Dennis Neumann and Richie Adubato will answer the Magic Radio Internet question of the night during every game this season. E-mail your question to MagicRadio@orlandomagic.com. E-mailers could win a chance to sit courtside at a Magic home game with Dennis and Richie!
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | F | |
| MAGIC | 22 | 30 | 29 | 22 | - | 103 |
| SUNS | 33 | 28 | 24 | 21 | - | 106 |
Recap:
PHOENIX (AP) -- Amar'e Stoudemire capped a 28-point night with an emphatic offensive rebound dunk with 6.9 seconds to play and the Phoenix Suns stayed unbeaten at home with a 106-103 victory over the Orlando Magic on Friday night.
The Magic, at the end of a four-game trip after being beaten at Utah on Thursday, lost consecutive games for the first time this season.
Steve Nash had 20 points and 18 assists for the Suns, at 8-0 the only team in the league yet to lose at home. Phoenix has won 17 straight at home, dating to last season.
The Suns' Jared Dudley matched his career high with 19 points.
Rashard Lewis scored 24 and Mickael Pietrus 23 for the Magic, who trailed by 19 in the second quarter and 14 in the third.
Orlando's Vince Carter left the game 2 1/2 minutes into the second half with a sore right knee.
Dwight Howard took only one shot, and made it, for the Magic. He was 8 of 17 at the foul line but grabbed 18 rebounds.
There were 66 3-point attempts in the game, 38 by Orlando.
Lewis put up an airball 3-point try with about 4 seconds to go, then two jump balls were called in the final 2.5 seconds. Stoudemire tapped the ball away on the second jump, with 1.9 left, and the game ended without the Magic getting up another shot.
The lead changed hands five times after Dudley's free throw tied it at 95 with 4:11 to go. Grant Hill's 12-foot bank shot on a behind-the-back pass from Nash put the Suns ahead for good 104-103 with 1:09 to go.
Each team turned it over after that. Stoudemire gave up the ball in the lane for the second time down the stretch, but Anthony Johnson lost it out of bounds on the ensuing dribble up the court with 34 seconds left.
Dudley missed a 3-pointer from the corner, but Stoudemire grabbed the ball away from Lewis on the fight for his 10th rebound, then dunked it to put his team up by three.
After falling behind 41-22 in the second quarter, the Magic went on a 22-6 run, cutting Phoenix's lead to 47-44. The Suns led 61-52 at the break.
Orlando cut it to 79-76 on Pietrus' fourth 3-pointer of the third quarter - in four tries - with 3:19 left. The rally could have been better had Howard missed six straight free throws.
The Magic took their first lead since the game's early minutes, 90-89, on Johnson's driving layup with 8:26 to play. Johnson's 3-pointer put Orlando ahead 95-91 with 6:21 to go before Nash's 3 eight seconds later cut it to 95-94.
NOTES: The Magic have lost eight in a row in Phoenix. ... Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy called three timeouts in the first 14 minutes of the game. ... The Magic haven't swept a season series from the Suns since the 2001-02 season. ... The Suns' Robin Lopez had five fouls in five minutes.
Back to top
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
Back to top
Preview:
STATS -- After a fruitless road trip, the Phoenix Suns probably can't wait for their next game at U.S. Airways Center.
Awaiting the NBA's only unbeaten home team, however, is one of the league's best road squads.
The Suns will attempt to keep their perfect record intact Friday night with their eighth consecutive home win against the Orlando Magic, who will try to put a second-half collapse behind them.
Following a 14-3 start, fatigue appears to have set in for Phoenix, who have played a league-high 15 road games. The Suns (15-7) have gone from averaging 112.0 points during their hot start to 98.6 while losing four of five this month - all away from home.
In the finale of a winless two-game swing Tuesday, they stayed close with Dallas before falling behind by 10 in the final period. Phoenix rallied to within a on Steve Nash's 3-pointer with seven seconds left, but couldn't catch the Mavericks in a 102-101 defeat.
"We've had 15 road games, so we're a little bit tired," Nash said. "We've got to fight through that. The legs are a little tired, but nobody cares. Nobody's going to feel sorry for us."
The Magic are definitely not one of those teams after seeing their six-game win streak and run of eight consecutive road victories end Thursday in Utah.
Orlando (17-5) scored 60 in the first half and led by as many as 18, but saw its advantage cut to eight at halftime and allowed the Jazz to start the second half on a 14-3 run.
"Once we gave them confidence, gave them an opportunity to really get rolling, it was tough to stop that machine," swingman Vince Carter said.
The Magic never recovered from there in a 120-111 defeat, their first away from home since Nov. 8. They had also previously won 23 straight dating back to last season when scoring at least 100, including a 122-100 home win over Phoenix on Nov. 4.
Despite playing without an injured Carter, Orlando had six players in double figures, led by Dwight Howard's 25 points. Ryan Anderson had his fourth career double-double - 20 points and 10 rebounds - to hand the Suns their first loss this season.
Carter, who scored a season-high 34 Thursday, has helped the defending Eastern Conference champions to a 10-3 road record this season. Playing in 11 games away from home, Carter has averaged 21.7 points.
He leads the Magic with 20.1 points, just ahead of Howard (18.4). Carter also has scored an average of 25.6 points in 10 career games at U.S. Airways Center.
Amare Stoudemire, meanwhile, has led the Suns to a 7-0 mark at home with 22.4 points on 61.7 percent shooting, but he also appears to be dealing with fatigue lately with one 20-point performance in his last seven contests overall.
Stoudemire led the Suns with 25 points and 14 rebounds earlier this season at Orlando. He missed last season's final meeting with the Magic, a 111-99 loss on March 3, with a partially detached retina in his right eye.
Along with its third straight win in the series, Orlando is searching for its first victory in Phoenix since Nov. 14, 2001.
Back to top
Game Notes:
Dec. 11 @ Phoenix: Orlando is 14-27 all-time vs. Phoenix (9-12 at home, 5-15 on the road) during regular season action, including 1-0 last season…Orlando has lost 17 of the last 24 outings with the Suns overall…The Magic have won six of the last nine games at home, and lost 10 of the last 12 in Phoenix…Matt Barnes played in 77 games for the Suns during the 2008-09 season.
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. SUNS: 44 pts., Tracy McGrady (@ Orlando, 2-20-01)
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAGIC: 39 pts., Leandro Barbosa (@ Orlando, 11-10-07)
Back to top
