Denton: Magic Rolling on the Road
By John Denton
December 6, 2009
Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Magic and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.
For an Orlando Magic team that has a significant history now of thriving on the road, silence is an absolutely golden sound.
To a road NBA team with an us-against-the-world mindset, there’s no greater sound than a silent crowd, and the Magic take particular pride in quieting the opposing throngs of fans with their perseverance and execution.
The Magic certainly enjoyed plenty of silence late Saturday night as they pulled off a shocking 15-0 run in the fourth quarter that allowed them to sail past the Golden State Warriors 126-118 at Oracle Arena.
The victory was the Magic’s seventh straight road win, tying the franchise record for the most consecutive road victories in one season. The all-time Magic record is nine set at the end of the 2006-07 (two wins) and the beginning of the 2007-08 seasons (seven wins).
The Magic (16-4) have not lost on the road since the shocking rout in Oklahoma City on Nov. 8. They improved to 9-2 on the road with their fifth consecutive victory.
Clearly, the Magic are as comfortable on the road as they are at Amway Arena. Orlando won 27 road games on the road each of the past two seasons, and could be on their way to bettering that franchise record this season.
``We like playing on the road and like the atmosphere that the road brings us. It’s almost like we’re more together on the road,’’ Magic superstar center Dwight Howard said. ``We feed off the energy of knowing that we have to go into somebody else’s building and quiet that crowd and get the win.’’
Orlando’s four-game, nine-day roadtrip continues Tuesday night in Los Angeles against the Clippers. The Magic play the Utah Jazz on Thursday on TNT and in Phoenix on Friday on another nationally televised game, this time by ESPN.
Tuesday’s game against the Clippers will give the Magic a chance to breathe some rarified air. The Magic have been 17-4 just twice before in franchise history – during the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons. Never before has Orlando been 18-4, a mark that would require defeats of the Clippers and Jazz to achieve.
The Magic didn’t get rattled Saturday against Golden State when they fell down by as much as six points in the fourth quarter. When the Magic consistently got defensive stops, their offensive firepower took over and allowed them to grab control. The knack of staying close and closing well is a strong suit of this team and they are two reasons why the Magic are so good on the road, coach Stan Van Gundy stressed.
``We made some plays, made some shots. We got some stops finally and we converted,’’ Van Gundy said. ``They made some mistakes and turned the ball over. We got a little bit lucky. What we did best was we hung around and stayed in the game until we made some plays.’’
Howard has said the Magic lean on the road success they gained in the playoffs last spring, namely winning a clinching Game 6 in Philadelphia, a series-sealing Game 7 in Boston and a Game 1 victory in Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals.
``Playing on the road, it’s fun for us,’’ said Howard, who had 17 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots in Saturday night’s win. ``Winning games on the road, you’ve got to be able to do that come playoff time. When you go into someone else’s building, it’s loud and all the people are cheering against you, you’ve got be able to go get those wins. It’s a good feeling to go in and quiet the crowds and fight to get those tough wins.’’
John Denton writes for Orlandomagic.com. His Orlando Magic ``Behind the Scenes’’ segment can be heard on ESPN 1080 AM on Thursday at 5:05 p.m. Submit questions to John for his ``Ask J.D.’’ mailbag feature that will appear every Friday at AskJD@orlandomagic.com.
By John DentonDecember 6, 2009
Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Magic and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.
For an Orlando Magic team that has a significant history now of thriving on the road, silence is an absolutely golden sound.
To a road NBA team with an us-against-the-world mindset, there’s no greater sound than a silent crowd, and the Magic take particular pride in quieting the opposing throngs of fans with their perseverance and execution.
The Magic certainly enjoyed plenty of silence late Saturday night as they pulled off a shocking 15-0 run in the fourth quarter that allowed them to sail past the Golden State Warriors 126-118 at Oracle Arena.
The victory was the Magic’s seventh straight road win, tying the franchise record for the most consecutive road victories in one season. The all-time Magic record is nine set at the end of the 2006-07 (two wins) and the beginning of the 2007-08 seasons (seven wins).
The Magic (16-4) have not lost on the road since the shocking rout in Oklahoma City on Nov. 8. They improved to 9-2 on the road with their fifth consecutive victory.
Clearly, the Magic are as comfortable on the road as they are at Amway Arena. Orlando won 27 road games on the road each of the past two seasons, and could be on their way to bettering that franchise record this season.
``We like playing on the road and like the atmosphere that the road brings us. It’s almost like we’re more together on the road,’’ Magic superstar center Dwight Howard said. ``We feed off the energy of knowing that we have to go into somebody else’s building and quiet that crowd and get the win.’’
Orlando’s four-game, nine-day roadtrip continues Tuesday night in Los Angeles against the Clippers. The Magic play the Utah Jazz on Thursday on TNT and in Phoenix on Friday on another nationally televised game, this time by ESPN.
Tuesday’s game against the Clippers will give the Magic a chance to breathe some rarified air. The Magic have been 17-4 just twice before in franchise history – during the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons. Never before has Orlando been 18-4, a mark that would require defeats of the Clippers and Jazz to achieve.
The Magic didn’t get rattled Saturday against Golden State when they fell down by as much as six points in the fourth quarter. When the Magic consistently got defensive stops, their offensive firepower took over and allowed them to grab control. The knack of staying close and closing well is a strong suit of this team and they are two reasons why the Magic are so good on the road, coach Stan Van Gundy stressed.
``We made some plays, made some shots. We got some stops finally and we converted,’’ Van Gundy said. ``They made some mistakes and turned the ball over. We got a little bit lucky. What we did best was we hung around and stayed in the game until we made some plays.’’
Howard has said the Magic lean on the road success they gained in the playoffs last spring, namely winning a clinching Game 6 in Philadelphia, a series-sealing Game 7 in Boston and a Game 1 victory in Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals.
``Playing on the road, it’s fun for us,’’ said Howard, who had 17 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots in Saturday night’s win. ``Winning games on the road, you’ve got to be able to do that come playoff time. When you go into someone else’s building, it’s loud and all the people are cheering against you, you’ve got be able to go get those wins. It’s a good feeling to go in and quiet the crowds and fight to get those tough wins.’’
John Denton writes for Orlandomagic.com. His Orlando Magic ``Behind the Scenes’’ segment can be heard on ESPN 1080 AM on Thursday at 5:05 p.m. Submit questions to John for his ``Ask J.D.’’ mailbag feature that will appear every Friday at AskJD@orlandomagic.com.
