Hornets hold on for 92-89 victory over the Magic in O.T.
On Wednesday night, the New Orleans Hornets showed the whole NBA fraternity, exactly why they are the best when it comes to defending the post.
Pitting their wits against the powerful Orlando Magic, a team that won their last nine matches with an average of 107.7 per game, the gutsy Hornets reduced Dwight Howard and his team to a paltry 39.1 percent from the field.
To complement that, they also tied with the league’s most potent rebounding team on the glass, to edge them 92-89 in overtime at the New Orleans Arena.
On the night, the Hornets busted Orlando's eight-game winning streak, as they hung tough down the stretch to see off the Magic. Emeka Okafor scored 18 points and 14 rebounds, Trevor Ariza had 16 points and
David West scored 13 points and 10 boards for the Hornets. While Chris Paul also chipped in with 12 points and 13 assists.
The surprise package of the night though was Marcus Thornton. The reserve guard came off the bench to score 22 points, including a crucial jumper and two free throws in the final minute of the extra period, as the Hornets took
a decisive lead to win their second game in a row.
Dwight Howard - the ‘daily double’ - had another huge night with 29 points and 20 rebounds. Jason Richardson finished with 21 points, including five three-pointers, while Ryan Anderson had 14 points and eight rebounds from the
bench.
The Hornets got off to a flying start, by pulling off a six-point unanswered spurt within the first 2:20 minutes of play. Dwight Howard however, found his rhythm upfront. He made the first shot for the Magic in the third minute,
and then followed with nine straight minutes later to turn the tide in Orlando’s favour. The intimidating centre finished the quarter with a thunderous dunk to hand the Magic a 21-17 lead.
Anderson and Turkoglu opened the second period with two shots from beyond the arc, as the Magic started to stamp their authority on the game. The visitors though, got a little complacent at that point, and allowed the Hornets
back in the game with a 10-4 run.
The Hornets didn’t need a second invitation, as some sloppy Orlando defence allowed them to discover their shooting touch. New Orleans took the lead late in the second quarter and then maintained it throughout the third quarter,
going up by 10 points midway. The Magic on the other hand were struggling with their conversion from the field.
The long-range shooting was perhaps the only thing that kept them going though, as they finished the quarter trailing by 61-67. The Hornets maintained their momentum in the final quarter,
and appeared to have the game in their grasp when Chris Paul's driving floater made it 79-72 with 1:36 left in regulation.
The stage was set for a New Orleans’ victory, but Jason Richardson kick-started an Orlando comeback with his fourth and fifth three-pointers of the game in the final minute, to pull Orlando to 80-78 with 43.3 seconds to go.
Hedo Turkoglu then hit an uncontested triple pointer with 6.9 seconds left, feeding off the missed free throw from Paul at the other end. West was at fault again in the dying seconds as his 16-foot jumper rimmed out at the buzzer,
forcing overtime and sparking wild celebrations on the Orlando bench.
The Magic seemed assured of a win and they nearly pulled it off.
Howard was again the thorn in New Orleans side as he started the extra time with six straight points. Thornton though, led the Hornets fight-back, and his jumper with 37.1 seconds to go gave the home-team a 90-89 lead.
Howard then spoiled a perfect night, missing two go-ahead free throws with 11 seconds left, as the Hornets held on for victory.
Magic coach Stan van Gundy was not impressed by his team’s intensity on the night. He said, "There's not a real sense of urgency. They're kind of just putting it in cruise control and playing. It's not good enough. The pace
of the game was extremely slow. We knew that that's how they wanted to play the game. We wanted to play the game a lot faster."
Tags: