On 29th January 2009 (Thursday), Orlando Magic was victorious against Cleveland Cavaliers by a score of 99-88. It is well known that the Magic are excellent as an offensive team. Rashard Lewis, Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson and Hedo Turkoglu are imposing when it comes to offense. However, in this match it became obvious that their defense should be given an A+ grade. 
Nature of defense
This match was an authentic team effort from Orlando. The Cavaliers were restricted to 41 percent shooting from the field. LeBron James had a bad time of 10 of 27 and for Mo Williams the state was worse with 4 of 15. In this way, the two best scorers of Cleveland did not have an impressive opportunity at the basket and this shrunk the hopes of the team. The players of Orlando used their forearms and some hip-checks to prevent the players of Cleveland from penetrating successfully. Orlando nearly dared the officials to make calls. Whether the observers appreciate this method or not is another issue, but this is how several robust defensive teams keep guard. There is a tussle for each inch. Such a type of defense is frequently seen in the playoffs.
In the above mentioned match, the Cavaliers were leading by 56-55 at half time. Both rookie J.J. Hickson and Wally Szczerbiak were 5 of 5, when the game began. However, during half time, Stan Van Gundy (Orlando Magic’s coach) made some adjustments and after half time Hickson was 1 of 4 and Szczerbiak could take only 1 shot.