Charlotte Bobcats see off Orlando Magic; Snap 5 game losing streak – NBA Recap
Playing at the Time Warner Cable Arena on Tuesday night, the Charlotte Bobcats overcame a 20 points deficit in the 2nd half to outgun Orlando Magic 100-84.
The comeback was the second biggest in their franchise history and also put an end to their five game skid. They had a phenomenal boost from forward Corey Maggette who netted a game high 29 points and had 7 boards.
"It just feels good to get a win, we've been up and down and we're not having a good season - everyone knows that. For our team to play and fight tonight was a positive for our team."
Gerald Henderson tallied 16 while reserve Kemba Walker chipped in with 10 for the Bobcats, who got a sensational performance from rookie Bismack Biyombo. Biyombo was particularly impressive because of his massive showing on the defensive end. Up against the mighty Dwight Howard, Biyombo scored 10 points, hauled down 15 rebounds and made six blocks, including two on Howard.
Magic had 3 players in double figures. They were marshalled by Howard with 17 boards and 15 points while J.J. Redick and Ryan Anderson collected 14 apiece. Anderson had an off colour night and managed only 2 of 10 from the three point range.
Coach Van Gundy was disappointed at his team for losing at the hands of NBA’s worst team.
“We deserved to lose and they deserved to win. This is how we've played a lot lately. We try to pick spurts in the game to play, but we've been able to turn it around at times and then bounce back. We've gotten away with it and we're happy getting away with it. We're not trying to become a great team. We're not putting the effort in mentally or physically to do that. Quite honestly, we got what we deserved."
Things were going smoothly for Magic in the opening frame and midway through it, they had a 17-10 lead. With Quentin Richardson on song, 9 points in the stanza, the Magic stretched their lead to 25-15. Orlando reeled off to another 12-2 run to leave the hosts reeling at 37-17 early in the 2nd quarter.
Charlotte tried to shave off the lead with a10-2 run and reduced the deficit to 39-27 midway through the period. After some seesaw action in the ensuing passage, the Magic were up 47-29 with 3:53 in hand. Charlotte though, startled them as they went for a huge 14-1 spurt and clawed off the18 points lead down to 5 with 48-43 by the end of 1st half.
8 unanswered points early in the 3rd frame then helped them switch places with Magic, 51-48. They held on to their advantage and capped the segment with a slender 72-71 lead.
Orlando’s offense went ice cold in the decisive frame and with 05:29 on clock the scores were 84-82 with Bobcats in the lead. In the following passage, Charlotte blasted their way out of the stalemate with a huge 16-2 run and banked a 100-84 victory. Magic remained scoreless for more than last 2 minutes of the 4th quarter.
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