Denver Nuggets stomp over Orlando Magic; Solidify 6th seed in the Western Conference – NBA Recap
The Denver Nuggets routed the Orlando Magic in a convincing 101-74 win here at the Pepsi Center. The Magic, who are playing without Center Dwight Howard, also lost Jameer Nelson early in the game when he twisted his ankle. The
Nuggets took full advantage, pulling away from the Magic in the second half by outscoring them 57-30.
This was Denver’s 2nd straight win and 7th in 10 games to solidify their hold on the 6th seed in the Western Conference, with Dallas a half game behind them in 7th place. Orlando have
now lost three in a row.
Danilo Gallinari had 17 points and 8 rebounds to lead the Nuggets, who had 5 players in double figure points. Ryan Anderson had 24 points and 9 rebounds to lead the Magic in scoring.
Denver led 24-19 at the end of the first period and were tied with Orlando at 44 at the end of the first half. The Nuggets, however, started pulling away in the 2nd half, ending the 3rd period with a 12-4
run to lead 73-62.
The final quarter seemed like a dunking contest; with Denver mastering the lob and dunk play. Denver scored 7 dunks in the final period, 4 of which were served by JaVale McGee. That broke the spirit of the Orlando Magic as the
crowd got behind the hosting Nuggets. The Nuggets went on a 26-5 run which was started by an alley oop dunk by Kenneth Faried and lasted for 9 minutes, all the way to the end of the game. The Magic were 3 of 15 from the field in the final period, managing
only 12 points as they were blown away by the Nuggets
Arron Afflalo had 15 points and Ty Lawson had 13 points and 10 assists for the Nuggets. JaVale McGee added 17 points and 8 rebounds while Kenneth Faried had 11 points and 10 rebounds. Lawson and Andre Miller combined to dish 21
assists, 2 more than the entire Orlando team.
Glen Davis assisted Anderson in scoring by adding 14 points. The rest of the Magic players failed to make any impression offensively.
The Nuggets shot 56.4% from the field and were 5 of 15 from the distance. Orlando, on the other hand, was 37.3% from the field and 6 of 23 from beyond the arc. Denver dominated the Magic in almost every aspect of the game. They
out-rebounded them 43-33, had 13 more assists than the Magic, and blocked 5 shots compared with 2 for Orlando. Denver also had 64 points within the paint compared to only 24 for Orlando. They penetrated into the Orlando defense at will to score easy shots.
The Nuggets are fast becoming a formidable fast break and penetration team. They are 25-12 in games where they have scored more than 50 points from within the paint.
They also lead the league in points scored per game at the moment. Orlando, on the other hand, is lost on the defensive end in the absence of Dwight Howard. Their last 5 opponents have shot better than 50% from the field and managed
more than 100 points in the game. Even in this game, Orlando was beaten in the rebounding segment and their center, Glen Davis, could only manage 3 rebounds. They also did a poor job of boxing out on the defensive end and taking position, shown by the number
of points scored on lobs by Denver.
"Four times a guy's going to start up to set a pick and back cut for a lob? It's absurd. Some of them, when you go to help, maybe, but the ones he got just walking up and then going back for the lob -- ridiculous. Maybe it happens
once and then it forces you to focus in. Not four times” said Magic coach Stan Van Gundy on Denver’s alley oop plays.
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