[Orlando, FL] Coming into tonight’s contest off an impressive win – not to mention winners of 7 out of their last 9 games – the Orlando Magic (19-11) figured tonight couldn’t be too big of a challenge considering they had just skinned their opponents the Milwaukee Bucks (12-17) earlier in the week week, 99-94.

Thanks to 31 points from Jason Richardson and good team basketball, Orlando took control of the game late last time and brought home the W.

But would the Bucks – led by a highly skilled, yet largely headed young point guard by the name of Brandon Jennings – steal a win in O-Town on Friday night?

Coming out of the gates faster than Barbaro at the 2006 Preakness Stakes (too soon?), the Bucks took an early 11-5 lead thanks to none other than Mr. Jennings himself. Congrats, Brandon, you almost scored as many points in the first five minutes as you did the whole last game against the Magic; making everyone proud.

On the other hand, the Magic came out completely flat and looking discombobulated. The closest thing to a bright spot for the Magic in the first quarter was Dwight Howard recording 6 points. After one, the Bucks led 27-15, with Jennings putting up 8.

The second quarter was a different story as Ryan Anderson came alive, tossing in 8 points in the first 6 minutes. But the Magic just couldn’t get within 10 on a consistent basis thanks to solid team play by Milwaukee.

Everyone was contributing for the Bucks with the exception of Jon Leuer. Jon? Jon? Where are you? After starting the season looking like a solid prospect, he has done nothing impressive as of late.

Photo: Orlando Magic

Dwight Howard has a monster game for the Orlando Magic

But after being down 39-28, the engines finally started turning for the Magic, and they ended the half on a 16-7 run. The score at the break was Milwaukee Bucks 46, Orlando Magic 44. Leading the way for the Bucks: Ersan Ilyasova (where do they find these people at?) with 11 points.

The leader for the Magic was Superman with 14. Thanks Dwight for finally showing up again!

The third started with the Magic coming out and tying it up quick at 52 a piece. From that point though, Milwaukee went Buck-wild, going on a 14-4 run and building a 10-point lead. The culprit? “Big Head” Jennings. He actually remembered what the hoop looked like in this game. Imagine that.

But just like the Bucks, the Orlando Magic went on a little 16-8 run of their own, closing the gap and earning a score of 74-72 heading into the fourth. Leading the Magic through three was Mr. Anderson with 22 points. Still leading the Bucks after three was the mighty Ilyasova, who had 14.

Aww yes, the fourth quarter. Where boys become men and teams like the Milwaukee Bucks fall apart at the seams. We’ve seen this movie before as this is the same point in the game that the Magic took control in their last meeting with Milwaukee.

Time for the sequel: Led by no one particular, the Magic took control getting contributions from everyone, playing great team ball. They outscored the suddenly hapless Bucks 22-11 in quarter number four and notched another victory, with a final score of 94-85.

Leading the way for Orlando was D12 with 26 points and 20 boards (nice!). Also in double figures were Ryan Anderson with 23 points and 9 boards, Hedo Turkoglu with 14, J.J. Redick (11) and Jameer Nelson with 10. Decent play all around, fellas.

The Bucks were led by Carlos Delfino with 16. They also had three players who finished with 14 each (Shaun Livingston, Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova).

Mike’s Pick

The Orlando Magic play their next game this Sunday in Miami against the Heat. Coming into this match-up, Miami is on a 5-game win streak and I’m going to expect for it to continue to 6. Not that I don’t think the Magic couldn’t beat Miami in a 7-game series, but the Heat are 12-2 at home this year and are playing unbelievable ball right now.

The last time the two teams met, both LeBron James and Chris Bosh had off nights, so don’t expect that to happen again.

My Prediction: Heat 104, Magic 96

Position Advantage:

PG: Magic

SG: Heat

SF: Heat

PF: Slight Heat

C: Magic

Bench: Magic

Note: Hitting 3 out of my first 4 picks this season, let’s see how things keep going!

By: Mike Yesenko/Sunshine Slate

Image: Orlando Magic

Orlando Magic

[Milwaukee, WI] After blowing-out both the Washington Wizards and Atlanta Hawks on the road, the Miami Heat were properly prepared to face the Milwaukee Bucks – the only team in the NBA this season to hand the Heat two losses. In both of those losses, the Bucks ran away with the game in the fourth quarter.

Miami was bound and determined to not let history repeat itself (for a third time).

In the first quarter, both teams went back and forth playing some pretty good ball. For the Heat, LeBron James scored 7 points while Dwyane Wade scored 8. For the Bucks, Carlos Delfino had the hot hand, scored 10 points, six of them coming from the three-pointers. At the end of the quarter, the Heat were up 30-27.

James and Wade dominated the second quarter, both combining to score 16 points. Yet the Bucks kept it close, even taking the lead. However, in the last 6 minutes of the half, the Heat went on a 20-9 run to re-take the lead and give them a 5-point cushion going into halftime.

At the midway point, the Miami Heat were up 55-50.

As if on cue, the Heat pretty much ran away with the game in the third, outscoring the Bucks 35-24. LeBron netted 14 points and Mario Chalmers scored 10. There seemed to be nothing the Bucks could do to get back in the game. At the end of the quarter, the Heat were up 90-74.

Feeling that another blow-out victory was at hand, the Heat’s bench came in and closed out the Bucks, not giving up any ground. The game ended with the final score of Heat 114, Bucks 96.

LeBron James scored 35 points and had 8 rebounds. Dwyane Wade scored 22 points and also had 5 rebounds. These two guys are simply playing fantastic basketball right now.

“We took last night like it was its own game and we did the same thing tonight,” said James. “Now we move on to Indiana to close it out.”

The Miami Heat … starting to play like a championship team. Next up: Indiana tonight and Cleveland on Friday, both road contests.

By: Michael Tristani II/Sunshine Slate

Image: LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heat dunks against (L-R) Ersan Ilyasova #7 and Mike Dunleavy #17 of the Milwaukee Bucks on February 13, 2012 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Copyright 2012 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

Miami Heat

[Milwaukee, WI] Traveling to Milwaukee to take on the Bucks (12-14), the Orlando Magic (16-11) had to try to get the sour taste of defeat out of their mouths after last night’s OT loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

But a sour taste is something that Bucks fans – and the entire team, for that matter – are trying to avoid after comments made by their emerging star player Brandon Jennings earlier in the week.

Uh oh, trouble in cheese town?

“I am going to keep my options open, knowing that the time is coming up,” said the 22-year-old Jennings. “I’m doing my homework on big market teams.”

Way to endear yourself to the fans, Brandon.

The Bucks have been blessed over the past decade-and-a-half with some pretty talented guards. With the likes of Ray Allen and Michael Redd – two top notch gentlemen of the game – they have never had to deal with such a prima donna getting waaaaay ahead of themselves.

Jennings, who skipped his senior year of high school to play professionally in Europe for a season, entered the 2009 NBA draft instead of attending a year of college. But so far, he has backed up his big mouth with big action, averaging 18.9 points and 5.3 assists this season. But could he keep it up tonight against the Magic?

Coming out of the gate strong, the Magic took an early 7-0 advantage, thanks to 5 quick points from “Mr. Convenient” himself, Ryan Anderson. But as quick as you could say Mbah a Moute, the Magic found themselves in an 11-7 hole, as the Bucks went on a little 11-0 run.

Photo: Gary Dineen/NBAE/Getty Images

Orlando Magic players Hedo Turkoglu and Glen Davis sandwich Milwaukee’s Ersan Ilyasova

Leading the way for the Bucks in the first was Mike Dunleavy, who had 8 points. At the end of the first quarter, the score was Milwaukee 21, Orlando 16.

Heading into the second, the Orlando Magic found themselves again in a hole, this one 5 points deep. And they would stay there for almost the entire quarter. Coming alive off the Magic bench was J.J. Redick, who decided to join the party and put up 10 points in the quarter and 12 for the half.

It was a back and forth affair with the Magic putting up 27 points to the Bucks 28 for the quarter. Something that we don’t see very often: Dwight Howard was outscored by Bucks big man (and former Magician) Drew Gooden, 5 to 8.

The score at the half: Milwaukee Bucks 49, Orlando Magic 43.

The second half started out with a bang as Orlando’s Jason Richardson came down and hit a three pointer putting the score at 46-49. And he was just getting started. After only scoring 3 points in the first half, someone decided to tell him he was on TV and in front of friends and family. He scored 16 points in the third quarter alone.

After going scoreless for nearly 21 minutes, Brandon “Big Mouth” Jennings decided to show up for the Bucks, albeit briefly. He put up a measly 5 points in the quarter, giving him 7 for the game. I guess no one told him that you actually have to play four quarters to get a max contract in the league (note: not completely true).

Photo: Orlando Magic

Ta da: Orlando Magic star of the night, J-Rich

After three, the score was Milwaukee 73, Orlando 72.

The fourth quarter was both ugly and a thing of beauty, all at once. It was really a tale of two halves, or of a quarter (which would just be two-eighths, but who’s counting?).

In the first six minutes the Magic were outscored 15-6, putting the Bucks up by 10, and the score at 88-78. But then J-Rich – the Magic’s savior as of late – stepped up and hit four three-pointers in the final 4:55, the last of the bunch giving the Magic a 94-88 lead.

And that’s all the Orlando Magic needed to pull of a tough win on the road. The final score was Orlando 99, Milwaukee 94.

Leading the way for the Magic was Jason Richardson with 31 points and 4 rebounds. D12 had a poor night, adding 11 points and 14 rebounds while Hedo Turkoglu came up big with 19 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. The leading scorer off the Magic bench was Redick, who finished with 14.

The top point-getter for the Milwaukee Bucks was none other than Drew Gooden, recording 21 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists against the best defensive player in the league. He was actually impressive, but over the years he has never been able to deliver those kind of performances consistently.

Also in double figures for the Bucks were Ersan Ilyasova with 17 points and 16 rebounds, Mike Dunleavy with 14 points and Carlos Delfino (12 points, 5 rebounds).

MIKE’S PICK

The Orlando Magic play the Minnesota Timberwolves (13-15) next at home on Monday. The T-Wolves are greatly improved over last year, but still in need of some serious help. They are coming off a two point loss to the Knicks, so I expect this game to be close.

My Prediction: Orlando 97, Minnesota 91

Game Notes: Look for this game to come down to a battle of the big men: Kevin Love versus Dwight Howard. Whoever has the best night will likely lead their team to victory. After seeing early NBA Rookie of the Year candidate Kyrie Irving last week, we get our first look at the only man capable of challenging him, Ricky Rubio.

Rubio could potentially cause some match up problems for the Magic. Yes, I am talking about you Jameer Nelson.

Position Advantage:

PG – Minnesota
SG – Magic
SF – Magic
PF – Minnesota
C – Magic
Bench – Even

By: Mike Yesenko/Sunshine Slate

Lead photo: Orlando Magic

Orlando Magic

[Milwaukee, WI] Milwaukee seems to have Miami’s number.

The last time the Heat and Bucks met, the Bucks fully dominated the Heat in what was Miami’s most sluggish and worst offensive performance of the year. But on Wednesday night, the Miami Heat came out of the gate on fire at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

This was probably the best first quarter in Heat history and one of the best in LeBron James‘ career. The team shot a dizzying 82% from the field, making 14 out of 17 shots. Simply incredible.

James scored a whopping 24 points himself, making 8 out of 9 shots. Dwyane Wade also scored 6 points. At the end of the first quarter, the Heat were up – way up – 40-23. But you knew it couldn’t last … or how far they could fall.

The Bucks made somewhat of a comeback in the second, but the Heat were able to keep Milwaukee at bay. The Heat only managed 20 points in the quarter, with most of the points coming from Mario Chalmers and D-Wade. At halftime, the score was Miami Heat 60, Milwaukee Bucks 47.

In the third, the Bucks came back. They went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead down to 5. Both teams were going back and forth throughout the quarter. Brandon Jennings helped bring the Bucks back after a miserable first half of play. Milwaukee outscored the Heat 29-19 in the third.

At the end of three, the Heat were up 79-76.

The Bucks dominated the entire final quarter. Miami could barely hit their shots. After such a blistering start, the Heat were outscored 58-37 in the second half – they actually scored more points in the first quarter than they did in the entire second half!

The final score was Milwaukee Bucks 105, Miami Heat 97.

For Milwaukee, Jennings went off in the second half, scoring 31 points in the game in the winning effort. Miami’s LeBron James scored 40 points, but that load of points came in a stinging defeat.

“We tried to make too many aggressive plays,” James said. “We also had some good looks and couldn’t knock them down.”

Miami’s head coach was a little more big picture in his assessment.

“What that second half showed, is we still have a long way to go as a ball club,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “It can go the other way quickly if you don’t stay close to your identity.”

The Milwaukee Bucks are now the first team this season to defeat the Miami Heat twice. The Heat now have 16 wins and 6 losses.

The Miami heat meet the Philadelphia 76ers of Friday.

By: Michael Tristani II/Sunshine Slate

Image: Miami Heat/Gary Dineen/NBAE/Getty Images

Miami Heat