# Orlando Magic vs. Los Angeles Clippers Game Thread



## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

LA Clippers (23-28) at Orlando (27-24) 7:00 pm EST  

2004-05 Stats at a Glance  

The Los Angeles Clippers will be pressed to end their losing streak Tuesday, when they visit the Orlando Magic, one of the best home teams in the league. 

The Clippers are in the midst of their third five-game losing streak of the season, but have yet to lose six in a row. The Magic enter the game with the fifth-best home record in the league at 18-6. 

In the midst of a season-high nine-game road swing, Los Angeles is coming off a 109-106 loss at Toronto on Sunday. Elton Brand collected 26 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots. He has recorded three consecutive double-digit rebound games. 

Bobby Simmons scored 21 points while rookie Shaun Livingston collected 10 and a season-high nine assists in 26 minutes. Livingston was playing his first game since suffering a dislocated right patella that kept him out since November 21. 

Orlando posted a 97-94 home victory over the New Orleans Hornets on Sunday. Steve Francis and Hedo Turkoglu scored 22 apiece, with Francis also dishing out 10 assists. 

Rookie Dwight Howard recorded his 17th double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds. 

This will be the first meeting between the Clippers and the Magic this season. Los Angeles won both encounters last season.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Magic: 18-6 at home
Clippers: 6-18 on the road

The stats say we should win tonight, but with the way we've played of late, I don't know.


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## Weasel (Oct 18, 2003)

Clippers Game Thread  

Livingston should be seen a lot tonight.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Weasel</b>!
> Clippers Game Thread
> 
> Livingston should be seen a lot tonight.


I really hope so. I am looking forward to getting a good look at Livingston tonight.

Orlando should win easy. Which means we might lose.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Howard's going to have his hands full with Brand tonight.


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## RP McMurphy (Jul 17, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>JNice</b>!
> I really hope so. I am looking forward to getting a good look at Livingston tonight.


I'd like to read what you guys think of him tonight, you and hobojoe always have interesting things to say.

I won't be able to watch this game, but I got my first look at Livingston on Sunday when the Clippers played the Raptors. I wasn't as impressed as I expected to be considering that he dished out nine assists in that game. Rafer Alston beat him off the dribble at will; on the other hand, Livingston struggled to get into the paint. Most of his assists were the type where he just passed to someone else on the perimeter and they took a jumper, not the type where he actually created anything. He did have a couple of really nice passes for assists, but he also threw a couple of entry passes that were off target and bounced off the guy's feet, causing turnovers. All in all, he's already a solid backup, but I didn't see the talent that I've seen in Sebastian Telfair, Ben Gordon, or Devin Harris. Of course, it was just one game, I'd like to see more of him.

I'm not trying to drag the thread off topic, I'd just like to compare my impression of him with what you guys see tonight.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Howard's started out quickly tonight, always a good sign.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>hobojoe</b>!
> Howard's going to have his hands full with Brand tonight.


Howard is playing great so far tonight. Hopefully he'll stay out of foul trouble.

Francis looks like he is gonna have a big one too.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>RP McMurphy</b>!
> 
> 
> I'd like to read what you guys think of him tonight, you and hobojoe always have interesting things to say.
> ...



I remember seeing him in the McDonald's game and in the summer league and I wasn't overly impressed. I didn't think he was quick enough or athletic enough to be as great as everyone thinks he will be. 

I have to say though, I honestly didn't expect him to get on the court much this year. I thought he'd have a Darko like rookie year. So it is impressive to me that he is already playing at least like a decent backup.


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## Captain Obvious (Jun 15, 2003)

Everybody's playing pretty well right now. The defense hasn't really been that bad, the Clippers are just hitting their shots.

Livingston went out with an injury. I was looking forward to seeing him play too, hopefully he'll be back.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Captain Obvious</b>!
> 
> Livingston went out with an injury. I was looking forward to seeing him play too, hopefully he'll be back.


Yeah, that was a weird one. Looked like he temporarily lost feeling in his right arm or something. Strange.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

I can't wait until Dwight starts getting some respect from the refs. Two very marginal calls on Dwight in the first quarter tonight. Very, very marginal.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Garrity is useless tonight. Might as well not even put him back in the rest of the game unless Howard's in foul trouble.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Hill and Francis playing very well. I think we're going to win this one by 10-12 points when it's all said and done. It'll be nice to go into the all-star break on a high note, winning 3 of 4.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

Great pass by Livingston on that fastbreak.

Everyone playing pretty well. Orlando up at the half with Francis and Dwight in some foul trouble.

Grant Hill had a great first half. He is playing like an All-Star tonight. I almost wish he wasn't an All-Star. He could probably use some rest. This is like a rookie season for him.


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## Captain Obvious (Jun 15, 2003)

Foul trouble is really killing us right now with Dwight, Francis, Christie and Cato shackled with 4 fouls apiece. Brandon Hunter's made an appearance and he's really playing Brand aggressively. Christie's also having a nice game for once.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Captain Obvious</b>!
> Foul trouble is really killing us right now with Dwight, Francis, Christie and Cato shackled with 4 fouls apiece. Brandon Hunter's made an appearance and he's really playing Brand aggressively. Christie's also having a nice game for once.


IMO, Hunter needs to start getting Garrity's minutes. He is tough and brings a lot of energy.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

And he sets really good screens.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

DeShawn is playing good as well. Maybe Johnny has been using the wrong guys off the bench... or well, in particular, I mean Garrity.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

What a game for Hill. He's on the line for one, already with 33 points on the night on 11-14 shooting.


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## Captain Obvious (Jun 15, 2003)

Edit Double Post


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Too bad Howard was in foul trouble tonight.

16 minutes only so far, 9 points, 7 boards and 2 blocks. Could've been a huge game for him.


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## Captain Obvious (Jun 15, 2003)

I like Garrity more than most Magic fans I think so I'm not sure if Hunter should take his minutes. I do think on a night like tonight when Garrity is 0-4 Johnny needs to yank him quickly. He doesn't seem to have a problem doing it with Nelson when he's off, so I don't understand why Garrity is treated differently.

Also, I've got to say Grant's playing a superb game. Magic-career high 34 points and counting.


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## YoYoYoWasup (Nov 14, 2004)

Cato


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

37 points on 15 FG attempts for Hill. Man, he's on fire tonight.


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## Captain Obvious (Jun 15, 2003)

Great job subbing Christie for Turk when we're going on offense


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## YoYoYoWasup (Nov 14, 2004)

Still  at Cato on that lame excuse of a dunk attempt.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Captain Obvious</b>!
> I like Garrity more than most Magic fans I think so I'm not sure if Hunter should take his minutes. I do think on a night like tonight when Garrity is 0-4 Johnny needs to yank him quickly. He doesn't seem to have a problem doing it with Nelson when he's off, so I don't understand why Garrity is treated differently.
> 
> Also, I've got to say Grant's playing a superb game. Magic-career high 34 points and counting.


Maybe the rule should be if Garrity hits his first shot, leave him in, otherwise yank him right away.

Our biggest problem is defense and toughness ... Garrity makes those even worse when he is on the court. I just think his time has come and passed on this team.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>JNice</b>!
> 
> 
> Maybe the rule should be if Garrity hits his first shot, leave him in, otherwise yank him right away.
> ...


I agree, Garrity needs to be traded. I think he will be too, before the deadline.


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## Captain Obvious (Jun 15, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>JNice</b>!
> 
> 
> Maybe the rule should be if Garrity hits his first shot, leave him in, otherwise yank him right away.
> ...


Seriously, I'd let him run around for a few possessions but if he misses his first two or three shots at most he needs to sit for the rest of the game. I think Garrity plays hard on both ends but he clearly doesn't give us the toughness or rebounding prowess that Hunter brings.

EDIT: I don't think Garrity should be traded, he's really the only guy other than Hedo who can regularly hit the trey.


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## Sir Patchwork (Jan 12, 2005)

Man, Clippers are really inside their own heads now. They've lost a good 5 of their recent games on heartbreaking calls, shots, or something like that. Now they believe they can't get it done down the stretch, it's sad really. 

Anyways, I caught the 4th quarter of this game. It's good to see Livingston back, I watch a lot of Clippers games, and he is a pretty unique talent. I'm not quite sure what to make of his defense or his off the ball game yet, but I'll say this, if he becomes average to good at those two things, he is going to be really good. 

What an amazing game by Hill tonight, just incredible efficiency.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

Hill with 39-7-4 on only 16 shots.

Dwight with 9 pts, 9 rebs, and 2 blocks in foul trouble all night. He could have had a big one tonight. He hit a couple of sweet little jump hooks in the first quarter.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>Sir Patchwork</b>!
> Man, Clippers are really inside their own heads now. They've lost a good 5 of their recent games on heartbreaking calls, shots, or something like that. Now they believe they can't get it done down the stretch, it's sad really.
> 
> Anyways, I caught the 4th quarter of this game. It's good to see Livingston back, I watch a lot of Clippers games, and he is a pretty unique talent. I'm not quite sure what to make of his defense or his off the ball game yet, but I'll say this, if he becomes average to good at those two things, he is going to be really good.
> ...


Livingston didn't do anything special other than that sweet bounce pass he had on the fastbreak, but he did look like he belonged out there ... which I said before, is way more than I expected from him this year. The passing ability is definitely there. He really needs to get stronger though and hope he doesn't have an injury prone career.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

Hill finishes with 39 points on 12-16 shooting, a season high for Magic players.


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## Idunkonyou (Feb 23, 2003)

So much for Hill slowing down. 39 points for the allstar. Howard would have had another huge game if not for some of the ticky tack fouls called against him. Christie with 6 steals. Francis once again saving his best for last, scoring the Magic's final 6 points of the game.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

BoxScore


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

MAGIC 99, CLIPPERS 94 
Magic head to all-star break on win

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/spor...gicgamer021605,1,7387414.story?coll=orl-magic



> Grant Hill was the star and Steve Francis, as usual, was the closer in the Orlando Magic's 99-94 victory Tuesday night over the Los Angeles Clippers.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

Good news - Washington gets smacked down tonight by the Rockets with our old friend Tmac dropping 34 pts, 9 asts, 6 rebs in the win.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>JNice</b>!
> Good news - Washington gets smacked down tonight by the Rockets with our old friend Tmac dropping 34 pts, 9 asts, 6 rebs in the win.


We're within two games of Washington right now heading into the all-star break. Honestly, I don't know if it'd necessarily be good to pass them. At the moment the Magic are the 6th seed and would be playing the Atlantic Division winner, likely Boston, Philadelphia or New Jersey. If we passed the Wizards the first round matchup would be against Cleveland with the Cavs having the homecourt advantage, making it very difficult to win a 7 game series against them.


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## thegza (Feb 18, 2003)

Not much to add in here since I only saw the final few minutes of the game, but it was still pretty fun to watch. 

Don't want to sound so obvious.. but Francis has got some guts. How many games has he stepped up and won for you guys? despite a quiet night, he came up big with some clutch FT's and a jump shot right in Livingston's face. This is a sign of not only a team leader, but how much more he has matured and evolved his game since coming to Orlando. It's a shame he won't be participating in this coming All-Star game.

And of course, my man Grant Hill. They all said he couldn't do it, he's proven all the doubters wrong. Where is Heatlunatic and his claims that Hill's ankle was "made up of jello"?


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>hobojoe</b>!
> 
> 
> We're within two games of Washington right now heading into the all-star break. Honestly, I don't know if it'd necessarily be good to pass them. At the moment the Magic are the 6th seed and would be playing the Atlantic Division winner, likely Boston, Philadelphia or New Jersey. If we passed the Wizards the first round matchup would be against Cleveland with the Cavs having the homecourt advantage, making it very difficult to win a 7 game series against them.


I think if Boston wins the Atlantic, I'd rather play Cleveland than Boston. Boston has our number for some reason.


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## hobojoe (Jun 20, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>JNice</b>!
> 
> 
> I think if Boston wins the Atlantic, I'd rather play Cleveland than Boston. Boston has our number for some reason.


I wouldn't. They beat us 3 times, but honestly you can't even count the 2nd one which was about an hour after the Mobley trade. I remember the first time we just flat out sucked and their shots were falling. Really no excuse for the 3rd time, they just outplayed us on their homecourt, but I think we'd definitely have a chance to beat them in a 7 game series. Especially since the Magic would probably have the home court advantage despite being the lower seed, you can't underestimate that.


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