Magic-Jazz Preview

By JEFF BARTL
Posted Apr 20 2012 2:25PM

If the Orlando Magic are going to make a deep postseason run, they'll have to do so without Dwight Howard.

Simply qualifying for the playoffs is the first step for the Utah Jazz.

Orlando will play its first game since receiving the news that Howard won't play again until next season when it visits Utah on Saturday night.

Howard's bad back requires surgery that will keep him out of the lineup through the postseason and this summer's Olympics, meaning Orlando (36-26) must continue pushing forward without its superstar.

The Magic fell to 3-5 without Howard after a 102-98 loss to Boston on Wednesday. Glen Davis scored 27 points and Jameer Nelson added 21 for Orlando, which also has played the last seven without Hedo Turkoglu after he had surgery to repair three facial fractures.

The Magic, sixth in the Eastern Conference with a playoff berth clinched, play three of their final four regular-season games on the road.

Coach Stan Van Gundy said the team is rallying around each other down the stretch.

"What we're saying right now is that this is our team in the regular season and in the playoffs," Van Gundy told the team's official website. "This is the team that we have and we have to do the things that allow this team to play well. It's made us have to make some changes and made us strong but our group has been focused on making the adjustments we have to make to be good together."

Davis, averaging 18.2 points and 9.9 rebounds in nine games since becoming a starter, said the effort was there Wednesday despite falling behind by as many as 13 points.

"There's been multiple games where we've been down and we just went away," Davis said. "I like how we fought today but, at the end of the day, we need to win the game."

Victories are much more important for Utah during the stretch run.

The Jazz (33-30) are tied with Phoenix for the Western Conference's final playoff spot, and they'll host the Suns on Tuesday.

Utah is coming off back-to-back victories, beating Dallas in triple-overtime on Monday before a 112-91 victory at Portland on Wednesday. The starting backcourt of Devin Harris and Gordon Hayward combined for 97 points and 18 3-pointers in those wins.

"We feel great. We're in the mix," coach Tyrone Corbin said. "We're just going to continue to take care of our business. We can't afford to watch and see what anybody else is doing. We've got to make sure we win our games and whatever happens from there on happens."

Utah will play its remaining three games at home, where it is 10-2 since the All-Star break with the only losses coming by a combined three points. Only one of its eight home defeats this season was by more than five points.

"We've got three games at home where we play well," said Harris, averaging 25.3 points in his last three home games. "We've put ourselves in a nice position but we've still got to go out and play the games."

The Jazz have won 11 of the last 15 home meetings with the Magic. These teams haven't met since Orlando's 117-105 loss in Utah on Dec. 10, 2010.

Hayward had 23 points and shot 8 for 11 from the field Wednesday, and he's averaging 20.2 points while shooting 63.6 percent from 3-point range over his last five games.

Harris fuels Jazz win over Magic in OT 117-107

By LYNN DeBRUIN
Posted Apr 22 2012 2:52AM

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Utah Jazz point guard Devin Harris was tired of seeing 3-pointers drop for the Orlando Magic on Saturday night.

He made sure one at the end of regulation didn't have a chance as he stepped up big against Jameer Nelson.

Harris' block kept Utah alive, and in the end it was the Jazz draining 3s to secure a 117-107 overtime victory over Orlando.

"We survived, that's the best way to describe it," said Utah swingman Gordon Hayward, who along with Harris hit key 3-pointers in overtime. "All season long we've been fighting. We needed this one badly."

The victory allowed the Jazz (34-30) to keep their lock on the final Western Conference playoff spot.

The Jazz can secure a postseason berth with a win Tuesday night at home against the Phoenix Suns (33-31), who hold the tiebreaker against the Jazz but are a full game behind after their loss to Denver earlier Saturday.

"Steve Nash is going to do the same thing (as Nelson) and get his guys the ball," Jazz center Al Jefferson said referring to Nelson, who had 11 assists to go along with his team-high 23 points Saturday. "But we just have to grind it out and play hard and get some hands up in his face."

The Magic (36-27) must regroup after dropping their second straight and first since All-Star center Dwight Howard had back surgery that will keep him out until next season.

The Magic also have been without forward Hedo Turkoglu, who had surgery April 9 for a fractured cheekbone, and is questionable for the playoffs.

Combined, the two accounted for 31.3 points and 18.3 rebounds. Saturday the Magic also were without 6-foot-10 forward Earl Clark because of a sore left knee

Despite the missing pieces, Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy ripped into his team.

"We just cannot guard, we cannot," Van Gundy said. "I don't think that our guys are not trying, but we cannot guard anyone. Our defense is disturbing to say the least."

Van Gundy also had harsh words for backup center Daniel Orton, who contributed only two points off the bench.

"Daniel gave us nothing," Van Gundy said. "He went for every shot fake, he fouled every time. He didn't even give us minutes that we needed to give our starters some rest. Our lack of depth was an absolute huge factor. Those guys ran out of gas at the end."

The Magic made just 2 of 8 shots in overtime and were 0 for 3 from beyond the arc.

Jason Richardson and Ryan Anderson added 21 apiece for Orlando, each hitting five 3s.

Overall, the Magic made 15 3-pointers on the night and the Jazz just four, but Utah's two in overtime made the difference.

"I didn't believe a team could shoot like that the whole game," Jefferson said.

Jason Richardson started 6 of 6 for the Magic, including 3 of 3 from beyond the arc, as the Magic jumped out to a 36-23 lead on 65 percent shooting.

The Jazz trailed by 14 in the first half, by 12 in the third and by six midway through the fourth. But each time they rallied.

Jefferson's jumper tied it at 101 before Harris' big block, and Jefferson also scored the first points of overtime on a nice move around center Glen Davis - finishing with 21 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks

It was Davis who suggested the motto "We all we got" as the injury-riddled Magic head into the final stretch before the playoffs having already secured a spot.

Early in Saturday's game, that was working as they jumped out to a huge lead.

The Magic led by as many as 14 in the second before a 10-0 Jazz run.

Derrick Favors started the run with a short jumper and ended it with a powerful dunk that got Utah within 43-39.

During the run, rookie Enes Kanter drained an 18-footer as the shot clock wound down and Paul Millsap converted his block into a fast-break layup.

Favors gave Utah a 53-52 lead on crowd-pleasing reverse dunk in traffic.

Utah took advantage of its four big men to hurt Orlando.

"A three guard can't guard Paul on the post and he did what he had to do. Al Jefferson was finishing around the rim and I came in with defensive energy," said Favors, who finished with 16 points and 11 bounds off the bench.

Millsap added 18 points and Kanter nine.

The score was tied at 55 at the break, and the Jazz opened on a 12-7 run to take a 67-62 lead in the third only to see Orlando respond with a 16-0 run to surge ahead 78-67.

Nelson hit a pair of 3-pointers, while J.J. Redick and Anderson each hit a 3 during a four-minute span where the Jazz went scoreless.

Utah closed on a 14-5 run, sparked by DeMarre Carroll's 19-footer, Favors' put-back and Hayward's three-point play.

Favors would come up with another key block in the fourth, and jam off a pass from Harris before Jefferson's tying 12-footer with 21 seconds remaining.

"Nothing is easy," Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said. "This bunch of guys. ... I can't say enough about how they gutted it out again and laid everything on the line. Even when we got down, nobody was discouraged."

Notes: Turkoglu traveled with the Magic, his first road trip since he underwent surgery April 9 to repair a fractured cheekbone. .... Jazz Hall of Fame coach Jerry Sloan attended his first Jazz game since he abruptly resigned Feb. 10, 2011. He sat near midcourt, about four rows up. ... Jamaal Tinsley's assist to Kanter at the 8:46 mark of the second quarter was the 3,000th of his career. ... Utah outscored Orlando 62-36 in the paint. ... The Magic had five players score in double figures for the 30th time this season.

Notebook: Jazz 117, Magic 107

Posted Sunday April 22, 2012 2:22AM

By Andrew Aragon, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: No matter the opponent or arena, the Utah Jazz usually find a way to make things interesting.

Against an Orlando Magic team playing without superstar Dwight Howard, the Jazz did so again in a 117-107 overtime win on Saturday night. It was Utah's seventh overtime game of the season and fifth in the last six weeks.

The Jazz trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half and 12 in the third quarter before rallying for the win. Al Jefferson and Devin Harris each had 21 points for Utah, which leads Phoenix by a full game in the race for the Western Conference's final playoff berth.

Jameer Nelson had 23 points for Orlando.

QUOTABLE: "Nothing is easy. This bunch of guys ... I can't say enough about how they really gutted it out again tonight, and laid everything they had on the line. Even when we got down, nobody was discouraged. They continued to encourage each other and push their way through it and that's what we're going to need."
-- Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin on his team pulling out another overtime win.

THE STAT: Orlando's lack of depth probably prevented it from winning. Utah's bench outscored the Magic's reserves 39-10. Only Quentin Richardson gave Orlando any kind of help off the bench. Derrick Favors, meanwhile, had 16 points and 11 rebounds in a reserve role for Utah.

TURNING POINT: Harris provided the game's biggest momentum-changing play when he blocked Nelson's shot in the final seconds of the fourth quarter to keep the game tied and send it into overtime. From there, the Jazz played their best ball of the night. A 3-pointer by Gordon Hayward made it 110-105 with 1:38 left in overtime, and a 3-pointer by Harris sealed it, putting Utah ahead by 10 with 37.9 seconds remaining.

HOT: Jason Richardson got Orlando off to a blazing start. He made all of his six shot attempts in the first quarter, three of which were 3-pointers, and scored 15 of his 21 points. The Magic shot 65.2 percent and scored 36 points in the first quarter. Favors and rookie Enes Kanter helped exploit Orlando's lack of depth in its frontcourt. Favors shot 8-for-11 and Kanter was 4-for-5. Hayward shot 5-for-7. Utah shot 62.5 percent in the fourth quarter.

NOT: The Magic shot 25 percent in overtime. Orlando's bench shot 4-for-15. Hayward, who has arguably been Utah's best player in the last month, committed six turnovers.

GOOD MOVE: It took until midway through the fourth quarter, but Corbin finally found his most effective lineup, playing Paul Millsap at small forward and Favors at power forward to team with Jefferson at center to form an imposing frontcourt. Utah's Big Three helped the Jazz have a 62-36 edge in points in the paint. Millsap was the only player of the three to not record a double-double, only missing it by one rebound. He had 18 points and nine boards to go along with four steals.

BAD MOVE: Orlando's 3-point shooting would heat up like magic. And poof! It would disappear just like magic. Orlando, after building an 81-69 lead in the third quarter with outstanding 3-point shooting, then relied on the long bomb a little too much. They shot 3-for-11 from 3-point range in the fourth quarter and overtime.

QUOTABLE II: "Our lack of depth was an absolute huge factor in the game. Those guys ran out of gas at the end."
-- Magic coach Stan Van Gundy on his team missing Howard, Hedo Turkoglu and Earl Clark.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Former Utah coach Jerry Sloan watched a game inside EnergySolutions Arena for the first time since resigning in February of 2011. Strangely, his presence was never acknowledged by the Jazz, as he wasn't shown on the JumbroTron. He sat five rows up from ESPN's announcing crew.

QUOTABLE III: "A three can't guard Paul [Millsap] on the post, and he did what he had to do. Al [Jefferson] was finishing around the rim and I came in with defensive energy. We just played good."
-- Derrick Favors on the play of Utah's Big Three frontcourt.

NOTABLE: Jamaal Tinsley recorded the 3,000th assist of his career when he dished to Kanter in the second quarter on a made basket. The Jazz are 4-3 in overtime games. The Magic fell to 3-6 in games without Howard. Glen Davis had 17 point and 13 rebounds for Orlando.

UP NEXT: For the Magic, Sunday @ Denver, Wednesday vs. Charlotte, Thursday @ Memphis. For the Jazz, Tuesday vs. Phoenix, Thursday vs. Portland.

• Magic: Howard, Turkoglu
• Jazz: Miles, Watson

• Magic: --
• Jazz: --

• Lead Changes: 16
• Times Tied: 6

• Arena: EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City, UT
• Officials: #8 Marc Davis, #47 Bennie Adams, #7 Kevin Fehr
• Attendance: 19580
• Duration: 2:28