Magic top Mavericks to extend win streak
0 
The Orlando Magic recorded their ninth successive win by beating the Dallas Mavericks 117-107 on Saturday, boosted by 13 points and 17 assists by Hedo Turkoglu.
Trailing by three points early in the fourth quarter, the Magic went on a 20-2 run sparked by Turkoglu, who scored five points and had five assists during the key five-minute spurt.
"Hedo was great tonight passing the ball," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy told reporters.
"Seventeen assists for anybody is incredible, but a 6'10" forward with 17 assists? That's a phenomenal, phenomenal game. He made a lot of plays for us. We made a lot of shots in the second half."
Dallas got off to a quick start and led by as many as 16 points late in the first half but fell for the fifth time in seven games since Dirk Nowitzki went down with a knee injury.
"We need to focus on our defense and our rebounding," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "That's going to have to be a constant force to be successful, regardless of our personnel."
Franchise record
The win allows the Magic to tie the franchise record for consecutive wins.
"I thought it would take a lot longer to be playing at the level we are," said Van Gundy, whose team reshaped its roster with two trades on December 18th.
"Clearly, our defense is not where it needs to be, but our guys have come together and played with pretty good chemistry for a team that hasn't been together long. I have to give them a lot of credit for that. It's impressive."
Dwight Howard recorded a double-double for the Magic with 23 points and 13 assists and Jason Anderson added 20. DeShawn Stevenson led the Mavericks with 24 points.
In Chicago, Derrick Rose scored 36 points as the Bulls cooled off the hot form of the Boston Celtics with a 90-79 win.
Rose set career highs for free throws made and attempted with a 15-for-19 performance from the line, driving by Rajon Rondo over and over again before usually drawing contact from one or more of Boston's big men.
Elsewhere in NBA, it was: Thunder 109, Grizzlies 100; Jazz 103, Rockets 99, OT; Hawks 108, Pacers 93; Pistons 112, 76ers 109, OT; Bucks 115, Nets 92; and Bobcats 104, Wizards 89.
Go to Forum >>0 Comments