The Magic beat the Jazz 96-89 yesterday to "sweep their two-game homestand in Mexico City," completing the NBA's 28th game played in the country. Only the U.S. and Canada "have hosted more." Nine of the last 26 NBA games in Mexico "have been regular-season contests" (AP, 12/15). The Jazz were "warmly received" from the sellout crowd of 20,011 at Arena Ciudad de Mexico (DESERET NEWS, 12/16). An hour before tipoff, thousands of fans "were waiting in line for one hoops-related activity or another with the NBA’s marketing partners, with stations packed in all around the arena" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 12/16).
Jazz G Raul Neto "greeted the fans before the tip with a speech in their native Spanish, while the Magic’s Isaiah Briscoe made his team’s announcement in English." Fans "whistled when players were at the free-throw line and started a wave in the game’s final minutes" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 12/16). The Magic "did get occasional roars from the sellout crowds" in both yesterday's game and Thursday against the Bulls. The Mexico City games also "represented some of the largest crowds the Magic have seen all season," with both drawing more than 20,000. Prior to those games, the Magic's largest home crowd "was 19,249 on Nov. 17" against the Lakers (ESPN.com, 12/15).
