Tuesday, October 7 2008 -- The Atlanta Hawks defeated Orlando Magic by a score of 118-101 in the preseason opener for both teams in October 2008. At halftime, Magic was leading by a score of 51-49. However, in the third quarter Hawks led by a score of 45-30 and won the match.

Scorers for Hawks

Acie Law and Maurice Evans, both of whom are reserve guards, scored 20 and 17 points respectively. In the third quarter, this duo put in 20 points, during which Law hit a running 60-footer. Just before half-time, in the final minute, he made a free throw and hit a three to reduce the lead of Magic. After the previous season, Evans had left Magic as a free agent to join the Hawks.

Scorers for Magic

The leading scorer for Magic was Rashard Lewis who made 22 points. Dwight Howard, the Olympian, managed 8 blocks, 5 rebounds and 17 points. His block total matches his regular season best. As Howard won the Olympic gold medal in Beijing, he came in this camp after taking a vow to lead the league in blocked shots and rebounding. He had completed just 59 percent of the free throw shooting in the previous year and hence he avoided making public proclamations about these. Still in the match against Hawks, he hit five out of six tries. Mickael Pietrus, who is a free agent signee, scored four out of the first six points of Magic. These points were comprised of a long jumper and a driving dunk. In the first quarter, seven points were scored by J.J. Redick.