Magic rout lowly Clippers behind reserve PG Johnson

While the mainstream sports media conveyed an air of panic following the potentially season ending injury to Orlando Magic All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson, the mood of the team was decidedly confident.  They knew that former College of Charleston standout Anthony Johnson was arguably the best backup at the position in the NBA and that their bigger concern was finding a backup for *him*.  Johnson made the most of his first starting assignment of the year, scoring 25 points and leading the Magic to an almost effortless 125-96 rout of the visiting Los Angeles Clippers.

There was little discernable drop-off in the team’s overall play without Nelson in the lineup, meaning that it was business as usual for Dwight Howard who posted yet another “double/double” with 12 points and 15 rebounds.  The Clippers made the strategic decision to pack the middle in an effort to contain Howard and challenge Johnson to beat them with his outside shooting—and the 11 year NBA veteran calmly did just that.  Hedo Turkoglu added 20 points with back up 2 guard Courtney Lee contributing 20 off the bench.   The humble Johnson downplayed his sizzling shooting night, crediting his big game to his opponent’s tactical misstep:

"The Clippers were allowing us wide-open jumpers. It's just a matter of stepping into them. ... It made it very easy for myself to step into wide-open shots and knock them down."

Johnson’s humility was again on display when he tried to temper expectations of similar performances every night out:

"Definitely not every night.  I'm not looking to produce like that night in and night out. If I did, I would be a starter in this league."

Magic coach Stan Van Gundy echoed his sentiments, but affirmed his confidence in the highly skilled Johnson:

"I don't think he's going to have many shooting nights like that, but he'll shoot it well. I'm surprised anybody has that kind of night, but I'm not surprised he can make shots."

The Clippers were simply overmatched in terms of talent and desire, not surprising for a team that has lost seven straight and 21 of their last 23 games.  Al Thornton was the lone bright spot for LA, leading all scorers with 27 points.  Marcus Canby added 12 points and 9 rebounds, while Eric Gordon and reserve Steve Novak posted double digit outings with 14 and 11 points respectively.  Afterwards, Clippers guard Baron Davis conceded that they were simply beaten by a better team:

"We just ran into a team that was hungry. They are just a great team. They do what they are supposed to. They play the same way [without Nelson]."

Orlando will travel to Indiana on Friday night before returning to Florida for a three game home stand against New Jersey, Denver and Charlotte.  The Clippers will play their next three games on the road, playing at Memphis on Friday, Atlanta on Saturday and heading to the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, NC to face the Bobcats on Tuesday.