The Orlando Magic hope to remain perfect on the young
season on Tuesday, when they pay a visit to the Detroit Pistons at The Palace
of Auburn Hills.
The Magic improved to 2-0 on a three-game road swing Sunday in Toronto, where
Jameer Nelson and J.J. Redick each drilled five of Orlando's 17 three-pointers
to lead the team to a fast-paced 125-116 victory over the Raptors.
Nelson ended with 30 points while Redick, in the starting lineup due to an
injury to Vince Carter (ankle), tallied a career-high 27 points for the Magic,
who have won three straight to start the season.
"I'd like to have some consistency night to night," Redick admitted. "I didn't
have that the first two years [in the league]. Mentally it does makes a
difference."
Dwight Howard shook off a shoulder stinger he suffered in the second quarter
to finish with 24 points and 11 rebounds, while Ryan Anderson hit 5-of-8 from
beyond the arc for a 20-point effort in the win. Orlando finished 17-of-32
from three-point range.
Ex-Magic star and current Raptor Hedo Turkoglu had 19 points against his old
mates.
Carter could return Tuesday as the Magic shoot for their best start in team
history
The Pistons, meanwhile, dropped their second straight game on Saturday after
opening the season with a win. Rookie Brandon Jennings poured in 24 points as
the Milwaukee Bucks used a strong second half in that one to take down
Detroit, 96-85, in a battle between two Central Division foes
Ben Gordon ended with 26 points for the Pistons, who were coming off a loss to
Oklahoma City last Friday. Rodney Stuckey finished with 13 points, eight
assists, and six rebounds, while Tayshaun Prince and Charlie Villanueva had 12
points apiece in defeat.
"Those third quarters," said Villanueva. "It seems like we have control of the
game in the first half, it's exactly what happened against Oklahoma (on
Friday). It just seems like the third quarter, I don't know what it is, but it
seems like a team makes a run and we cant respond."
Pistons guard Richard Hamilton is expected to miss his third straight game
with a sprained left ankle.
Detroit swept a three-game season series between the two clubs a year ago and
has won nine of the past 10 games in the series played at The Palace.
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