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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| MAGIC | 41 | 34 | 32 | 32 | 139 |
| KINGS | 29 | 27 | 29 | 22 | 107 |
Recap:
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Dwight Howard had 25 points and 15 rebounds, and the Orlando Magic made an NBA-record 23 3-pointers Tuesday night in a 139-107 victory over the Sacramento Kings.
The Magic made 23 of 37 attempts in breaking the old mark of 21, set by Toronto on March 13, 2005, against Philadelphia. The record came on Jeremy Richardson's 3-pointer with 2:20 left to play, providing the only drama in the second half. Making A Point
With the Magic leading by 22 points, Howard never left the bench in the fourth quarter as the Magic won their fifth straight game. Jameer Nelson made five 3-pointers and had 23 points and 11 assists, Rashard Lewis scored 19 points, Hedo Turkoglu contributed 17 points and eight assists, and J.J. Redick added 15 points.
Kevin Martin scored 30 points for the Kings, who allowed a season-high point total. Francisco Garcia scored 15 points, Spencer Hawes had 14 and Bobby Jackson added 13.
Showing no letdown coming off a big road win Sunday in San Antonio, the Magic shot 62 percent in the opening half, when they never cooled off during an impressive offensive showing that resulted in a 75-56 lead.
Orlando had the listless Kings defense to thank as well. Open shots were everywhere in the half, when the Magic went a staggering 13-of-19 from 3-point range in establishing new franchise records for 3-pointers and total points in a half.
The 3-point barrage continued in the third quarter. Nelson connected on a pair in the first 80 seconds and the Magic made seven overall in hiking their lead to 107-85 heading into the fourth.
Orlando improved to 16-4 this season against the Western Conference. The Magic continue a four-game road trip Friday against the Lakers and meet Denver on Saturday.
The loss was the 12th in 14 games for the Kings, who have not strung together two straight victories since early November.
The Kings had no answer in the opening half for the athletic Howard, whose most impressive feat was an alley-oop dunk with his back to the basket. He scored 15 points and had 11 rebounds against an array of Sacramento defenders. Lewis and Redick both had 12 points for Orlando, which outscored the Kings 41-29 in the opening quarter.
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Preview:
After a day off in northern California, the Orlando Magic kick back into action against the Sacramento Kings (9-29) at 10 p.m. tonight in Arco Arena, where the Kings have tallied seven of their nine wins this season.
The Magic and Kings are heading in different directions in the standings but each will tip-off tonight's match-up having won their previous game. Orlando is actually on a four-game win streak and has won 13 of its last 15 games overall. Sacramento, on the other hand, has dropped eight of its last 10 but are coming off a big victory over the Dallas Mavericks Sunday night.
The Kings are led by Kevin Martin’s 24.1 ppg. and are also getting 18.8 ppg. from John Salmons. Martin had an explosive performance against the Magic in the teams’ first match-up of the season on November 1, pouring in 31 points on 11-of-20 shooting from the field. Orlando won that game, notching their first victory of the season, 121-103. The 121-point night is still tied for the Magic’s top offensive output of the season. Martin was the only player to score more than 14 points for the Kings, while Orlando had four players finish with at least 20 points.
Sacramento has two teams behind them in the Western Conference standings but they have struggled as much as anyone in the league. They currently own the largest point differential in the league, at -8.52 ppg. Much of that can be attributed to their poor defensive output. Teams are scoring an average of 105.28 ppg. against them while draining 47.2 percent of their shots.
Meanwhile, Orlando’s defense continues to ascend in the rankings and is currently fourth-best in the NBA in opponent points per game and third-best in the league in opponent shooting percentage.
Sacramento does not match up well with the Magic and should have even more trouble defending them tonight. The Kings do not have a superior defender in the post to contain Dwight Howard, so he should finish with a strong performance. If the Kings decide to double-team Howard in the post, Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu and Jameer Nelson can continue to thrive off of open jump shots.
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Keys to the game:
Sacramento's recipe for success: Kevin Martin has led the team in scoring in five of their nine wins. It's not hard to figure out that when he scores a lot of points, the Kings have a better chance of winning. But there is more to the recipe than that. Sacramento needs balanced scoring, and it shows in their statistics. In eight of their nine wins, the Kings have had at least five players score in double-figures. They average 5.56 players in double-figures overall in their nine wins. On the defensive end of the floor, the Kings have the athletic ability to defend but their schemes simply don't click consistently. But, when they do, the Kings can win games. In six of their nine wins this season, Sacramento has held their opponents to under 100 points.
Long distance shooting: Orlando has been red-hot from downtown and it's certainly giving them an edge and helping them win games. Since a cold October (25.9 percent) and Novermber (35.0 percent) from 3-point range, the Magic caught fire in December and shot 42.6 percent from long distance. That trend has continued into January, with the team shooting a ridiculous 45.8 percent from 3-point range, which is actually higher than in their overall field goal percentage of 45.4 in the month. That's bad news for the Kings, who are allowing opponents to shoot 39.6 percent from beyond the arc this season. On the flip side, Orlando is holding their opponents to only 33.3 percent shooting from 3-point range through 38 games. Couple that with the Kings shooting terribly from beyond the arc at only 32.7 percent this season, and you get a huge advantage for Orlando.
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Game Notes:
Jan. 13 @ Sacramento: Orlando is 18-22 all-time vs. Sacramento (14-7 at home, 4-15 on the road) during regular season action, including 1-0 this season (see recap below)…The teams split 1-1 last season...Orlando has won five of the last eight meetings, but lost 12 of the last 18 match-ups overall…The Magic have won six of the last eight outings at home…The Kings had won 11 straight meetings in Sacramento until a 92-89 victory by Orlando on Dec. 4, 2006...Hedo Turkoglu played in 221 career games with Sacramento from 2000-03…Anthony Johnson was originally drafted in the second round (40th overall) by the Kings in the 1997 NBA Draft and played 104 regular season games in Sacramento (1997-98, 2007-08)…Head Coach Stan Van Gundy is a native of Indio, CA…Assistant GM Dave Twardzik served as a scout for the Kings from 1999-2002…Nov. 1 vs. Sacramento - Magic 121, Kings 103: Four players had at least 20 points for the Magic, led by Dwight Howard with 29 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks, as Orlando beat Sacramento, 121-103, at Amway Arena. It was the first win of the season for the Magic, snapping their brief two-game losing skid. Rashard Lewis tallied 26 points, seven rebounds and a team-high six assists, Hedo Turkoglu netted 21 points and Mickael Pietrus added 20. Kevin Martin led the Kings with a game-high 31 points. Orlando led for most of the game, but didn’t start to pull away until late in the third quarter. The Magic shot 55 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Kings, 40-28.
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. KINGS: 44 pts., Tracy McGrady (@ Orlando, 11-19-01)
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAGIC: 42 pts., Mike Bibby (@ Sacramento, 1-15-06)
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