Gundy

Wizards vs. Magic 1/6/09 GAME RECAP

Despite having 29 points, The Wizard's Caron Butler did not have enough magic to beat Orlando. ORLANDO, Fla. (AP)—The Orlando Magic got the win, but Caron Butler got too many points for Stan Van Gundy. Butler scored 29 points, 21 in the third quarter, turning a potential blowout into a close game. The Magic held on for an 89-80 victory Tuesday night. We cant limit anybody at that position, Van Gundy said. If you are a 2-guard, were the team you want to play. Hedo Turkoglu led Orlando with 22 points as the recently energized Wizards (7-26) failed in their bid to win for the fourth time in six games. That came less than a month after another shooting guard, Kobe Bryant, scored 41 points in an Orlando victory. Rookie shooting guard Courtney Lee got his first career start against the Wizards, and it was a rude awakening. Lee held Butler to 0-for-5 shooting in the first half, but the third quarter was all Butler. In the third quarter, Caron handed it to him, Van Gundy said. Caron is a hell of a player. Thats how I would assess it. Orlando center Dwight Howard had his league-leading 25th double-double, with 15 points and 16 rebounds. Jameer Nelson added 14 points for the 27-8 Magic, who rebounded from their loss at Toronto on Sunday. Antawn Jamison scored 13 for the Wizards, who fell to 0-3 against Orlando this season. Orlando opened the fourth quarter hitting only three of its first 15 shots as the Wizards drew within 83-80 in the final two minutes. Nelson hit a basket and Howard made a pair of free throws with 34 seconds left to seal the game. Butler had 21 points in the third quarter, three short of tying Bryants Magic opponent record set in 2004. Butler made 12 of 19 in the second half. The solution? He said he just needed to figure out that the double-team was coming from the baseline. In the first half they threw a lot of different things at me, Butler said. Stan Van Gundy is a former coach of mine (at Miami). He was getting me out of my sweet spots...

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