Magic are coming out strong again this season, Miami better not take too long to figure this ‘Big Three’ thing out or they may find themselves in a deep hole behind the Magic and Celtics in the East….
Dwight Howard had 23 points and 10 rebounds to lift the Magic to an easy 112-83 victory over the Washington Wizards in the debut of No. 1 pick John Wall on Thursday night, giving the NBA’s newest arena a grand opening and setting the stage for a sizzling Sunshine State series showdown.
After months of talk, Superman and all his sidekicks finally have a chance to make a real statement.
Some couldn’t even wait another night.
“Honestly, I’m sick of listening every hour about Miami—Miami that, how great they are, how big they are, what kind of record they gonna have,” said backup center Marcin Gortat(notes), who had eight points and seven rebounds. “I get every day interviews back in Poland, people calling me about Miami, Miami, what you think about Miami? What you think about Big Three? I’m going to say the same thing: they are a great team, they have three superstars, they got a couple good role players on the team.
“They looking good on the paper, but they got to start winning.”
One thing is for sure: Orlando has looked real good.
Vince Carter had 18 points and Jameer Nelson scored 16 to help the Magic cruise to another blowout victory after a perfect preseason. And it didn’t seem to matter what the league’s most-anticipated rookie did.
Wall had 14 points and nine assists—much of it in cleanup duty—on 6 for 19 shooting in his first meaningful professional game. He showed flashes of stardom but became just another spectator on an emotional night in Orlando.
“It was tough,” Wall said. “It’s really telling me what I need to work on, but I already know. But as a team aspect, we have a lot we need to work on.”
Orlando’s opening night couldn’t have gone smoother.
A standing-room only crowd of 18,918 even brought out Tiger Woods from his Orlando-area home—once a regular at Magic games—for the first time since his sex scandal last year. Magic All-Star center Dwight Howard took the microphone to thank fans before the game, and NBA Commissioner David Stern endured a long shower of boos before he proclaimed that there’s no arena “better than this facility in the world.”
Magic owner Rich DeVos then walked to center court, a cane in his right hand and a team official balancing him on the left, and gave a teary-eyed speech seeing the Amway Center finally realized.
“This is a Magic building. But it’s your community center. It’s your place for many adventures to take place,” said DeVos, 84, his voice quivering. “So we know that this place will be a place of comfort and joy, and that everybody who comes here will be honored and loved and cherished.”
The Magic didn’t exactly give the same comfort to the visitors.
Read more details via AP on Yahoo.com
