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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Magic coach Doc Rivers has begun
campaigning for Darrell Armstrong.
"If he's not player of the week, I'd like to know who is,"
Rivers said.
Armstrong capped a solid week with 22 points and 10 rebounds in
Orlando's 96-84 victory against Atlanta. In four games, Armstrong
has 95 points, 31 assists, 27 rebounds and only one turnover.
Heading into Saturday's game, Armstrong had not had a turnover
since Orlando lost to Miami on Jan. 27. He had his first turnover
with 10:55 remaining against Atlanta, a span of 154 minutes without
a miscue.
"His assist-to-turnover ratio is mind-boggling," Rivers said.
Says teammate Tracy McGrady: "The guy is playing way over his
head right now, way over his head (laughing). But you know what?
I'm glad he's on my team. The guy works hard. He deserves it."
Armstrong shrugs it off, saying he's only doing what he's
supposed to do.
"Well, that's my job," he said. "Take care of the ball, get
guys the ball, make sure we get a shot every time down.
"I struggled at the beginning of the year but that's going to
happen sometimes. If you have confidence in your ability, you just
keep on playing."
The Magic are confident after evening their record (23-23) for
the first time since early November. Orlando has won four
consecutive games, while Atlanta has dropped three of its last four
and has only defeated the Magic once in four meetings this year.
"This was a big win for us," Rivers said. "It gets us to that
.500 number and now we want more. If we can stay above that number,
obviously that means good things for us at the end of the year.
"It's been a climb. There were stretches where .500 looked a
long way away."
McGrady scored 26 points and tied a career-high with 15 rebounds
and added five assists, five steals and two blocked shots. He shot
10-of-12 free throws. Orlando also got 15 points from Mike Miller.
Atlanta was led by Jason Terry with 22 points, Lorenzen Wright
with 20 points and nine rebounds and Dikembe Mutombo with 11
points, 15 rebounds and six blocked shots.
"I think we started concentrating too much on what the referees
were calling and we lost our composure," Wright said. "We stopped
playing hard and working.
"They had Darrell Armstrong just pushing it up the floor and
everybody else following behind him. It is tough to cover when they
are all running with him."
The Magic used an 11-2 run bridging the third and fourth
quarters to take their biggest lead of the game at that point,
80-70. Atlanta pulled within seven, but the Magic finished the game
on a 14-9 run.
The Hawks shot just 6-of-23 in the fourth quarter and shot 39.3
percent for the game. Orlando shot 36.3 percent but held a 56-48
rebounding edge, including 21-13 offensively.
Orlando overcame a 10-point deficit to start the third quarter
and led 70-68 heading into the fourth. The Magic took their first
lead of the quarter when Armstrong hit a 3-pointer that capped a
17-6 run, putting Orlando ahead 60-59 at the 6:52 mark. Armstrong
had 10 points in the quarter.
Orlando's Troy Hudson hit a 3-pointer at the 8:46 mark of the
second quarter that cut Atlanta's lead to 32-29, but the Magic
would get no closer as the Hawks led 51-43 at the half.
Wright led all scorers with 15 points and Mutombo had 11 points
and 12 rebounds at the half. McGrady had 11 points to lead
Orlando.
Game notes
Atlanta's Chris Crawford did not dress because of a mild
concussion. ... Armstrong has scored 20 or more points 13 times
this season. ... The Hawks attempted only seven 3-pointers, hitting
two. ... Miller is averaging 16.5 points in four games against
Atlanta. Overall, he's averaging 9.0. ... Orlando is 8-2 in games
played on Saturday.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Atlanta Clubhouse
Orlando Clubhouse
RECAPS
Minnesota 108
Toronto 105
Denver 105
Washington 100
Detroit 88
Cleveland 81
Orlando 96
Atlanta 84
Dallas 101
Golden State 95
Milwaukee 104
Indiana 85
San Antonio 90
Houston 88
Utah 111
Seattle 91
Vancouver 91
Chicago 84
LA Clippers 90
Portland 89
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Tracy McGrady Official Site
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