|
|
 |
 |
|
| |
Tuesday, Feb. 29 7:30pm ET
Mercer 'arrives' in Orlando | |||||
|
| ||||||
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
 GAME FLOW
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- It's safe to say Ron Mercer's comfort level has finally arrived from Denver. Mercer, who was obtained by Orlando in a Feb. 1 trade with the Nuggets, finally showed what he is capable of by scoring 27 points to help the Magic break a five-game losing streak in beating Seattle 103-94. It was the most points in a Magic uniform for Mercer, who made clutch plays with two baskets in the final 1:16 to hold off a late Seattle charge. "I never knew it was going to be this difficult getting traded to a team in the middle of the year," Mercer said. "You have to adjust. It's a lot more difficult than people expect. It's a lot more difficult than what I expected but it's starting to come." Magic coach Doc Rivers agrees but was most pleased by how Mercer took control. "The thing I liked about Mercer's game tonight was he missed a couple of shots early but down the stretch he was on the floor and basically telling guys to 'get out' and 'put it on my shoulders,' " Rivers said. "That's really nice when you have a guy who does that and then makes the shots. We needed that and it really came at a great time. We really needed this win." Seattle cut Orlando's lead to 99-92 on a layup by Gary Payton with 1:37 left, but Mercer responded with consecutive jump shots to end the rally and give Orlando its first victory since Feb. 16. Orlando shot 51 percent as six players scored in double figures. Armstrong scored 18 points, Pat Garrity 14, John Amaechi and Monty Williams had 11 each and Chucky Atkins chipped in 10. The Magic held a double-digit lead for most of the second half until Payton made a 3-pointer with 7:47 left to cut the Magic's lead to 93-84. Neither team scored for nearly two minutes until Lewis hit a basket to make it 93-86. Armstrong followed with a jumper before Brent Barry made a technical foul shot to cut the deficit to 95-87. Atkins followed with consecutive baskets to put Orlando ahead 99-87 with 3:02 remaining. Vin Baker hit a 3-pointer and Payton made another shot to close it to 99-92. But that's when Mercer took over as Seattle lost for the second time in its last three games. "You can look at all kinds of things," Seattle coach Paul Westphal said. "We missed nine free throws and we lose by nine points. Nobody tries to miss shots but last game Emanual (Davis) made all of his 3-pointers and this game he missed them all (0-for-7). "You throw in a couple of 3-point shots, make a few more free throws and this game goes right down to the wire, so I'm not really upset about the way we played. But I know we can play much better." Payton had 29 points, including 25 in the second half. Baker scored 19 points and Barry and Lewis had 13 each. Horace Grant, making his return to Orlando for the first time since an offseason trade, had six points and a game-high 10 rebounds. The Magic led by as many as 10 in the first quarter and 19 in the second. Seattle ended the first half on a 10-3 run but still trailed 57-45 as it shot 40 percent.
Game notes | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Seattle Clubhouse Orlando Clubhouse RECAPS Indiana 115 Detroit 105
Orlando 103
  | |||||