Hedo It In Overtime Magic Win 112-110

Ben Gordon scored a game high 39 points but Hedo Turkoglu hit a game winning basket with :007 left in overtime as the Orlando Magic won a New Year’s Eve afternoon game against the Chicago Bulls Monday 112-110. Gordon had tied the game at 110-110 when he hit a trey with 6.7 seconds left in the extra period, but Hedo got his shot off over Bulls center Ben Wallace to give Orlando the win. The game was close throughout the contest as it featured 12 ties, and the lead changed hands 13 times.

Bulls took the lead at the end of the first quarter 30-29, and extended it at the half to 55-48. But Orlando came storming back in the third quarter, to grab a 2 point lead at the end of the quarter 77-75. The Bulls were ahead 96-93, when Jameer Nelson tied the game with less than a minute left as he went 3-4 at the line. Both teams had final chances to win the game in regulation but came up short. The Bulls had a 107-106 lead in the overtime period, when Jameer Nelson put the Magic ahead 108-106 with a layup, with less than 27 seconds left in the period. Keith Bogans was fouled and hit both free throws to put Orlando up ahead 110-107, and then Gordon tied the game with the trey, setting the stage for Turkoglu’s heroics.

Nelson led Orlando coming off the bench shooting 8-15 from the floor, 5-7 from the line for 22 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds. Rashard Lewis scored 19 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, Dwight Howard had a double-double 17 points, and an incredible game high 22 rebounds, 5 blocks, 3 steals, 2 assists. Turkoglu scored 17 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, Bogans scored 14 points, 4 rebounds, and Carlos Arroyo scored 14 points, 4 assists.

Gordon had his third monster game in a row since switching to coming into the game off the bench. Gordon shot 16-27 from the floor, 3-5 from outside the arc, 4-4 at the line, for his game high 39 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal. Luol Deng scored 21 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists, Andres Nocioni scored 19 points, 4 boards, 1 block, 1 assist. Veteran Joe Smith had another nice game for Chicago scoring 16 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, Kirk Hinrich had a double-double 10 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds, 1 steal. Ben Wallace again was not a scoring machine scoring just 2 points, but he did his job grabbing 12 rebounds, 3 blocks, 3 steals, 3 assists. Orlando has won four games in a row, now have a record of 22-11, while Chicago lost it’s first game under interim head coach Jim Boylan are now 11-18.