Magic on The Road
The Orlando Magic have already surpassed their road win total from last season. Road victories against the league’s best teams, however, have been in short supply.
The Southeast Division-leading Magic (23-14) have another opportunity to beat one of the NBA’s better clubs away from home Friday night when they continue a four-game trip against the Denver Nuggets (21-13).
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made Denver –4.5 point spread favorites (NBA Odds) for today’s game, the over/under has been set at 218 total points (Matchup). Our public betting information shows that 66% of bets for this game have been placed on Denver –4.5 (View NBA Bet Percentages).
Leading the league with 16 road wins before the All-Star game is quite an accomplishment for the Magic, who managed only 15 victories away from home all of last season.
Although Orlando boasts road wins over New Orleans, Portland and the Los Angeles Lakers, it is 0-4 at San Antonio, Phoenix, Dallas and Boston – owners of four of the NBA’s five best records.
Following a surprising loss to Sacramento on Tuesday in the first game of the trip, the Magic rebounded with a 113-106 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.
Hedo Turkoglu scored 13 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, and Dwight Howard added 17 points and 17 rebounds as Orlando snapped a season high-tying three-game skid.
"He’s had a lot of games like this,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said of Turkoglu. "We like putting the ball in his hands down the stretch. He makes solid, solid plays. Our guys can tell you, he’s finished a lot of games like that this year.”
It was the league-leading 32nd double-double of the season for Howard, who has failed to record one only once in his last 18 games. He’s ninth in the NBA in scoring (22.4) and first in rebounding (15.2).
Van Gundy, though, continues to look for the right combination in his backcourt.
His starting guards Wednesday were Maurice Evans and Jameer Nelson after Carlos Arroyo and Keith Bogans started against Sacramento. In a 96-94 loss to Houston on Jan. 4, Arroyo and Keyon Dooling made up the starting backcourt.
The Nuggets should be a much fresher team Friday after their fourth game in five nights resulted in a 137-115 loss at Phoenix on Monday.
Allen Iverson continued his stellar play with 32 points and Carmelo Anthony had 20 points and 14 rebounds, but Denver surrendered a franchise-record 20 3-pointers – second-most in NBA history.
"They got happy and they got cocky and they rubbed our faces in the game a little bit,” Denver coach George Karl said. "It will be fun the next time we play them.”
The loss ended a three-game win streak and was the second in eight games for the Nuggets, who can tie Portland for first place in the Northwest Division with a victory Friday.
Iverson scored 30-plus points for the third straight game. He is averaging 33.0 points on 52.4 percent (44-for-84) shooting, including 10-for-21 from 3-point range, in his past four contests.
Iverson’s scoring surge is likely to continue if his past history against Orlando is any indication. He’s scored 30 points or more in each of his last three games versus the Magic, and had a career-high 60 against them with Philadelphia on Feb. 12, 2005.
These teams split last season’s series, with each winning at home. Denver has won four straight at home against Orlando since an 89-80 loss on Dec. 20, 2002.
By: Marc Young – theSpread.com – Email Us
More NBA Basketball Coverage from theSpread.com
– NBA Basketball teams
– NBA Basketball standings
– NBA Basketball schedule
– NBA Basketball scoreboard
– NBA Basketball injuries
– NBA Basketball matchups
– NBA Basketball stats
– NBA Basketball odds
– NBA Basketball public betting chart
– NBA Basketball news wire
– NBA Basketball top stories
– NBA Basketball trends
– AccuScore NBA Basketball predictions
– Expert NBA Basketball picks
– Comments and discussion
– Signup for theSpread.com daily newsletter
– NBA Basketball Home
