REDICK-ULOUS! Vince who? JJ Redick drops 27 on the Raps

MAGIC 125, RAPTORS 116 Man, it was a horrible day for Raptors fans.  First of all, Vince Carter didn't even play, so the fans didn't even get the chance to "boo" the crap out of Carter every time he touched the ball.  And second of all, the Raptors got killed with the three ball at the hands of who?  JJ Redick and Ryan Anderson.  The Magic had three key players out: Vince Carter (ankle...boo hoo), Pietrus (flu-like symptoms) and Rashard Lewis (suspension).  I don't know if the Raptors were hungover from the Jay-Z concert from the previous night, but the Raptors were asleep on perimeter defense yesterday afternoon.

The Magic nailed seventeen threes. Seventeen!  You'd figure after the first quarter where JJ Redick and Ryan Anderson nailed five of them, the Raptors would adjust.  But the Magic continued to barrage the Raps with three pointer after three pointer after three pointer, you get the drift.  But that's what makes the Magic such a successful team.  With a guy like Dwight Howard in the middle, you're forced to double on Howard or deal with the shooters on the outside.  And if those shooters get it going, good luck.  Just imagine when Carter, Rashard Lewis and Pietrus are back.  That's how the Orlando Magic got into the finals last year, a lot of it is based on strong outside shooting with teams double teaming Dwight Howard. 

After trailing most of the game, the Raps did make a run, thanks in part to Andrea Bargnani and Hedo Turkoglu (finishing 26 points and 19 points repectively) and got within four with five minutes to play.  Bosh was impressive again as he finished with 35 pts, 16 rebounds and 2 threes but the Raptors let some offensive boards get away late in the fourth resulting in the Raptor loss.

Key Notes:

• Ryan Anderson, JJ Redick and Jameer Nelson all had five threes
• JJ Redick's 27 pts was a career high
• Matt Barnes had a nice fantasy stat line: 12 pts, 2 threes, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 6 steals and 2 blocks
• Dwight Howard finished with a nice double double with 24 pts and 11 rebounds
• Orlando moves to 3-0, Raptors fall to 1-2
• For a Magic point of view, check out Third Quarter Collapse
• DeRozan Watch: 19 minutes, 8 pts, 3 boards

The Raptors are in Detroit on Wednesday.

Photo credit: (Photo by Ron Turenne/NBAE via Getty Images)