Hapshoops32's Dynasty Blog
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: Defense and dunks break Detroit's back
Detroit, MI (AP) - Somebody must've made Orlando's Brian Happel mad. The Magic swingman torched Detroit in just about every way imaginable, notching a triple-double while leading his squad to an easy 115-88 blowout over the Pistons at the Palace in Auburn Hills. This one was close at first. In fact, Detroit was holding the lead with about 4:30 to play in the first quarter. But, Orlando went on a 16-3 run to finish out the quarter, capped by a Happel steal and breakaway dunk with 15 seconds left to put the Magic up by 7 points. It never got any closer. "Such a great all-around game for the team tonight," said Happel after the game, "It's so rewarding to see what this team can do when we're all on the same page."
No matter what Detroit did, there was no "reversing" Happel's domination
There was one significant down side for the team after the game. The Magic found out they'll likely be without the services of point guard Gilbert Arenas for quite some time, again. Arenas hurt himself in the second quarter after a strong drive to the basket. Orlando's trainer, Keon Weise, said Arenas suffered a lower back strain and could be out a few weeks.
| Pos | Player | Injury Note |
| PG | Gilbert Arenas | Lower Back Strain; Out 2-4 weeks |
| Orlando Magic Stats - 2012-13 | |||||||||
| Player | W-L | PCT | PPG | RPG | APG | TOPG | FG% | 3PT% | FT% |
| Without Arenas | 6-1 | .857 | 98.9 | 48.4 | 22.0 | 10.9 | .496 | .267 | .719 |
Even when the team had to play without Arenas earlier in the season, Orlando fared just fine, and that was in large part because of the dominance of Brian Happel. During last night's game, he put on what may be arguably the best game he's played in the NBA. Happel collected a triple-double, pouring in 44 points, grabbing 25 rebounds and handing out 12 assists. "He was just in a zone," said Magic Center Dwight Howard, "When he gets going like that, it's almost hard to not stop and watch. When he decided he wanted to score, he scored. When he wanted to get us involved, he was finding us open and setting us up for great shots around the basket."
| Triple-Doubles And Near Misses | ||||
| Team / Game Date | Points | Rebounds | Assists | |
 | December 31 | 44 | 25 | 12 |
 | November 6 | 32 | 10 | 11 |
 | November 19 | 41 | 13 | 8 |
 | October 30 | 34 | 9 | 12 |
There wasn't much scoring otherwise from Orlando, but there didn't need to be. Dwight Howard contributed a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. He also swatted 4 shots. Andray Blatche also played well, scoring 14 points on 6-11 shooting from the field. Someone who is ready to see the calendar change over to 2013 is Stephen Jackson, who is having a hard time shooting out of his slump. He hit only 4-13, including a terrible 1-9 from long range tonight against Detroit. Jackson is shooting just 30% from the field and an almost unimaginable 3-36 from behind the arc (8%) in his last 7 games. "I'll find a way out of it. For now, I've got to look for other ways to contribute until I get the stroke back," said Jackson.
Happel turning great defense into instant offense, here picking up one of 3 steals, this one eventually leading to a layup by Andray Blatche
As for the Pistons, there were a couple of bright spots. Rodney Stuckey played very well at the point, scoring 18 points, grabbing 7 rebounds and handing out 7 dimes. Greg Monroe was also very solid, putting together a double-double with 13 points and 15 boards. He also was a force on defense, blocking 5 shots. Detroit also caught a bit of the injury bug, with both Paul George and Richard Hamilton getting hurt in the first quarter.
| Pos | Player | Injury Note |
| SG | Richard Hamilton | Separated Shoulder; Out 1-2 weeks |
| SF | Paul George | Strained Abdomen; Out 1-2 weeks |
Happel picking up his 10th assist for the triple-double. Happel had a double-double with 4:37 left in the 1st half, and was 1 assist shy of a triple-double by halftime.
Once again, Orlando managed to shoot the ball well, while holding the other team to a bad field goal percentage. The Magic connected on 50% of their shots, while the Pistons could only muster 39% offensively. Orlando also found the open man better, picking up 31 assists, compared to Detroit's 17. Rebounding was also a signficant point of difference, as the Magic outrebounded the Pistons by a 54-44 margin. The one area Detroit can be happy about is its bench play, with the Pistons outscoring Orlando 43-28. The Magic celebrated their victory, and a new year, on a plane back to Orlando. The Magic host Memphis on New Year's Day. After that, Orlando gets 3 days off.
| Dec 31, 2012 - ORL at DET | |||||
| TEAM | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |
| Orlando Magic (25-6) | 27 | 31 | 30 | 27 | 115 |
| Detroit Pistons (15-16) | 22 | 24 | 20 | 22 | 88 |
| Orlando Magic | ||||||||||
| STARTERS | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS |
| Gilbert Arenas | 13 | 5-8 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| Stephen Jackson | 30 | 4-13 | 1-9 | 0-0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| Brian Happel | 44 | 19-30 | 3-4 | 3-3 | 25 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 44 |
| Andray Blatche | 32 | 6-11 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14 |
| Dwight Howard | 37 | 5-12 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 10 |
| BENCH | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS |
| DeJuan Blair | 22 | 2-5 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Marcin Gortat | 13 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| John Salmons | 14 | 2-6 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Mack Bledsoe | 8 | 1-3 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Cory Coleman | 5 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Wayne Washington | 21 | 3-8 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Ryan Anderson | 7 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| TEAM TOTALS | 51-102 | 5-18 | 8-8 | 54 | 31 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 115 | |
| Detroit Pistons | ||||||||||
| STARTERS | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS |
| R. Stuckey | 43 | 8-23 | 0-1 | 2-5 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 18 |
| R. Hamilton | 5 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| P. George | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| M. Beasley | 43 | 7-16 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 |
| G. Monroe | 41 | 6-14 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 13 |
| BENCH | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS |
| J. Maxiell | 27 | 4-6 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| A. Thornton | 19 | 6-12 | 0-0 | 3-4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| C. Parks | 17 | 3-11 | 1-4 | 2-4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| R. Balkman | 17 | 2-6 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| J. Dorsey | 12 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| A. Daye | 11 | 1-2 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| M. Yi | 9 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| TEAM TOTALS | 38-97 | 2-10 | 10-20 | 44 | 17 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 88 | |
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