About seven hours before tipoff Monday, Dwight Howard joked
about Hedo Turkoglu. When asked about the team’s blockbuster trades
on Dec. 18, Howard said,
”
We’ve added some good pieces,
”
Howard said.
”
We got some old pieces back in Hedo. Hedo’s been our hero.
”
Turkoglu certainly played like a hero Monday night. With
Turkoglu providing an all-around performance, the Magic won their
sixth consecutive game, defeating the Golden State Warriors
110-90.
ORLANDO, Fla.
About seven hours before tipoff Monday, Dwight Howard joked about Hedo Turkoglu.
When asked about the team’s blockbuster trades on Dec. 18, Howard said, “We’ve added some good pieces,” Howard said. “We got some old pieces back in Hedo. Hedo’s been our hero.”
Turkoglu certainly played like a hero Monday night.
With Turkoglu providing an all-around performance, the Magic won their sixth consecutive game, defeating the Golden State Warriors 110-90.
Turkoglu finished with 10 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists to record Orlando’s first triple-double since Nov. 12, 2008.
“He certainly made some big plays tonight,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. “I thought his passing out of high pick-and-rolls was outstanding.
“His versatility is showing. He filled up the stat sheet tonight.”
But the announced sellout crowd of 18,846 inside Amway Center also saw seven other Magic players score in double figures, led by Howard, who had a game-high 22 points to go along with his game-high 17 rebounds.
The Magic tied a team record for players scoring in double figures. Eight players had scored at least 10 points on five other occasions, most recently on Jan. 27, 2009.
Balanced scoring has been the hallmark of Orlando’s winning streak.
The Magic now have had at least five players score in double figures in every game since the streak started on Dec. 23, with a 123-101 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
Monday night’s turning point came in the third quarter.
Trailing 53-44 at the half, the Magic started the period on a 9-0 run.
Jason Richardson hit a 3-pointer, then banked-in a short shot off the glass on Orlando’s next offensive possession.
Jameer Nelson sank a trey of his own, and Brandon Bass converted a free throw after Warriors coach Keith Smart was whistled for a technical foul.
The score was tied 53-53, and the Magic had regained the game’s momentum.
Whatever Van Gundy said at halftime clearly worked.
The Magic (22-12) looked half-asleep during the first half.
Late in the second quarter, Golden State’s Stephen Curry attempted a wide-open 3 from the left corner.
The shot clanged off the rim, but as a Warriors player tipped the basketball back out to the perimeter, Magic players stood still. Curry regained control of the ball and shot another wide-open 3 from the same spot. He swished it to give Golden State a 53-42 lead.
That one play typified Orlando’s early problems.
The Warriors made 47.8 percent of their shots in the first half, with Dorell Wright leading all scorers with 12 points.
Golden State (13-21), which entered the game without David Lee, finished the game shooting 40.9 percent from the field.
The Magic led 79-71 entering the fourth quarter.
A few minutes later, the only question was whether Turkoglu would record a triple-double.
He reached the 10-point mark with a trey with 1:56 remaining in regulation.
Fifty seconds later, Turkoglu sent a pass to J.J. Redick, who sank a trey of his own.
Turkoglu had his 10th assist of the game — and the team’s first triple-double in over two years.
He raised his arms, turned toward the Magic bench and flashed a gigantic smile on his face.
Seconds later, he was exchanging high-fives with teammates Earl Clark, Chris Duhon and Howard.
And when the final buzzer sounded, Turkoglu and Howard hugged and hopped up and down as streamers fell from the Amway Center ceiling.
It was just like old times.
Just like Howard had said.
Hedo was the hero.
— Story by Josh Robbins, The Orlando Sentinel
