Carmelo Anthony stars as Nuggets down Magics 111-94
Carmelo Anthony gave a five star performance as the Nuggets pulled off a late surge to down the Magics 111-94, at the Pepsi Center, Denver.
The Orlando Magics just can’t break the jinx at the Pepsi Center as, on Tuesday night, Dwight Howard and his team succumbed to their 7th defeat in the last eight games against the Denver Nuggets.
The Nuggets went without scoring a point in a 5:49 minute stretch spanning the end of the second quarter and beginning of the third, but the Carmelo Anthony inspired team still had enough firepower to pull off a 19-3 run down the stretch as they toppled
the Magics 111-94.
The defeat for the Magics meant that they continue to limp in the season, having won only once in a six game stretch.
Despite lacking post strength and having to face the mighty Dwight Howard down the lane, Denver started the match with a bang and reeled off an early 8-2 run, romping to a 13-8 lead inside five minutes of play. Orlando clawed back immediately as J.J. Reddick
and Rashard Lewis nailed two consecutive triple pointers to slash the deficit.
The pumped up Nuggets though had no intentions to back down as they continued to exert pressure on the Magics and an Anthony free throw gave Denver a 27-24 lead, nearly two minutes from the buzzer. The Magics however showed some spark of their own and turned
the tables on the Nuggets in the final two minutes of the first frame as they sprinted to a 7-2 run to take a 31-29 advantage into the second period.
Dwight Howard opened the second quarter with a tip shot to extend Orlando’s lead. This proved to be the farthest the Magics managed to keep the Nuggets on the night as the home team scored five unanswered points in a span of 50 seconds to wrest back the
lead.
The short scoring burst sparked life in the match as both the teams launched vociferous assaults on the each other’s ring.
The match hung in balance midway through the second quarter but the Nuggets finally managed to break the deadlock with a 15-3 run, capped by an Arron Afflalo driving layup, to gain a 61-51 lead going into the last minute before the halftime.
The Nuggets shooting froze at that point, as the Magics reeled of 13-0 spurt bridging the second and the third quarter. In doing so, Orlando not only shaved off the Nuggets lead but they also surged to a 64-61 advantage with a Howard charity throw.
The Nuggets though sprung back immediately with a 6 point spurt, that again threw the match wide open. The teams entered the final period at loggerheads on 79-78 and the lead swinging from one end to the other. The trend continued as neither teams were willing
to let go.
With 6:05 left on the clock and Denver leading by 92-91, Afflalo provided the turning point of the match as he ripped in his second 3-pointer of the night to jump start a breakaway 19-3 run that completely knocked the steam out of the Magic ranks.
The match finally reached its end with a Howard free throw at 94-111.
Carmelo Anthony was the star of the show for the Nuggets as he spearheaded their offensive with a match-high 35 points and 11 rebounds. Five other Denver players featured in the double figures as the Nuggets shot at an impressive 53.8 percent.
For the Magics J.J. Reddick came off the bench to lead the way with 29 points while Howard finished with 21.
Howard also got 14 out of the 34 Orlando rebounds as the Magics put up a miserable defensive performance against a team that lacked in both height and strength. The Nuggets out-rebounded the Magics 40-34 and also thrashed them 46-22 in the paint.
A furious Dwight Howard said of his team’s defensive performance after the game.
"It's very tough. I like blocking shots but if a guy's one dribble and he's there and I'm all the way on the other side, I can't fly over there. I don't have a cape in real life."
A statement, that just about summed up Orlando’s story in the season.
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