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The Orlando Magic rejected Brook Lopez in the off-season, and he responded tonight by rejecting three of their shots as the Nets easily defeated the Magic in Orlando.
Lopez set the tone right away. On the Nets' first possession, he ripped an offensive rebound from Magic center Nikola Vucevic and banked in a layup. By the end of the 1st quarter, Lopez had 11 points and 6 rebounds. He ended the game with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks in only 24 minutes.
In the 2nd, The Nets' bench began to pull away from the out-manned Magic. They got big contributions from C.J. Watson, Andray Blatche and the surprising Jerry Stackhouse, who put up 11 points in the 1st half - more than in any game he played last season.
"Our bench came in and really dominated for us." said coach Avery Johnson.
The Magic came out strong in the 2nd half, cutting the Nets' 14 point halftime lead to 7. However, the Nets' defense stiffened, and Deron Williams and the starters went on a 11-0 run - holding Orlando scoreless for over five minutes and sending the game to garbage time.
"Basketball is a game of confidence." said Stackhouse, "We did a lot of things right tonight, especially on the defensive end."
In winning, the Nets broke a 10-game losing streak to the Magic and a 15-game losing streak in the state of Florida. It was the second worst home loss in Magic history, one point less than a 40-point, 121-81 loss to the Pistons on Jan. 26, 1991, Orlando's second season in the NBA
Quick Notes:
- Deron Williams continues to be efficient, scoring 12 points on 8 shots and constantly looking to get his teammates going.
- Reggie Evans received a Flagrant 1 foul for whacking Gustavo Ayon in the head in the 3rd quarter.
- Joe Johnson had another rough shooting night, going 5-11. However he led the team with a +24 and looked very active defensively.
- The Nets had five players in double digits and 13 players scored in the game.
- Nets at Magic - Box Score - NBA.com
- Nets vs. Magic (Video) - NBA.com
- Driving Dunk - Toko Shengalia (Video) - NBA.com
- Notebook: Nets 107, Magic 68 - Dick Scanlon - NBA.com
- Avery Johnson discusses the big win over the Magic (Video) - YES Network
- Brook Lopez talks about the Nets' big win (Video) - YES Network
- Jerry Stackhouse talks about his season debut (Video) - YES Network
- Nets vs. Magic - Game 4 - Ben Couch - Brooklyn Nets
- Nets Restore Confidence With Blowout Win Over Magic - Howard Beck - New York Times
- After bumpy week, Nets enjoy rout - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
- Lopez in role of Superman - Kevin Kiernan - New York Post
- Rapid Reaction: Nets 107, Magic 68 - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
- Big men dominate, Nets run past Magic 107-68 - Kyle Hightower - Associated Press
- Lopez dominates in limited minutes, Stackhouse shines in Nets debut - Stefan Bondy - NY Daily News
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Stackhouse looks spry with big second quarter - Stefan Bondy - NY Daily News
- Nets bounce back in big way, crush Magic by 39 points - Rod Boone - Newsday
- Mirza Teletovic: The European Learning Curve - Scott Cacciola - Wall Street Journal
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Lopez said he didn’t let talk about possibly going to Orlando bother him. - Chris Tomasson via Sulia
- Nets Rebound in Florida - Jonah Mars - From Russia With Dunk
- Brooklyn Nets crush the Orlando Magic 107-68 - Josh Robbins - Orlando Sentinel
- Brook Lopez is staying in touch with former Ryan Anderson - Josh Robbins - Orlando Sentinel
- Magic have to find a way to stop losing streak - Brian Schmitz - Orlando Sentinel
- Net result for Brooklyn: No Dwight - Brian Schmitz - Orlando Sentinel
- Magic vs. Nets four-factors analysis - Evan Dunlap - Orlando Pin-Striped Post