Orlando
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
Hedo Turkoglu made the most of his first season start as the Magic are still waiting for the dust from the Doug Christie trade transition to settle. Does Hedo like to score? He do. Turkoglu led all scorers with 26 points last night to give the Magic a 87-80victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, who were missing Sam Cassell for personal reasons. Kevin Garnett had a Wilt Chamberlain-like rebounding night: 25 boards!
Turkoglu rounded out his stat line with six boards and four assists and only two turnovers. He also had two steals.
With the Magic allowing a season-low 80 points, and without either Cuttino Mobley or Doug Christie in the lineup, one has to wonder is defense, the ostensible reason behind the trade, is really the problem. Orlando GM John Weisbrod flew out to Minnesota to meet with Steve Francis and the other players and to take the blame for the last-minute shakeup and the resulting loss to the Celtics. While Francis is not fully mollified, he does seem to be bearing his sullenness well. There have been no trade demands or crazy statements or anything. He's hurting for the loss of his buddy but it seems that it's something he could potentially get over. We'll see how it goes.
In the meantime, Doug Christie is expected to join the club in Detroit on Friday, in time to help the Magic finish off the last two games of their road trip.
NEXT GAME
The Magic (19-15, third in the Southeast) take on the world champion Detroit Pistons (20-14, second in the Central) tomorrow, Friday, January 14th, 2005. The game starts at 8:00pm Eastern and will be broadcast on WRBW and NBA League Pass.
TEAM NOTES
Have a question for a Magic player?Submit it to them! Here's the most recent: Q: Jameer, who is your favorite basketball player? A: "Grant Hill." Archive
INJURY UPDATE
Michael Bradley(hamstring),Brandon Hunter(elbow) and Andrew DeClercq(knee) are on the Magic's injured list.
The Associated Press writes inThe Ledger: Hedo Turkoglu scored 26 points, Grant Hill added 20 and the Orlando Magic snapped their seven-game road losing streak with an 87-80 victory Wednesday night over the slumping Minnesota Timberwolves.Steve Francis had 17 points for the Magic, who withstood a 19point, 25-rebound night from Kevin Garnett to win their first road game since Dec. 10 at Golden State.
Brian Schmitz ofThe Orlando Sentinelwrites: Orlando Magic General Manager John Weisbrod spoke to the team before its shoot-around Wednesday to address the trade of shooting guard Cuttino Mobley to the Sacramento Kings -- and its awkward timing.Coach Johnny Davis told the players about a half-hour before tip-off of the Magic's game against the Boston Celtics on Monday night.
Brian Schmitz ofThe Orlando Sentinelwrites: He had a sad-eyed hollow look a few days ago and a grim game face Wednesday night. Finally, Orlando point guard Steve Francis managed a smile after the Magic beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 87-80 at Target Center. "I talked to Cuttino today," Francis said. "He told me he's going to flunk his physical in Sacramento so he can come back."
The Associated Press writes inThe Fort Wayne News-Sentinel: There was one final meeting among several of the core members of the Sacramento Kings, who congregated at Doug Christie's home shortly after he was traded to Orlando.When the trade to the Magic was announced earlier Monday it caught most everyone in the Sacramento organization by surprise, especially the players.