orlando Magic forward Dwight Howard (12) blocks the shot of Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom

The Orlando Magic center — who leads the NBA in rebounds, blocked shots and double-doubles — got a record 3,150,181 votes to lead this season's All-Star team, released Thursday.

The Feb. 15 game in Phoenix will mark the third All-Star trip for Howard, who'll be starting for the second time and easily topped the previous record of 2,558,278 votes collected by Houston's Yao Ming four years ago.

"Wow, what a blessing," said Howard, the 6-foot-11 center who dressed in full Superman regalia, cape and all, on the way to winning last year's slam dunk competition. "That is what I took it as, a blessing from God and then the fans. It's just a great honor and I was surprised, but like always I thank the fans for everything they have done for us."

The final results of fan balloting didn't exactly bring any major surprises.

Miami's Dwyane Wade (2,741,413) and Detroit's Allen Iverson (1,804,649) will be in the East's backcourt, alongside reigning All-Star MVP LeBron James of Cleveland (2,940,823) and Boston's Kevin Garnett (2,066,833), who beat New Jersey's Yi Jianlian for the starting nod by 253,004 votes.

"The All-Star game is always so meaningful to me because of the fans," said James, whose 24.3-point scoring average is the highest in All-Star game history for players with four or more appearances.

Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers (2,805,397) was the West's top vote-getter, and will be joined at guard by New Orleans' Chris Paul (2,134,798). At center, Yao (2,532,958) will start for the sixth time, along with forwards Tim Duncan of San Antonio (2,578,168) and Amare Stoudemire of Phoenix (1,460,429).

"When I first heard I was leading in votes, I was shocked, to be honest with you," Howard said. "I really didn't expect anything considering you have guys like Kobe, LeBron and Dwyane."

Howard entered Thursday averaging 20.2 points, 14.1 rebounds and 3.2 blocks for the Magic, who took the league's best overall record (33-8) into a home game against the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics.

But on the national stage, Howard still might be best-known for his exploits in last year's All-Star dunk contest in New Orleans, with his cape sailing on one jam and capping his night by using teammate Jameer Nelson as a prop in another slam.

"That's his element there. He's an entertainer. He loves it," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "I think sometimes people look at that kind of thing, where Dwight's out there having a good time, and they doubt the seriousness of a guy. That's not the case at all. He's very serious about winning and very serious about being a great player."

Van Gundy likened Howard's All-Star antics to what the NBA has come to see from another giant jokester — Shaquille O'Neal.

"Like Shaq, Dwight is a great person who loves to make other people smile and laugh," Van Gundy said. "That's what really makes him go. He likes to have a good time and he likes to help other people have a good time. It's his nature. It's his character."

That all being said, O'Neal is reluctant to anoint Howard as the game's, well, next Shaq.

"He's a good player, but everything he's done I've invented, so I'm not impressed," O'Neal said. "For me to get my eyes wide open about another big man, he'll have to do something that I haven't seen before or something that I haven't invented. Everything that he's done, I've invented it."

For Garnett, it's his 12th All-Star selection — second-most among active players behind O'Neal's 14 trips. O'Neal could see that total increase by one; he could easily be announced as a reserve when coaches' balloting to fill out the seven remaining spots on each roster are announced next week.

"It's like a good wave, man," Garnett said. "If you've surfed the boogie board, you know you ride it 'til it dies out. And I love boogie boarding. It's all about that good wave and holding on and holding on for dear life. And once it's over, you crash and you go out and try to find the next one."

Much like the East, the West voting was a bit predictable.

Stoudemire's spot turned out to be the most vulnerable; he nipped San Antonio's Bruce Bowen — who isn't even starting for the Spurs right now — in the starters' balloting by 68,031 votes.

Plenty of late voting helped shape the West starting five.

The league's next-to-last voting update, released on Jan. 22, showed Denver's Carmelo Anthony — who's currently sidelined with an injured right hand — ahead of Stoudemire by 10,431 votes, plus Houston's Tracy McGrady leading by a 157,063-vote margin over Paul.