by kibaxx7 on Mon Jul 15, 2013 11:22 am
Suns 89, Magic 76: Inside trio save Suns in Orlando
♦ Game Preview | Starting Lineups /// Phoenix | Orlando | Team Stats ♦
James Wilshere, Arizona Republic | November 4, 2012ORLANDO (Florida) -- “We know we're a good shooting team,” said Shannon Brown to TNT's Craig Sager at halftime. “Shooters keep shooting.” Phoenix started in turbo mode by making their first five field goals, but it was their inside power that gave them the upper hand through the entire game: a 89-76 victory against the Magic in Orlando. Marcin Gortat had 23 points and six rebounds while Jermaine O'Neal set the tone again, with 10 points, three rebounds and a rejection in limited minutes. “There's no secret that when Jermaine scores inside, he's a big force,” said Suns coach Alvin Gentry. “All the press is saying he's old, but he still has it. Some times we are not feeding him the ball like we need to.” When the Suns had to hold off all the small runs by Orlando, Gortat and Marcus Morris (10 points) kept it from getting too close.
“They hit us on the mouth from the beginning and we never clicked,” said Magic forward Tobias Harris, who led his team with 15 points despite shooting 3-of-11; he was perfect from the charity stripe to make up for it. Orlando was within seven points with 8:22 left in the third quarter after Al Harrington converted a three-point play and then was awarded with two more points because of a goaltending call against Luis Scola. Jacque Vaughn's squad never got closer than six after that. “They established themselves in offense in the first half. On the defensive end, they were better down the stretch,” Vaughn admitted. Harrington scored 12 points for the Magic while Jameer Nelson added 11. Nikola Vucevic flirted with a double-double with eight points and nine boards, shooting 2-of-9.
Goran Dragic missed on a triple-double with eight points, nine rebounds and ten assists; he ended a wild sequence in which Scola, Arron Afflalo (13 points), O'Neal and Harris all wide-open shots by making his only 3-pointer of the night (1-of-8) to give the Suns a nine-point lead. “It was close early on,” said Gortat. “The game became interesting in the second quarter but then our defense was able to shine. We were completely focused.” Gortat scored nine straight points midway through the final quarter, finishing the feat with a fadeaway jumper he made despite getting fouled by Vucevic. That even prompted coach Gentry to get off the bench and celebrate. Scola had eight points while Jared Dudley went scoreless, just a game after contributing with 16 in the Suns' win against Detroit. Phoenix flies to Miami tomorrow; the Heat are still undefeated at 3-0.
Last edited by
kibaxx7 on Tue Jul 16, 2013 11:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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