Posted: January 5, 2011, 1:10 p.m. CT
By JEFF GRAYSON and TONY SMITH
FOX Sports Wisconsin
It's the Bucks' first trip to the new Amway Center, which we hear is a beautiful building. The Bucks were in the game for three quarters last night against the Heat, which has won 19 of 20. The Heat are No. 2 in the East and No. 4 in the NBA; the Magic are No. 4 in the East. The Heat showed respect for the Bucks in their postgame comments as well.
-- Bright spot from last night: attacking the basket. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and John Salmons in particular drove with authority. The result? The Bucks got to the line 20 times in the second quarter and took over the game for a short span.
-- Magic remade: teams make trades during the season, but Orlando's recent transaction flurry was almost an overhaul for a good team.
-- How do the Bucks deal with the Magic's offensive weapons while coming up with some scoring themselves? The Bucks had back-to-back 19-point quarters in the second half last night and just three players in double figures: Salmons 18, Bogut 16, Dooling 14.
MAGIC NOTES
-- They're coming off a 20-point win vs. Golden State. For the second straight night, the Bucks are facing a team on a six-game winning streak. Howard had 22 points and 17 rebounds -- granted it's Golden State, but eight Magic players scored in double figures. Jason Richardson had his best game since being traded to Orlando, scoring 20 points. Turkoglu posted a triple double: 10 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, along with 5 steals.
-- The Magic are 6-2 since two trades brought them four new players. They've averaged 103 ppg since the trade, while opponents are scoring 93.9 ppg. They also average four more assists per game since the deals.
-- Howard is averaging 21 ppg, 13 rpg and 2.4 bpg. Can Bucks rattle him? He's studying sign language because he leads NBA with 11 technicals. The Magic are hurting for depth inside since trading Gortat; Brandon Bass is key for them up front but he's battling a knee injury.
-- They're No. 6 in point differential at +5.03, No. 8 in FG % at .465, No. 6 in opponents FG % at .439. But they're second worst in FT % at .694.
-- The last time these teams met, on Dec. 4 in Milwaukee, the Bucks won 96-85. The Magic may want to try to show that the last game was a fluke; they had only eight healthy players because of a flu bug going through the team. Bogut had 31 points and 18 boards. Vince Carter led the Magic with 20 points.
Tony's 2 Cents
1. Attack Howard
