Associated Press
ORLANDO, Fla. óItís not that Magic coach Stan Van Gundy doesnít believe some teams can flip a mental switch prior to the postseason. He just doesnít believe his team is one of them.
Dwight Howard had 26 points and 14 rebounds, Jameer Nelson added 15 points and the Magic did just enough for an 89-77 victory over the short-handed Charlotte Bobcats on Friday night. But with six games left in the regular season, Van Gundy knows his team is far from playoff-ready.
ěWe have to play at a higher level than we did to tonight. We have to,î Van Gundy said. ěWeíve got to start getting serious about it. … Weíre gonna hit the switch and have no power.î
Quentin Richardson also had 14 points off the bench for the Magic, who snapped a two-game losing streak by improving to 3-0 against the Bobcats this season. But many of the sluggish offensive tendencies that have plagued the Magic recently were still present against Charlotte, a concern for Magic team that has also been struggling with injuries lately.
The Bobcats, who began the night chasing Indiana for the Eastís final playoff spot, lost an opportunity to close the gap with just seven games to play. Dante Cunningham led Charlotte with 21 points and D.J. Augustin added 19.
The Magic were without reserve guards J.J. Redick, Gilbert Arenas and Chris Duhon, while the Bobcats played without starting forward Stephen Jackson, Tyrus Thomas and Shaun Livingston.
Bobcats coach Paul Silas said his teamís ability to compete despite the missing pieces is the biggest positive he took away from Fridayís loss.
ěThatís exactly whatís driving us, even with being as short-handed as we are,î said Silas, whose team fell two games back of the Pacers, an 89-88 winner over Milwaukee on Friday night. ěThese guys are still playing with teams that we can beat.î
Kwame Brown said the lack of Jacksonís presence made the biggest difference.
ěItís very big,î Brown said. ěThatís a 20-point scorer. He makes the defenses honest. They have to guard him. They packed in the paint on defense.î
The Bobcats shot just 45 percent for the game and 1 of 9 from the 3-point line.
Orlando took command of the game by doing the best job of overcoming the holes in its rotation. The Magic led by as many as 12 in the first half and took a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter. The Bobcats scored the first two baskets of the final period to get within 70-64, but a 12-2 spurt by the Magic made it 88-66 with under 5 minutes to play.
That effectively ended any hopes of a Charlotte comeback.