Magic Shoot Down Hawks 123-112

"Me and Jameer really had to get our team going." - Post-game comments by Dwight Howard

Just like the quote above, that's exactly what they did. Dwight and Jameer came out firing and accounted 23 points out of the Magic's first 54 points. Dwight ended the first quarter with 12 points and 5 rebounds to lead the Magic to a 36 point first quarter. He finished with a all-too common, super-human statline: 26 points, 16 rebounds, 1 block and 1 steal. But best of all, Dwight finished the game shooting 10-15 from the free-throw line.

The Magic were up 21 after the first half 53 to 74. That 74-point effort matched the Magic's highest scoring half in team history. It tied the game when December 30, 1990 when Scott Skiles had 30 assists. The Hawks effective field goal percentage was a 57% which is amazing but they still trailed by a large margin. This was because of the Magic's blistering defense and high eFG% (71% in the first half). If Atlanta's defense was to pick up and our shots stop falling, then we would have been in big trouble. But just like Dwight said, he "had to get his team going". He did just that and kept it going throughout the game. Even when they made a run, the Magic fought back. Van Gundy kept most of the starters in until just about the end of the game.

Hedo was the star that shined the brightest. He had 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 10 assists... in the first half! He finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds, 13 assists in the game. That marks the second time in which Hedo had a triple-double. The previous occasion this season, was in a losing effort last month, against the Dallas Mavericks.

Rashard had 22 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Hedo and Rashard combined for 17-33 in field goals and 7-13 in 3 pointers. Lewis had 1 3-pointer in all but 2 games so far this season. Hedo brought the ball up more than, or just as much as, the point guards.

Joe Johnson had 20 in the 1st half; 27 points and 11 assists. Salim Stoudemire averages 5.3 a game and came off the bench for 4 3-pointers.

Here is the boxscore, recap, and photos of the game tonight. Here is a great recap over at Third Quarter Collapse.

The Magic's next opponent is the L.A. Clippers at the Amway Arena on Wednesday, March 12.