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In the past week, the Southeast Division-leading Orlando Magic have emerged as legitimate title contenders by beating some of the top teams from the Western Conference. They’ll look to add to that list on Christmas when they host the Southwest Division-leading New Orleans Hornets.
After winning its first division title since 1998-99 and advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals last season, Orlando (22-6) looks like it might have what it takes to make a championship run.
The Magic opened a four-game homestand last Thursday with a 90-78 win over San Antonio, which is a half-game out of first place in the Southwest, and defeated the West-leading Los Angeles Lakers 106-103 on Saturday.
In a potential trap game, Orlando avoided a letdown with a 113-81 win over lowly Golden State on Monday for its fifth straight victory and ninth in 10 games. The Magic, who have won seven consecutive home games, held the Warriors, the league’s second-highest scoring team (105.5 ppg), to an opponent season-low 31.9 percent shooting.
“With the Laker game, and San Antonio, we feel pretty good,” said Orlando’s Mickael Pietrus, a former Warrior who scored 14 points on Monday. “I think that (the Warriors) are the No. 1 offensive team in the league so we had to take care of business. We had a great defense. Hopefully against New Orleans, we can take it to the next level.”
Led by the dynamic Chris Paul, the Hornets (16-8) also are a trendy pick to make a deep run in the playoffs after winning the first division title in their 21-year history and advancing to the conference semifinals in 2007-08. New Orleans got off to a slow start this season, splitting its first 10 games, but has since won 11 of 14.
The Magic and Hornets split their two-game season series for the third straight time in 2007-08.
Orlando center Dwight Howard, who is averaging 17.7 points and 14.7 rebounds in his last six games versus the Hornets, is averaging 14.3 points and 12.0 boards in his last three games after missing the previous two with a sore left knee. With a league-leading 20 double-doubles, it looks like Howard will be selected to his third All-Star game, but he’s not been the one carrying the Magic lately.
Jameer Nelson, named NBA player of the week for the first time in his career on Monday, finished with 22 points on 9-for-9 shooting against Golden State with seven assists and only one turnover.
“I’m not stat-chasing, player of the week chasing or All-Star chasing, I’m just trying to help us win games,” Nelson said. “Honors like that, they’ll come to somebody on a team that’s winning, but we’ve got to keep winning.”
In the last four games, Nelson has averaged 26.3 points on 64.7 percent shooting, including 14-for-22 from 3-point range, and 5.8 assists.
The Magic made a season-high 16 3-pointers on 31 attempts on Monday, and their perimeter shooting has been a big reason for their latest surge. Orlando is shooting 44.7 percent from 3-point range in the last 10 games after connecting on 33.0 percent in its first 18.
The Hornets wrapped up a three-game homestand Tuesday with a 100-87 loss to the Lakers, snapping their four-game winning streak. After a close first quarter, New Orleans was outscored by 15 points in the second and went into halftime down by 19.
“Once again we dug ourselves a hole and tried to fight out of it the rest of the game,” said Paul, who finished with 17 points and 10 assists for his 19th double-double, second in the league behind Howard.
Paul also had six steals to extend his record for consecutive regular season games with a steal to 108
After winning its first division title since 1998-99 and advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals last season, Orlando (22-6) looks like it might have what it takes to make a championship run.
The Magic opened a four-game homestand last Thursday with a 90-78 win over San Antonio, which is a half-game out of first place in the Southwest, and defeated the West-leading Los Angeles Lakers 106-103 on Saturday.
In a potential trap game, Orlando avoided a letdown with a 113-81 win over lowly Golden State on Monday for its fifth straight victory and ninth in 10 games. The Magic, who have won seven consecutive home games, held the Warriors, the league’s second-highest scoring team (105.5 ppg), to an opponent season-low 31.9 percent shooting.
“With the Laker game, and San Antonio, we feel pretty good,” said Orlando’s Mickael Pietrus, a former Warrior who scored 14 points on Monday. “I think that (the Warriors) are the No. 1 offensive team in the league so we had to take care of business. We had a great defense. Hopefully against New Orleans, we can take it to the next level.”
Led by the dynamic Chris Paul, the Hornets (16-8) also are a trendy pick to make a deep run in the playoffs after winning the first division title in their 21-year history and advancing to the conference semifinals in 2007-08. New Orleans got off to a slow start this season, splitting its first 10 games, but has since won 11 of 14.
The Magic and Hornets split their two-game season series for the third straight time in 2007-08.
Orlando center Dwight Howard, who is averaging 17.7 points and 14.7 rebounds in his last six games versus the Hornets, is averaging 14.3 points and 12.0 boards in his last three games after missing the previous two with a sore left knee. With a league-leading 20 double-doubles, it looks like Howard will be selected to his third All-Star game, but he’s not been the one carrying the Magic lately.
Jameer Nelson, named NBA player of the week for the first time in his career on Monday, finished with 22 points on 9-for-9 shooting against Golden State with seven assists and only one turnover.
“I’m not stat-chasing, player of the week chasing or All-Star chasing, I’m just trying to help us win games,” Nelson said. “Honors like that, they’ll come to somebody on a team that’s winning, but we’ve got to keep winning.”
In the last four games, Nelson has averaged 26.3 points on 64.7 percent shooting, including 14-for-22 from 3-point range, and 5.8 assists.
The Magic made a season-high 16 3-pointers on 31 attempts on Monday, and their perimeter shooting has been a big reason for their latest surge. Orlando is shooting 44.7 percent from 3-point range in the last 10 games after connecting on 33.0 percent in its first 18.
The Hornets wrapped up a three-game homestand Tuesday with a 100-87 loss to the Lakers, snapping their four-game winning streak. After a close first quarter, New Orleans was outscored by 15 points in the second and went into halftime down by 19.
“Once again we dug ourselves a hole and tried to fight out of it the rest of the game,” said Paul, who finished with 17 points and 10 assists for his 19th double-double, second in the league behind Howard.
Paul also had six steals to extend his record for consecutive regular season games with a steal to 108
