DESPITE HILL, CLIPPERS COME UP WITH SOME MAGIC OF THEIR OWN CLIPPERS 92, ORLANDO 80.Byline: Sean Kearns Staff Writer In many ways the Clippers are a younger version of the Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic is a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. They play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). History Early years The Orlando Magic officially entered the NBA as an expansion franchise in 1989. . Clipper coach Alvin Gentry Alvin Gentry is an American professional basketball coach, and college basketball player, who has led three different NBA teams. He served as an interim coach for the Miami Heat at the end of the 1995 season, and later coached the Detroit Pistons and the Los Angeles Clippers. has compared Lamar Odom Lamar Joseph Odom (born November 6 1979, in South Jamaica, Queens, New York) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays power forward (also plays both forward spots and is a "point-forward") for the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Lakers. to Grant Hill and the Clippers hope that Darius Miles Darius LaVar Miles (born October 9, 1981 in Belleville, Illinois) is an American professional basketball player for the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers. Miles attended East St. Louis High School, and, after failing to receive a qualifying SAT score to attend St. develops likes Tracy McGrady  The neutrality and factual accuracy of this article are disputed.Please see the relevant discussion on the . . On Monday night, Odom and Miles prevailed with a lift from Eric Piatkowski Eric Todd Piatkowski (pronounced IPA: /ˌpaɪətˈkaʊski/) (born September 30, 1970, in Steubenville, Ohio) is an American National Basketball Association player with the Phoenix Suns. to spoil the return of Hill to the Magic lineup in a 92-80 win before 9,135 at Staples Center. ``We were knocking down shots,'' Piatkowski said. ``We were getting out running. We were doing all the things coach normally asks us to do. We were sharing the ball out there.'' Odom got the Clippers offense going with eight assists to go with 17 points seven rebounds and four blocks. Miles, who had the flu, kept up the team's energy with an array of dunks, finishing with 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting. He also was a harassing presence on defense. Piatkowski finished with 15 points, hitting 6 of 11 from the field. Hill, who hadn't played since Nov. 3, finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists in 25 minutes. It was his third game in a Magic uniform after signing as a free agent in the offseason. Hill, who had surgery on his left ankle in April, missed 18 games for rehabilitation. McGrady averaged 34 points and nine rebounds over his last four games but struggled from the field finishing with 14 points on 7-of-23 shooting. The win broke a losing streak A Losing Streak is the third episode of series 2 of the BBC sit-com, Only Fools and Horses. It was first broadcast on 4 November 1982. Synopsis Del Boy, Rodney, and Grandad are making some sort of cheap perfume just to earn money after Del has been losing most of to the Magic at four games. The Clippers hadn't beaten the Magic at home since Dec. 15, 1993. With the return of Hill, the Clippers faced a daunting daunt tr.v. daunt·ed, daunt·ing, daunts To abate the courage of; discourage. See Synonyms at dismay. [Middle English daunten, from Old French danter, from Latin task. The Magic had won four straight. Gentry - who coached Hill in Detroit for nearly five years - joked before the game that Hill should sit out one more game. ``It'll be good to see him,'' Gentry said. ``I wish he wasn't playing.'' Hill didn't log major minutes but looked comfortable on the floor. The Clippers looked like a different team at home after finishing 1-5 on a six-game road trip. Instead of playing in peaks and valleys, the Clippers were consistent from start to finish. ``Tonight's game was a true test of the character of this team because in the NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= , when you come home from a long road trip, it's easy to make excuses when you lose,`` Gentry said. ``But we came out with a lot of energy and got the win.'' The key was a 30-6 run at the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth. Piatkowski completed the run with his second 3-pointer of the game to put the Clippers ahead 84-64, their largest lead of the game. The Clippers really came to life at the end of the third quarter. Sparked by alley-oop dunks by Miles, hustle plays from Piatkowski and suffocating suf·fo·cate v. suf·fo·cat·ed, suf·fo·cat·ing, suf·fo·cates v.tr. 1. To kill or destroy by preventing access of air or oxygen. 2. To impair the respiration of; asphyxiate. 3. defense, the Clippers outscored the Magic 16-1 over the last 6:34 of the third quarter to take a 70-59 lead. Miles' first alley-oop was barely a dunk. His legs were tangled with Magic point guard Darrell Armstrong. There was no question on the second dunk as Piatkowski tossed the ball underhanded to Miles. ``He wants to get out and run,'' Piatkowski said. ``He wants to get out and catch alley-oops. He just got out of high school, it's like he's playing in the playground.'' CAPTION(S): box Box: GAME RECAP |
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