Jason Richardson drops 22 as Orlando Magic overpower Sacramento Kings 104-97 - NBA Recap
After a disappointing loss at the hands of the Chicago Bulls Friday night, Orlando Magic came back strongly on Sunday to down Sacramento Kings 104-97 and improve their record to 6-3 in the season.
And it was not Dwight Howard that led Magic this time.
Howard had an awful time in the court and in his foul-plagued 19:34 minutes, he only managed to score 5 points on 3 for 5 from the charity stripe and 4 rebounds.
With him struggling, the rest of the Magic roster picked up the slack. Jason Richardson drained 22 points on 9 for 16 from the floor while Glen Davis finally came good with 20 points along with 8 boards. Ryan Anderson had a double-double
with 19 points and 11 rebounds whereas the reserve Von Wafer accumulated 12.
"These types of games are a tell-all for a team when you have your best player in foul trouble," said Orlando forward Ryan Anderson. "We had a lot of guys back (Howard) up tonight. Glen did an amazing job off the bench."
Magic struggled with their floor shooting throughout (37-87), however they covered for it through the long range shooting, knocking down 10 for 32 from the range. Sacramento were much better with the shooting and shot 52.1% from
the floor, however they gave away 18 turnovers in contrast to 10 by Magic, which allowed Magic easy points in transition.
Tyreke Evans marshalled the Kings with a game high 28 points on 10 for 16 from the floor while DeMarcus Cousins had 16 points and 10 boards. J.J Hickson also completed a double-double by accumulating 14 points and 11 rebounds whereas
Marcus Thornton sealed 13 points.
Cousins, Evans and Hickson got Sacramento off to a 17-8 start; however Magic responded well and finished the frame with an 11-4 spurt to make it 19-21.
Orlando pushed the accelerator in the second frame and bolted off a 15-9 run midway through the quarter to get in the dominant position at 34-29. The next few minutes were competitive as Kings made a comeback and then kept fighting
hard until the end of the quarter to finish the first half with 47-49, only two points behind Magic.
The Kings were behind by just 3 points 52-55 after the first two minutes of the frame, however Magic rattled off another crucial 10-4 run only to see the Kings strike back with a 25-14 burst to make it a two point game, 79-81,
after three. The battle continued in the last frame and both teams were neck to neck at 89-90, advantage Magic, with just 3 minutes remaining in the game.
It was then when Magic initiated a game deciding 10-3 run that pushed the Kings away from the game completely.
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