MILWAUKEE – The Orlando Magic led by 16 after the first quarter and by 30 at halftime, cruising to a 106-80 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night at the Bradley Center.
Orlando finished the first quarter on a 24-7 run, led by Dwight Howard who scored the final 10 points during that stretch. Howard already had 18 points and six rebounds at the end of the first quarter.
“We really didn’t compete at all,” Bucks Coach Scott Skiles said after the game. “We weren’t anywhere near ready and that’s my responsibility.”
Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva added, “The way we played today wasn’t acceptable at all. We came out flat from the start of the game. They’re a very good ballclub and you dig yourself a hole like that and it’s very tough to come out of it.”
Villanueva led the Bucks with 17 points, but along with the rest of the starters, did not play at all in the fourth quarter.
Milwaukee entered tonight’s game coming off a huge win over the defending champion Boston Celtics on Sunday, but Coach Skiles noticed a pattern from his team following wins this season.
“This year a little bit what we’ve done is followed up a big win with a celebratory attitude and sometimes it’s spilled over into the next game,” Skiles said in his post-game press conference. “We had tremendous difficulty yesterday in practice getting any focus and it carried over into tonight.”
The loss by the Bucks, accompanied by back-to-back wins by the Chicago Bulls, has placed Milwaukee a game and a half behind Chicago for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. And with 12 games remaining on the schedule, the Bucks will face Orlando another two times as the team vies for the post-season.
“We’re still on a mission,” Villanueva said. “Still trying to accomplish, trying to go to the playoffs. We’ll remember this loss, and whenever we play them (Orlando) again, we’ll try to come out and have a chip on our shoulder.”
Richard Jefferson scored 13, and Dan Gadzuric and Luke Ridnour each added 10 points off the bench. Ramon Sessions had a team-high seven rebounds and five assists.
Dwight Howard had a game-high 28 points and 12 rebounds en route to his 53rd double-double of the season. Howard ranks second in the league in double-double’s, and is now only one behind New York’s David Lee.
Hedo Turkoglu added 14 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists for the Magic. Rashard Lewis and rookie Courtney Lee also each chipped in 13 points.
Orlando improves to 50-18 on the season, and is now only a half-game back of the Boston Celtics for the second seed in the East.
Milwaukee drops to 31-39 overall, and to 2-3 on its current season-long six-game home stand. The team has the next two days off before hosting the Portland Trailblazers on Saturday night to close out the home stand.
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