My Player (Season 3) Game #16 KEY GAME - Hapshoops32's Dynasty

Hapshoops32's Dynasty Blog

My Player (Season 3) Game #16 KEY GAME

Posted on February 19, 2011 at 02:11 AM.

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ORLANDO OFFENSE SIZZLES IN SOUTH BEACH

Miami, FL (AP) - The league may just want to call off the rest of the season and let everyone save themselves from embarrassment. The Magic put the entire NBA on notice this month, blowing out team after team after team. Their latest victim: the LeBron James-led Miami Heat. Orlando utterly destroyed any thoughts of a Miami win early and just continued to crush the fans throughout the night. The Magic got out to a hot start and ultimately led 24-16 after the first quarter. Miami just couldn't do much of anything, heading into halftime trailing by 13 points. Then, the third quarter happened. Orlando really caught fire, connecting on 15-23 shots, good for 65% from the field, while holding Miami to just 6-21 shooting for 28% from the floor. That allowed the Magic to outscore the Heat 33-17 and put the game well out of reach. "Games like this are so much fun," said Magic forward Brian Happel, "It's amazing when everything's clicking like that. But, to do it on the road, against your biggest rival, it doesn't get any better than that."

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: Happel dominates Miami, from defense and a dunk, to a 3-pointer and an alley-oop

Happel scored 14 of his 33 points in the third quarter. He finished with 9 rebounds and shot 16-20 from the floor. Dwight Howard has really stepped things up since Arenas went down with his shoulder injury. Against the Heat, Howard scored 33 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, and swatted away 5 shots. He also shot 13-19 from the field and made all 7 free throw attempts. "I'm just doing everything my team needs me to do to win," commented Howard after the game, "With G-man down, I knew some of us would have to pick it up so that teams can't just focus on Haps. I'm glad I'm just able to help us keep winning like this and keep the momentum going."

NBA Standings - Updated: Nov 29, 2012
EAST PLAYOFF RACE	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF
1. Orlando Magic	14	2	.875	--	7-1	7-1	4-2	12-2
2. Miami Heat	13	5	.722	2.0	8-3	5-2	2-2	9-3
3. Chicago Bulls	11	6	.647	3.5	6-2	5-4	1-2	6-3
4. New York Knicks	10	7	.588	4.5	7-1	3-6	0-2	5-6
5. Atlanta Hawks	9	8	.529	5.5	5-3	4-5	2-1	6-5
5. Boston Celtics	9	8	.529	5.5	6-2	3-6	3-2	6-5
7. Toronto Raptors	10	9	.526	5.5	5-3	5-6	1-2	5-6
8. Indiana Pacers	8	9	.471	6.5	5-3	3-6	2-0	3-5
9. Detroit Pistons	7	8	.467	6.5	3-6	4-2	2-1	5-4
10. Cleveland Cavaliers	7	9	.438	7.0	6-2	1-7	1-2	5-7
11. Washington Wizards	7	10	.412	7.5	6-4	1-6	3-3	6-6
12. Philadelphia 76ers	6	11	.353	8.5	4-3	2-8	3-1	5-9
13. Milwaukee Bucks	5	10	.333	8.5	2-4	3-6	0-1	0-4
14. Charlotte Bobcats	6	12	.333	9.0	4-5	2-7	0-3	4-8
15. New Jersey Nets	4	12	.250	10.0	2-6	2-6	2-2	4-8

Stephen Jackson was solid on the perimeter, nearly putting up a triple-double with 10 points, 6 boards and 7 assists. Cory Coleman played very well running the point off the bench, dishing out 6 dimes in 21 minutes of action. And, Marcin Gortat also played well off the bench, scoring 7 points and collecting 7 rebounds in 15 minutes.

Miami players had nowhere to go all game long, here DWade is denied by Happel and friends

Orlando's defense was outstanding. Only two players scored in double-figures for Miami: LeBron James had 25 points and Dwayne Wade added 19. Chris Bosh couldn't even put together a double-double, contributing just 9 points and 8 rebounds in 40 minutes of game action. Beyond that, Miami just did not have much help from its role players.

Orlando Magic November 2012 Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Nov 2	vs Philadelphia	Won, 105-93
Nov 5	at Toronto	Won, 114-81
Nov 6	vs Cleveland	Won, 114-78
Nov 10	vs Dallas	Won, 98-87
Nov 12	vs Atlanta	Lost, 92-90
Nov 13	at Milwaukee	Won, 111-74
Nov 16	vs Boston	Won, 105-71
Nov 17	at New Jersey	Won, 107-79
Nov 19	vs New Orleans	Won, 103-82
Nov 21	at Indiana	Won, 103-75
Nov 23	vs Philadelphia	Won, 102-77
Nov 25	at Charlotte	Won, 100-80
Nov 27	vs Washington	Won, 89-72
Nov 29	at Miami	Won, 108-74

The win was Orlando's ninth straight. The Magic finished out November with a record of 13-1. Orlando is leaving a trail of destruction across the NBA. So far, Orlando is outscoring opponents by an average of 21.5 points a game. Miami ends November with a 13-5 record overall, good for second place in the division and the conference. These teams clashed in the Eastern Conference Finals the last two seasons, and they could be heading there again.

LeBron could only manage a wave as Happel took it in for a monstrous dunk

As if this game wasn't emotional enough. Orlando will stay on the road to face another huge rival - the Boston Celtics. Boston will have revenge on its mind, looking to get back at Orlando for the 105-71 beatdown at the Amway Center. It was a record-breaking performance for Happel in that one:

FLASHBACK: Happel poured in 5 three-pointers on his way to a team record 67 points

As for last night's rivalry matchup against Miami, Orlando managed to dominate in a lot of different ways. The biggest stat that stands out: shooting. The Magic shot 56% from the floor, compared to the Heat shooting just 32%. Orlando also did a better job finding open teammates, picking up 26 assists, while Miami only had 10 for the entire game. And, once again, the Magic dominated on the boards, wiping the glass clean 49 times. Miami managed just 33 rebounds.

Nov 29, 2012 - ORL at MIA
TEAM	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Orlando Magic (14-2)	24	25	33	26	108
Miami Heat (13-5)	16	20	17	21	74

Orlando Magic
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Wayne Washington	12	1-2	0-0	1-2	2	2	0	0	0	3
Stephen Jackson	36	5-10	0-1	0-0	6	7	2	1	1	10
Brian Happel	39	16-20	1-4	0-0	9	3	1	1	5	33
Andray Blatche	39	5-18	0-1	1-2	5	2	1	1	0	11
Dwight Howard	41	13-19	0-0	7-7	14	3	0	5	0	33
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
DeJuan Blair	16	0-1	0-0	0-0	3	0	2	1	0	0
Marcin Gortat	15	2-2	0-0	3-6	7	0	1	0	0	7
John Salmons	10	1-1	0-0	2-2	0	2	0	0	0	4
Mack Bledsoe	10	0-0	0-0	1-3	1	1	1	0	2	1
Cory Coleman	21	2-5	0-0	0-0	1	6	1	0	2	4
Ryan Anderson	8	1-3	0-1	0-0	1	0	0	0	1	2
Gilbert Arenas (injured)	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		46-81	1-7	15-22	49	26	9	9	11	108

Miami Heat
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
M. Chalmers	36	2-6	1-4	1-2	2	4	1	0	3	6
D. Wade	38	7-18	2-3	3-3	3	1	1	0	1	19
L. James	42	10-28	1-6	4-4	5	0	3	0	1	25
C. Bosh	40	3-15	0-0	3-4	8	0	0	0	1	9
J. O'Neal	35	1-5	0-0	2-2	6	0	1	2	2	4
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
C. Nash	19	0-2	0-0	2-2	3	2	0	0	0	2
M. Miller	10	0-0	0-0	1-2	1	1	0	0	0	1
U. Haslem	9	1-4	0-0	0-0	2	1	0	1	0	2
A. Flory	6	1-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	2
B. Goodrich	4	0-0	0-0	0-0	1	0	0	0	0	0
H. Warrick	3	0-0	0-0	0-0	2	0	0	0	0	0
H. Holland	4	1-1	0-0	2-2	0	1	0	0	1	4
TEAM TOTALS		26-80	4-13	18-21	33	10	6	3	9	74