Magic overcome Bosh's 40 to beat Raptors

[GotGibson?]

Stan Van Gundy predicted at the morning shootaround that Toronto forward Chris Bosh would score 40 points against his Orlando Magic.

The Magic coach turned out to be right -- and he still got to smile about it.

Jameer Nelson, Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis had 22 points apiece as the Magic overcame Bosh's 40-point, 18-rebound night in a 103-90 win in a rematch of first-round NBA playoff foes.

Bosh, matching up at times with Lewis and All-Star center Dwight Howard, made 14 of 19 field goals and 12 of 16 free throws.

"It's not they came in and Bosh couldn't make a shot," Van Gundy said. "As a matter of fact, he couldn't miss one. We had to play really well."

Toronto, playing without injured point guard Jose Calderon, was done in by 24 turnovers and by a strong Orlando second quarter, in which the Magic turned a 10-point deficit into a 45-45 halftime tie.

"That was our best stretch of the year," Van Gundy said.

Orlando built a 13-point third-quarter lead before hanging on for the victory. It was the Magic's eighth win in the past nine games.

Bosh and Howard, who had 18 points and nine rebounds, work out together during the offseason. They have long talked trash to each other, and Bosh said that gives him a psychological lift when they meet.

"I guess they just catch me at the wrong time," Bosh said. "I always say against my friends I want to play my hardest basketball."

"The way he's playing words can't describe, and it's not just scoring and rebounding," Toronto coach Sam Mitchell said. "He's doing all the little things."

The Magic used a team effort to subdue the Raptors, who they beat 4-1 in their Eastern Conference playoff series last season.

Nelson, who'd averaged 18.3 points over his past three games after struggling early in the season, asserted himself early and made 10 of 15 shots for a season-high in points.

Jermaine O'Neal had the better of the battle of big men early, hitting his first four field goals and scoring 10 points in the first quarter as the Raptors built a 26-21 lead. Howard didn't hit a shot from the floor in his first 13 minutes, finally making a basket to end a streak of 39 minutes of playing time in his past two games without a field goal.

The All-Star center played 25 minutes against Charlotte on Sunday, missing all three of his field-goal attempts and scoring his only four points from the free-throw line.

O'Neal finished with 16 points.

The Raptors, who were shooting 59 percent midway through the second half, began missing shots and turning the ball over early in the third quarter, as the Magic went up 67-54 and cruised the rest of the way.

Magic guard J.J. Redick made the first start of his three-year career and scored 10 points. Redick played in only six of Orlando's first 10 games.

"Whenever I get a chance, I've got to do what I can to get back in the rotation," Redick said.

Said Van Gundy: "I thought J.J. was the best choice for us tonight. Nobody's down for the count."

Redick played in place of Mickael Pietrus, who bruised his ribs in Sunday's win over Charlotte.

Van Gundy started Redick instead of Keith Bogans, who normally comes in for Pietrus, because the coach said he didn't want to disturb his rotation. Bogans had three points in 20 minutes.

Orlando finally got a respite from its 3-point shooting woes. The Magic, who made 801 3s last season, second-best in NBA history, had been shooting only 31.3 percent this season, 24th in the league.

They made 11 of 23 on Tuesday night.

Will Solomon got his second straight start in place of Calderon, and had seven turnovers.

"It's tough right now," Mitchell said. "It's tough when you have to learn out there on the court in front of 18,000 people."

"You've just got to take care of the ball," Bosh said. "That's what we've thrived on in the past couple of years. That's what keeps us in games."

[Admin]

Bosh is a right player, to bad he is stuck in the great white north.

[orangejello727]

Nothing wrong with Toronto (7th Largest market in North America). Better than being in Memphis, Charlotte and Golden State. I cant forget Indiana

[Hands]

Bosh has just dominated since the Olympics!

I am going to rate him better than Dwight now.
I am still waiting for Dwight to be the monster everyone predicted.

Magic has won last 8 out of their last 9 games??
WOW!

I thought the Magic was just going to be playoff fodder for the good teams.
They are surprising me!