# Orlando Magic @ Atlanta Hawks Game Thread



## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Friday November 26, 2004
Orlando Magic at Atlanta Hawks, 7:30 p.m. ET









Orlando Magic
Coached by: Johnny Davis 

Projected Starting Lineup:




































S. Francis  | D. Stevenson  | Grant Hill  | D. Howard  | K. Cato 

Key Reserves:






















T. Battie  | H. Turkoglu | P. Garrity 












Atlanta Hawks
Coached by: Mike Woodson  

Projected Starting Lineup:




































Anderson | J. Childress | Harrington | A. Walker | J. Collier

Key Reserves:






















T. Delk | J. Smith | Jon Barry 


Key Matchup:
Battle of the Small Forwards-















Grant Hill vs. Al Harrington


My Prediction: The Magic are coming off their first loss at home of the season, and a bad game against Portland. The Hawks are coming off a surprisingly close loss to Miami, 99-93. I think that Francis will have his first breakthrough performance on the road in this game against the weak defense of the Hawks. I’m also expecting Dwight Howard to get back on track with his rebounding and grab 12 or 13 boards. The Magic will look impressive on the road for the first time all season, 101-86 Magic win.


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## JoshChildress (Nov 25, 2004)

It's a shame Dwight couldn't be on the other team for this game, thanks Stern. I really don't mind if we win or lose, I just want to see Childress and Smith play well


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Game Preview: Orlando @ Atlanta

*Atlanta*: The Hawks have struggled early in 2004, posting a 2-8 record with both their wins coming by a combined five points. Al Harrington and Antoine Walker have been the heart and soul of Atlanta, leading the team in scoring and/or rebounding in all but one game. Walker is currently tops on the team in scoring and rebounding, with 20.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Harrington is the only other Hawk to average double figures in points, coming in with 17.0 per contest. Orlando is a lot better squad than the team they faced to open the pre-season, but if Atlanta can force 25 Magic turnovers like they did in October, anything can happen. 

*Orlando*: Orlando is looking for their second consecutive road victory when they visit Atlanta this Friday night. The Magic are a completely different team than they were when they met Atlanta in the pre-season, as evidenced by their (as of November 24) 6-3 record. However, all three losses for Orlando this season have come on the road, where they have struggled to just a 2-3 mark. With five of their seven next games coming at home, Atlanta will be a key victory for Orlando to keep their season going on the right track. 

*Last Meeting*: Last Meeting: Orlando fell 96-88 to Atlanta on October 13, 2004, in the second game of the pre-season this year. Al Harrington scored nine of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, as the Hawks opened their pre-season slate with a victory. Steve Francis led Orlando, which committed 25 turnovers in the game while shooting only 37 percent from the field, with 18 points. Stacy Augmon and DeShawn Stevenson chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the Magic. 

*All-Time Series*: Orlando leads the all-time series with the Hawks 30-27, including a 10-18 mark in Atlanta. 

*Magic Injuries*: Injured List:
Total player games missed to injury/illness: 35
Stacey Augmon – Injured List, left knee patella tendinitis…Placed on Nov. 20
Michael Bradley – Injured List, strained right hamstring…Placed on Nov. 12
Andrew DeClercq – Injured List, right knee rehabilitation…Placed on Nov. 1
Cuttino Mobley – Questionable, strained right groin


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## JoshChildress (Nov 25, 2004)

> Originally posted by <b>hobojoe</b>!
> *Atlanta*: The Hawks have struggled early in 2004, posting a 2-8 record with both their wins coming by a combined five points. Al Harrington and Antoine Walker have been the heart and soul of Atlanta, leading the team in scoring and/or rebounding in all but one game. Walker is currently tops on the team in scoring and rebounding, with 20.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Harrington is the only other Hawk to average double figures in points, coming in with 17.0 per contest. Orlando is a lot better squad than the team they faced to open the pre-season, but if Atlanta can force 25 Magic turnovers like they did in October, anything can happen.


That's funny. Antoine Walker is holding this team back, and Al Harrington has been a big fat bust. I'm looking forward to Childress continuing his hot hand.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

NBA.com's Preview of Tonight's Game 

Way ahead of last season's pace, the Orlando Magic take on the struggling Atlanta Hawks on Friday. 

Orlando picked up its sixth win Saturday with an 86-83 victory over Indiana. The Magic didn't notch their sixth win last season until their 27th game, a 119-93 victory over Golden State. 

A main reason for the Magic's turnaround is the play of Grant Hill, who leads the team in scoring at 20.3 points per game to go with averages of 6.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists. 

Another newcomer, guard Steve Francis, also has been a major contributor in Orlando's resurgence. The former Houston Rocket is second on the team in scoring (19.6) and rebounding (7.6) while leading the team in assists with 6.4 per game. 

Atlanta has won its two games by a combined five points and has had Antoine Walker and Al Harrington to thank for whatever success it has had. 

Walker leads the team in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 20.8 points and 8.5 boards per game. Harrington is the only other Atlanta player to average double figures in points at 17.0 per game.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)




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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

I want to see Josh have a big game, but I'm not so sure he will.
Hedo is going to kill it.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>jcintosun911</b>!
> I want to see Josh have a big game, but I'm not so sure he will.
> Hedo is going to kill it.


I'm hoping Francis can bust out of his funk on the road. A triple-double from Stevie would be sweet. From the little I've seen from Josh Smith, he looks like an amazing athlete(everyone already knew that) with good instincts on both ends of the court. He looks _really_ raw though, I don't think he'll see much playing time, even for the Hawks.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Game's about to start, let's go Magic! Man, I'd love to see the Magic put this one out of reach early.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Slow start for the Magic, as usual turning the ball over a lot to start the game. The Hawks are flat out out-hustling the Magic so far. Stevenson's looked pretty good tonight though, surprisingly enough. 15-12 Hawks, about halfway through the first.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

I must say, the fact that we've played so horrible yet are only down by 3 is a good sign. Atlanta's playing and shooting the ball well, the Magic are making stupid turnovers and so far their transition defense has been horrendous. 5 points and 2 boards for Dwight so far, 24-21 Hawks with 2:30 to go in the first.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Nelson swishes the running 3-pointer to beat the buzzer! Magic up 33-28 after the first quarter despite not playing well at all. 10 points, 4 rebounds and 2 dimes for Francis on 2-2 shooting and 6-6 from the line. 8 points and 2 boards for Dwight, could be well on his way to a career high in points(a whopping 13 would do it).


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

What a spark off the bench provided by Nelson in the first. 5 points on 2-2 shooting in 1 minute of play.


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## Captain Obvious (Jun 15, 2003)

Hedo injured. ****.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Hedo's down and he's in PAIN. Looks like his right ankle. Man, what a blow it would be to lose Hedo for any extended period of time.

51-42 Magic, Francis has 13-4-4 on 3-3 shooting and 7-7 from the line.


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## DrewDaGreat (Feb 13, 2004)

Bad start, lookin' alright now, not so hot on defense though.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Good News:
Steve Francis- 18 Points(5-5 FG, 8-8 FT) 5 Rebounds, 4 Assists
Dwight Howard- 12 Points(5-6 FG)
Magic as a Team- 65 Points in the first half, 22-34 FG(64.7%), 19-22 FT(86.4%)
Jameer Nelson- 7 Points(3-4 FG)
Hedo Turkoglu stayed in the game and looks to be alright.

Bad News:
Allowed 56 points to the Hawks in the first half.
Hawks shot 21-36(58.3%) from the floor.
Dwight Howard, only 3 rebounds.
Garrity and Francis, 3 fouls each. 
10 Turnovers
Kelvin Cato- 0 Points(0-1 FG) 3 Turnovers, 2 Fouls


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

First Half Boxscore for the Magic:


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Jameer Nelson with a breakout performence tonight! 11 points on 5-6 shooting for the rook. DeShawn Stevenson's also been sharp, 9 points in 18 minutes. Stevie's on the bench with 4 fouls, but the rest of the guys are picking up the slack.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Nice move by Howard, but now he's getting tired and you can see it. Walker goes out and hits an uncontested 3 to cut the lead to 6. We're scoring at will, but still playing lackadaisical defense. 5 guys in double figures already with Hedo at 9 points. Nice balanced attack tonight. Now we need some stops.


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## Pan Mengtu (Jun 18, 2004)

I feel sorry for the Hawk fans. They are so horrible and really have nothing to look forward to. They couldn't possibly think Childress or Smith turn into franchise players.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Terrible finish to the quarter, we're getting killed by Delk and Walker(and the Francis' foul trouble). Career high 18 points from Dwight Howard tonight, he's looked really good offensively. Hill's been pretty quiet tonight, I think we're going to see a big 4th quarter from Grant. Someone needs to guard Tony Delk from long range though.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Dwight Howard has officially broken through offensively tonight.

22 points and 8 boards, 8-12 from the free throw line.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Magic win 117-99, Dwight Howard scores 24 points and grabs 9 boards. 29-8-6 for Francis, 18 for Hill, 14 for Stevenson, 12 for Turkoglu and 11 for Nelson. Great game after a terrible start. Dwight Howard showed me a lot today, damn he's fun to watch. Great win to go to 7-4 on the year.


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## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

I just wanted to drop a comment in here hobojoe, but I agree. Watching Howard tonight, was glimpse of his vast potential. A guy so talented, yet so far to go.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>Hong Kong Fooey</b>!
> I just wanted to drop a comment in here hobojoe, but I agree. Watching Howard tonight, was glimpse of his vast potential. A guy so talented, yet so far to go.


Yep, he looked so good at times, and so much like a rookie straight out of high school at others. He can still improve so much, yet he's already a very valuable player for the Magic.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)




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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Boxscore | Recap


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## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

It's about time Steve had a great performance on the road. Hopefully, this will break his funk he was having.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>Hong Kong Fooey</b>!
> It's about time Steve had a great performance on the road. Hopefully, this will break his funk he was having.


:yes: 

He really played a good game tonight. He took the ball strong to the hoop rather than settling for the jumpers, and it showed in his 18 free throw attempts. Despite being in foul trouble for a lot of the game, Stevie had a very solid performence on the road leading 6 Magic players in double figures. As a team, the Magic did a great job taking the ball to the hole and getting to the line. Howard, Francis and Hill alone took 41 free throws, and made 35 of them.


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

I never realized, Dwight Howard really has an NBA body. He's a beast. 

Thank god Hedo is not out, I was going to flip.


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## Pan Mengtu (Jun 18, 2004)

He still looks kind of uncomfortable out there. He needs to polish his game a lot. Good performance though.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>Pan Mengtu</b>!
> He still looks kind of uncomfortable out there. He needs to polish his game a lot. Good performance though.


Very true. He had a couple plays that made me scream in frustration, but he still played a very solid game on both ends of the court. Other than when he lost handle of the ball with nobody anywhere close to him in the open court, and the two occassions when he missed layups when he could've(and should've) dunked it home.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

Figures I'd miss Dwight's breakout game. 

Good to see we got the win on the road, regardless of it being Atlanta.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>JNice</b>!
> Figures I'd miss Dwight's breakout game.
> 
> Good to see we got the win on the road, regardless of it being Atlanta.


Yep, now we have to take care of business at home against the Atlantic Division teams. We start today against Philadelphia, then face Boston on Monday and Toronto on Wednesday before travelling to New York to play the Knicks Friday.


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