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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| JAZZ | 18 | 22 | 28 | 31 | 99 |
| MAGIC | 19 | 21 | 30 | 34 | 104 |
Recap:
ORLANDO (NBA.com exclusive) -- J.J. Reddick appears to be emerging as the difference maker the Orlando Magic have been waiting four years to see.
Redick scored 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter of Monday night's 104-99 victory over the Utah Jazz, playing so well that coach Stan Van Gundy couldn't take him out.
"I wanted Vince [Carter] back in the game and there was no way I was taking J.J. out," said Van Gundy, who had both of them on the floor for the final 5:20 as the Magic (21-7) pulled away from an 86-86 tie.
Paul Millsap, who also came off the bench, led the Jazz with a game-high 20 points and Andrei Kirilenko kept Utah in the game with three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. But Redick and Carter combined for 11 straight Magic points down the stretch and the Jazz, playing the fourth game of a five-game road trip, couldn't keep up.
Dwight Howard led the Magic with 21 points and five blocks and they scored 64 points in the second half.
"[Howard] is their bread and butter," said Deron Williams, who had 18 points and 11 assists for the Jazz. "We did a good job for 2 1/2 quarters in defending him and then they kind of went off at the end of the third quarter and we allowed a 30-point quarter. That cannot happen, especially on the road, and that set the tone for the rest of the game."
Redick, riding a wave of confidence, got another boost during the day in a conversation with Mike Krzyzewski, his former coach at Duke University.
"We were talking about . . . the thing I've realized this year is it's a continual process trying to get better," Redick said. "Not that I'm comparing myself to him by any means, but I think about a guy like Kobe Bryant, who is constantly mastering his craft. I think I'm better now at understanding the aggression that you've got to play with, balancing taking good shots and making plays with not forcing things."
Defensive shortcomings and bad shooting kept Redick on the bench -- often the end of the bench -- for most of his first three seasons in the NBA. But in the last 19 games he is shooting 56 percent, including 53 percent from 3-point range.
"He is playing with great confidence and with good reason," Van Gundy said. "Success breeds confidence and he's playing very well. On top of the confidence, the guy is just so focused and tough. He's on top of everything.
"He's a guy you can trust defensively and he plays with great energy offensively. I don't think he's the fastest guy on a sprint, but he runs down the floor better than anybody we have, comes off screeens harder."
The game included the return of Magic point guard Jameer Nelson and the ejection of point guard Jason Williams in the third quarter.
Nelson played 14 minutes and missed all six of his shots.
"I missed some easy shots and I turned some shots down, but I was just trying to get into some rhythm," said Nelson, who had surgery on a torn left meniscus on Nov. 18. "[The knee is] no problem at all. The surgery was successful and I worked my butt off to get back on the court."
He might even start Wednesday night against Houston, and either Jason Williams or Anthony will be out of the rotation.
"Which ever one of those guys sits down is gonna be extremely unhappy and with good reason because they've played well," Van Gundy said. "But for us, it's key to have all three of them because we have had injury problems."
After missing the second half of last season and the first three rounds of the playoffs while recovering from surgery on a torn right labrum, Nelson missed 16 more games this season.
The Jazz had broken the Magic's franchise-record eight-game road winning streak on Dec. 10 in Salt Lake City.
This marks the first time in the last five seasons their season series ended in a split.
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POSTGAME VIDEO:
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Preview:
(STATS) -- The Utah Jazz got a big game from Deron Williams and major contributions off the bench from C.J. Miles and Paul Millsap their last time out, helping put an ugly loss behind them with an impressive victory.
A nearly identical scenario unfolded the last time they faced the Orlando Magic.
The Jazz look for a third win in four games and a season sweep of the reigning Eastern Conference champions Monday night at Amway Arena, where the Magic seek their fifth straight victory.
Utah (16-11) beat lowly New Jersey 108-92 to open its five-game road trip Wednesday, but fell behind by 30 points after three quarters in an embarrassing 96-83 loss at Atlanta on Friday.
A trip to Charlotte, where the Bobcats were 9-3, followed the next night, but the Jazz redeemed themselves. Williams, who had just two points against the Hawks, had a team-high 23 points and 10 assists, and Miles and Millsap combined for 38 points off the bench in a 110-102 win.
"I'm proud of us for coming back and fighting like we did," said Carlos Boozer, who had 22 points and 11 boards after being held to six points in Atlanta. "We had to get back on the road and forget about last night. If you stay in a lull and just go out there you can lose three or four in a row."
Miles, meanwhile, had 20 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals, his best all-around game of a season in which he's still trying to get in a groove after missing the first five weeks due to left thumb surgery.
"I'm just out there playing hard and getting into the flow of the game," Miles said. "You can play a lot better when you allow yourself to get going. I came out and was able to get going."
Miles' best offensive game came against Orlando (20-7) on Dec. 10, when he scored a season-high 22. Boozer and Millsap combined for 34 points and Williams led the way with 32 points and 15 assists in a 120-111 win - one night after the Jazz had been blown out 101-77 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Magic led by as many as 18 midway through the second quarter before fading, a habit that coach Stan Van Gundy would like to see disappear.
"We jump out well, then relax and let everybody back in the game," Van Gundy said after the loss. "The difference is Utah is a better team."
Orlando had an embarrassing loss of its own from which to bounce back on Saturday. The Magic trailed by 29 after three quarters Thursday in a 104-86 loss at Miami, but got back on track against Portland despite struggling offensively. Orlando shot 42.1 percent and committed 19 turnovers, but outrebounded the Trail Blazers 54-35 in a 92-83 win, its fourth straight at home.
"Every team in this league will win when they're having a great offensive night, but what separates teams is when you can dig out wins when you're not having a good night,'' Van Gundy said. "I was really proud of how hard our guys defended and stayed on the boards."
Dwight Howard had 12 points and 20 boards, and the reigning defensive player of the year is averaging 24.5 points and 14.8 rebounds in his last six games against Utah.
Vince Carter, meanwhile, scored a season-high 34 points versus Utah but has averaged 13.4 points on 33.8 percent shooting in his past five games.
Carter, averaging 29.3 points in his last six games against the Jazz, was 1 of 14 from the field against Portland.
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Live Baseline Blog:
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Game Notes:
Dec. 21 vs. Utah: Orlando is 18-24 vs. Utah (11-10 at home, 7-14 at Utah) during regular season action, including 0-1 this season…The Magic went 2-0 last season against the Jazz...Orlando has won 10 of the last 16 regular season meetings overall...Orlando has won seven of the last 10 matchups at home and split the last eight in Salt Lake City…For last season’s stats and Magic career numbers vs. Utah… Dec. 10 @ Utah – Jazz 120, Magic 111: Vince Carter scored a season-high 34 points, but it wasn’t enough, as Utah defeated Orlando, 120-111 at EnergySolutions Arena. The loss snapped Orlando’s six-game overall winning streak and its team-record eight-game road winning streak. The Magic had an 18-point lead in the first half of the game, but the Jazz erased the deficit by outscoring the Magic during the third period, 38-21. Orlando trimmed a 16-point Utah lead back to eight in the final minute of the game, but could get no closer. Deron Williams led Utah with a season-high 32 points to go along with 15 assists and eight rebounds, while CJ Miles poured in a season-high 22 points off the bench.
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. JAZZ: 43 pts., Tracy McGrady (@ Orlando, 2-18-04)
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAGIC: 40 pts., Karl Malone (@ Orlando, 3-12-03)
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