Orlando Magic in polished display to defeat Portland Trail Blazers – NBA Recap
The Orlando Magic beat the Portland Trail Blazers at the Rose Garden 107 - 104. The Magic took control of the game early and the Trail Blazers weren’t able to dislodge their grip on the game, to the disappointment of the home crowd.
Orlando Magic super star centre Dwight Howard had an off night by his standards but still managed a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. J.J. Redick came off the bench for 17 points while Jameer Nelson, Ryan Anderson and Hidayet Turkoglu scored
16 points each.
The Trail Blazers had huge contributions for Jamal Crawford, 24 points off the bench, and LaMarcus Aldridge, 23 points. Wesley Matthews scored 17 points.
Orlando Magic started the game with a scorching 15 – 4 burst, taking over the first quarter instantly. It was an uphill task from there on in for the Trail Blazers who toiled but were suppressed by an in form Magic side. In fact, the lead only increased
as time went on and the first period ended 36 – 22 to the Magic.
A 10 – 2 blitz early in the second period once again sent the Trail Blazers on to the back foot and silenced the usually vocal Rose Garden crowd. Portland did have a 12 – 3 rally that reduced the gap to 10 points, but couldn’t bring it down into single digits
as they headed into the break at 62 – 50.
Orlando’s charge didn’t slow down after the interval as they came out to play aggressive basketball in the 3rd quarter. An 11 – 2 burst that started with a Jameer Nelson 3-pointer with 7:46 on the clock took their lead to 23 points. Portland did
manage to bring it down to 85 – 68 by the time the quarter ended, but were left with little hope going into the final period.
A 10 – 0 run in the fourth period by the Trail Blazers cut the gap to 10 points at 90 - 80, but once again the Magic were able to pull away. The game changed soon when Portland managed a 9 – 0 charge that took them to within 3 points of Orlando, at 96 –
93 and just 2:38 on the clock. A nervous end to the game ensued with the lead down to just 2 points at one occasion, but Orlando held on for a deserved victory.
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