Nets Spoil Magic’s Attempt to Secure 2nd Seed

Just a couple of games left in the season, the Orlando Magic suffered untimely setbacks when they visited New Jersey. The 12^th place Nets defeated the visiting Magic 103-93 and extinguished their hopes of grabbing the second spot n the east. Aside from sliding down to the 3^rd seed, the Magic also saw Hedo Turkoglu limping out of the court with a sprained ankle.

The Nets displayed a different starting five and fielded three rookies in the starting line-up. Brook Lopez, Ryan Anderson and Chris Douglas-Roberts were given chance to play since the Nets were already out of playoff contention. The three rookies combined for 32 points. Vince Carter led the game with 27 points and nine assists while Keyon Dooling added 12 points and ten assists.  The Nets played without point guard Devin Harris who was nursing a shoulder injury.

Turkoglu had team-high 16 points before leaving limping out of the game in the final period. Magic big man Dwight Howard only had 7 points and eight rebounds in 26 min of play. Tony Battie and Rafer Alston had 14 and 13 points respectively.

New Jersey will face the Charlotte Bobcats and New York Knicks for their final two games while Orlando will close their season with games against Milwaukee Bucks and Bobcats.

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Nets Rally Past Suns Behind Devin Harris’ 47 Points

Devin Harris exploded with 47 points and led the New Jersey Nets for a win on the road against the Phoenix Suns. It was their second straight road win and their first in Phoenix (US Airways Center) since their visit there in 1993.

(photo credit: yahoo sports/getty images/barry gossage

Harris topped his previous career-high of 38 points when he poured 47 points against the Suns, including 21 in the final period. Harris also finished with 7 rebounds and 8 assists. He went 14-25 from the field and 17-17 from the foul line.

The Suns was led by Steve Nash with 26 points and 9 assists. Amare Stoudemire racked up 25 points and 12 rebounds before getting ejected late in the fourth. Matt Barnes and Raja Bell added 18 and 13 points respectively.

Vince Carter added 28 points for the visiting Nets while rookie Brook Lopez had 12 points and 7 rebounds.

The New Jersey Nets are 9-7 in the Atlantic while Phoenix Suns are 11-7 in the Pacific.

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Greg Oden Debuts In Front Of Home Crowd

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After a year of delay, Gren Oden finally had the chance to play in front of his home-crowd in Portland when the Trailblazers faced the Chicago Bulls. Oden entered the game late in the first quarter and helped his team win against the visiting Bulls 116-74. In just 18 minutes of game time, Oden posted a decent 11 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks stat line.

Brandon Roy scored 20 points for the Blazers while Joel Przybilla added 14 points, 9 rebounds and three blocks.

It was an ugly game for the Bulls as they couldn’t find their rhythm. Only three Bulls scored in double figures. Andres Nocioni led his team with 13 points while Ben Gordon and Drew Gooden chipped in 11 points apiece. Luol Deng missed the game due to a groin injury.

The Blazers simply outplayed the visiting Bulls as shown in stat sheets. The Bulls were outscored in every quarter. The Blazers shot over 50 percent (42-83) from the field compared to Bulls’ 28-81. The home team also did better in the rebound (49-33) and assist (24-13) departments.

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