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Wednesday, Nov. 24 7:30pm ET
Armstrong scores career-best 33 points | |||||
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 GAME FLOW
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- As a scorer and a passer, Darrell Armstrong had the best night of his NBA career. Armstrong had 33 points and 14 assists -- both career highs -- as the Orlando Magic beat the Dallas Mavericks 112-100 Wednesday night. "Darrell was awesome," said Magic coach Doc Rivers. Armstrong, whose previous high was 29 points, made 12 of 20 shots, including 6-of-11 on 3-pointers. He had 22 points and seven assists by halftime. "As a player you're always scared when you see those numbers," Rivers said. "It goes one of two ways. It means you won't make another shot in the second half or you'll keep going. Fortunately for us he kept going." Armstrong, the NBA's top sixth man last season, was averaging 18.5 points and 6.5 assists before the game. "I got off to a slow start, missed a couple of shots early. Then all of a sudden, I heated up," Armstrong said. "You have to keep the mind-set of a point guard and the mind-set of a shooter, too, because if you're hot, you've got to look at the basket. There's no reason to get hot and quit looking at it." Michael Finley led Dallas with 35 points on 15-of-34 shooting. Erick Strickland hit a 3-pointer with 41.3 seconds remaining to cut Orlando's lead to 104-100, but the Magic closed the game with an 8-0 run. "Fatigue was a factor," said Dallas coach Don Nelson. "We could not play the way we wanted to. We had trouble handling the ball. We don't have a true point guard and (the Magic) capitalized on that." The Magic led 88-73 with 10:24 remaining, but Dallas went on a 15-4 run to cut the margin to 92-88. However, Chris Gatling scored seven of Orlando's next nine points to help the Magic take a 101-93 lead with 2:33 remaining. Gatling finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds. "When my number was called, I just tried to execute it to the best of my ability," Gatling said. Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 points for Dallas. Hubert Davis' 3-pointer with 6:05 remaining in the third quarter cut Orlando's lead to 69-65. But the Magic built its lead back to 79-67 when Gatling made a layup with 2:33 left, and Dallas finished the third quarter with a 6-2 run to make it 81-73. Armstrong scored 22 points, including 5-of-8 from long range, as Orlando took a 61-49 halftime lead. Game notesOrlando rookie Corey Maggette did not play because of an infected left foot. ... The Magic placed guard Earl Boykins on the injured list because of tendinitis in his kneecap. ... The Magic activated guard Anthony Parker, who missed the first 11 games of the season with a sprained knee ligament. ... Dallas' Cedric Ceballos did not travel with the team because of the flu. Robert Pack (groin strain) also did not travel. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Dallas Clubhouse Orlando Clubhouse RECAPS San Antonio 121 Boston 98
Orlando 112
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