A few nights ago, the Orlando Magic somehow managed to blow a big lead to lose to the worst team in the NBA.
On Thursday night, they visited the best team in the league and found a way to come out with a victory.
Such have been the ups and downs of a roller coaster season for the Magic and Dwight Howard, who continues to face questions about what may happen by the trade deadline.
Against Derrick Rose and the Bulls, the Magic got out to a big lead once again with Howard leading the charge and made sure the game didn’t slip away for a second straight time.
From Josh Robbins of Orlando Sentinel: “This is a win the Orlando Magic will remember for a long time. After they squandered a second-quarter lead of 18 points and let a 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter slip away, they recovered and beat the Chicago Bulls 99-94 at United Center. After Carlos Boozer hit a jumper to put Chicago ahead 91-89 with 2:55 to go, Jason Richardson hurt his left leg with 2:10 to go when Jameer Nelson accidentally ran into him. Richardson did not return. But Nelson and Dwight Howard connected for an alley-oop dunk on Orlando’s ensuing trip down the court to tie the score, and Ryan Anderson hit a 3 to put Orlando ahead 94-91. Anderson then hit a pair of free throws with 45.7 seconds left to extend the lead to five points and quiet Bulls fans. Howard finished with 29 points and 18 rebounds, both game highs.”
The Bulls had their eight-game winning streak snapped and suffered their third loss of the season at home as they began a six-game homestand.
Playing the fourth game in five nights seemed to take its toll as they struggled to find a rhythm on offense and misfired quite a bit down the stretch.
From K.C. Johnson of Chicago Tribune: “Following a Derrick Rose miss — he shot 6-for-22 — Ryan Anderson buried a 3-pointer for the go-ahead basket after Rose blocked Nelson at the other end. When Carlos Boozer and Rose missed again on the following possession — the Bulls shot 40.7 percent — Anderson got fouled and pushed the lead to five with two free throws with 45.7 seconds left. Jason Richardson added 18 points for the Magic, who went 11-for-26 from beyond the arc. The Bulls clanked 17 of 22 3-pointers, including 12 of 13 in the second half. Kyle Korver missed six straight fourth-quarter 3-pointers. Earlier in the fourth, Carlos Boozer kept the Bulls afloat with eight straight of his 26 points on a night both Luol Deng and Rose struggled from the field. The Magic pulled ahead 87-84 when Hedo Turkoglu made all his free throws after rookie Jimmy Butler— playing for a tired Deng, who went 1-for-9 and afterward admitted he might have to sit for a couple of games to rest his injured left wrist — got whistled on a questionable call on a 3-pointer. Meanwhile, Rose finally traveled to the free-throw line on the ensuing possession — after 18 shots and countless drives. He sank both as the game continued to see-saw.”
Despite some trade rumors that has linked Rose and Howard this season, neither seems to have much interest in teaming up with each other.
From Neil Hayes of Chicago Sun-Times: “Derrick Rose and Dwight Howard are friends, but that doesn’t mean Rose isn’t ready for Howard to leave town. The MVP said he’s tired of answering questions about the Bulls somehow obtaining the Magic center. “It’s definitely getting old,” Rose said. “We’re sick and tired of hearing it. Like I said, the city speaks for itself. Chicago, marketing wise, is a great city. If someone chose to come here, they would definitely fit. I’m cool with the teammates I have.”
From Seth Gruen of Chicago Sun-Times: “Howard hasn’t even thought about coming to Chicago.“Nah, it’s pretty cold here,” Howard said. Weather aside, Howard might have a problem with sharing the spotlight with Derrick Rose. That gives credence to reports that Howard has been urged by Adidas to stay away from Chicago. Rose and Howard have endorsement deals with Adidas, and it has been reported that the company wouldn’t want its two most marketable NBA players in the same city.“Everybody wants to be that guy to take the last shot,” Howard said. “Be that guy that everybody is leaning on for whatever reason, and I don’t think there’s any problem for wanting to be that guy.”
Meanwhile, another eight-game winning streak was snapped in a Western Conference matchup as the Suns finally defeated the Mavericks after nine tries.
From Bob Young of the Arizona Republic: “For the first half of the NBA season, the Suns couldn’t beat some of the worst teams in the league on their home floor. But since the All-Star break, they have been beating some of the best. Trailing 69-58 late in the third quarter, the Suns went on a 20-7 run over the final 5:08 of the quarter, and then their often-maligned bench kept the momentum going as the Suns held on in the final minutes to beat the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks 96-94 at US Airways Center Thursday night. The Suns nearly blew an 11-point fourth quarter lead in the final seconds when Grant Hill missed a pair of free throws that could have iced it, and then Dallas guard Rodrigue Beaubois missed two shots in the final 10 seconds. It snapped an eight-game losing streak the Suns had against the Mavericks, including all four meetings last season and the first three games the two teams had played this season. In all, the Mavericks had won 11 of 12 against the Suns.”
There may be some unknown tension between Rick Carlisle and Jason Terry. Terry was nowhere to be found in the final possessions of the game as he was replaced by an ineffective Rodrigue Beaubois.
From Jean-Jacques Taylor of ESPN Dallas: “As for Jet, he spent the last 14 seconds on the bench. That’s right, one of the best clutch shooters in franchise history spent winning time riding the pine. Wow. So Coach, what was your thought process on keeping Jet glued to the bench at the end of the game? “Coach’s decision,” Carlisle said. Well Coach, what is it that you didn’t like about the way Jet was playing? “Coach’s decision,” Carlisle reiterated. Let the speculation begin. Jet wasn’t playing well, shooting only 3-of-7 and scoring six points in a season-low 20 minutes. He missed all three of his 3-point attempts. When Terry entered the game with 10:58 left, the Mavs trailed 83-78. And when Carlisle took him out three minutes later, the Suns led 90-80. Coach and player had a brief exchange as Jet headed to the bench. He did not play again. “You know how I feel when I’m not on the court at the end of the game,” Jet said. “I can’t check myself in and out of the game. What I think doesn’t matter.” Uh oh. This sounds like the beginning of an issue. Remember, Jet wasn’t happy in the loss to New Orleans because he played just 23 minutes, made just one of nine shots and scored two points.