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Second Look: Atlanta Hawks 84, Orlando Magic 81

April 29, 2011 at 11:25 pm 3 comments

AP Photo/John Amis

  • Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “The Orlando Magic face a long, uncertain offseason. Those months off will be filled with questions about how a season that started with such promise ended with such overwhelming disappointment. A team that advanced to the NBA Finals in 2009 and reached the Eastern Conference finals in 2010 didn’t go beyond the first round this year. This postseason ended Thursday night after the Magic fell 84-81 in Game 6 of their opening-round series to the Atlanta Hawks. [...] The series concluded, appropriately enough, on a pair of misfired 3-pointers. J.J. Redick missed a wide-open shot that would’ve tied the game with 3.9 seconds remaining — a shot he’d likely sink eight out of 10 times inside Amway Center’s gym. [...] The Magic had another chance to tie the score after Atlanta’s Al Horford collected the loose ball and stepped on the baseline with 1.8 seconds left. But Jason Richardson, playing on an injured left heel, put up a desperation heave that Hawks forward Josh Smith blocked easily. The final play set off a wild celebration inside Philips Arena, the same place where the Magic completed a second-round sweep of the Hawks last year.”

  • Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel: “The road of regression is complete. The Magic have come to a devastatingly depressing dead end. From NBA Finals two years ago to first-round losers Thursday night. They used to run with Lakers and Celtics; now they can’t even hang with the Hawks. So where do they go now after this devastating 84-81 season-ending loss to Atlanta? Where do they go now that they have become lost on this highway to nothingness? Team CEO Bob Vander Weide has already said nobody is getting fired and that he is happy with general manager Otis Smith and coach Stan Van Gundy. But as Van Gundy said before tipoff Thursday night, ‘Those votes of confidence are usually the kiss of death in this game.’ Of course, Van Gundy was joking even though this is not a joking matter. We are, after all, only talking about the future of the franchise here. And since it appears nobody else will take the fall, I guess I will. If Vander Weide needs a scapegoat, I’ll take the blame. I’ll volunteer to be fired – as long as I get Van Gundy’s $8 million buyout. It was me, after all, who provided the Hawks their fuel and fire heading into Game 6.”

  • John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com: “In a cruel, twisted sort of way, it was only fitting Thursday night that the biggest play of a game that ultimately ended the Orlando Magic’s season came down to an offensive rebound. As had been the case all night long, Atlanta got the rebound and the Magic didn’t. And because the Magic struggled on the boards early in the game and again at the end, their season abruptly ended in the first round – well short of the stated goal of winning a championship. When the Magic couldn’t corral an offensive rebound with 10 seconds to play in a one-point game, they were forced to foul Jamal Crawford, who buried two free throws. Orlando was left with a clear 3-point look by J.J. Redick to tie, but when the shot hit off the back iron, the stunned Magic were left to contemplate an 84-81 Game 6 defeat and a 4-2 loss in the series to the rival Hawks.”

  • Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post: “The Atlanta Hawks ended the Orlando Magic’s season Thursday night with an 84-81 victory in Game Six of their playoff series, and for the first time in four seasons, the Magic failed to advance to the second round of the playoffs. Joe Johnson scored 23 for Atlanta, while Jamal Crawford added 19, but their combined 16-of-41 shooting attests to the fact that the Hawks took this game for reasons apart from their offense. Indeed, the Hawks–the league’s second-worst offensive rebounding team in the regular season–snared 36.8 percent of their own misses Thursday night against a Magic team which led the league in defensive rebounding. As a result of the offensive boards and frequent misses, the Hawks finished the game with 12 more field-goal attempts than the Magic, which may have been the difference in a three-point game.”

  • Mark Bradley of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “They’d been the better team through four games, and then they lost Game 5 and folks started talking about how lousy they were. An Orlando Sentinel columnist called them the Birdbrains, which sounded a bit strange: If the Hawks were such plods, why were they still leading? The same scribe predicted the Magic, having won one game in a row, would outsmart the Hawks and win the series. And maybe if this were “Jeopardy” they would have. But this is basketball, and at last check MIT hasn’t been to the Final Four lately. And Orlando won’t be going to Round 2 of these NBA playoffs. The Atlanta Birdbrains will.”

  • Bret LaGree of Hoopinion: “The Atlanta Hawks took control of this game in the first quarter on the strength of the defense played by Jason Collins and Kirk Hinrich. Without the play of those two without the ball in their hands, Jamal Crawford and Marvin Williams don’t get a chance to make the jump shots that clinched the game for the Hawks (to the extent that Orlando missing open jump shots didn’t clinch the game for the Hawks). Hinrich didn’t just stifle Jameer Nelson when given the chance to play. He, in the first quarter, dug down very effectively on Howard (as Collins used his bulk to hold him up) and salvaged points from more than one sluggard and potentially empty Atlanta possession. {…] To Larry Drew’s credit, he came up with an effective game plan to defend the Magic over 10 matchups this season. That’s a huge step forward from the 2010 playoffs even if he didn’t always stick with said plan. It turns out that a fixation on Dwight Howard had real, tangible value for the 2010-11 Atlanta Hawks.”
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Second Look: Orlando Magic 101, Atlanta Hawks 76

April 27, 2011 at 7:00 am 3 comments

Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images

  • Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “For the first four games of this playoff series, the Orlando Magic could depend on only one player: Dwight Howard. No one else hit shots consistently. No one else defended game-in, game-out effectively. And no one else brought the necessary intensity at the beginning of games. But with their team facing elimination Tuesday night, the rest of the Magic finally had Howard’s back. On an evening Howard faced early foul trouble, his much-maligned supporting cast turned Game 5 — and perhaps the series itself — on its ear. J.J. Redick, Jason Richardson and the rest of the roster propelled the Magic to a 101-76 thrashing of the Atlanta Hawks at Amway Center. Still, there actually was a time Tuesday when it seemed like the Magic might not force a Game 6. [...] Howard committed his second personal foul on a reach-in with 5:40 remaining in the first quarter and the Magic leading only 10-8. Coach Stan Van Gundy had to pull Howard out of the game. When Howard has been off the floor earlier in the series, the Magic played like Samson without his hair. But not this time. Led by Redick, the Magic closed out the quarter on a 16-5 run.”

  • Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “If there was any Magic player who actually would dare to offer shooting tips on his website, it had to be J.J. Redick. The way Magic players were misfiring jumpers during the series against the Hawks, they should have been taking advice — and taking out liability insurance. Redick does have an instructional shooting video on the market (“Better Basketball With J.J. Redick), and gives folks some pointers on his site in ‘J.J’s Shooting Drills.’ Redick, though, wasn’t exactly coming through as a company spokesman until it counted most — in Tuesday night’s elimination game. J.J. helped break the game open in the first quarter, hitting five straight baskets to ignite the wipe-out, the first a driving, reverse layup. [...] He finished making 6-of-8 shots for 14 points. He oddly found a way to beat the Hawks’ defense that hugged the 3-point line — J.J. didn’t take any. He relied more on pick-and-rolls and curl patterns to spring him free, shades of his Duke days.”

  • Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel: “With the Magic season hanging in the balance and the future of the franchise at stake, Orlando needed somebody to step up and help out Dwight Howard Tuesday. Guess what? Somebody didn’t step up. Everybody did. Howard scored 46 points and pulled down 19 rebounds in Game 1 and the Magic lost by 10. He had his worst statistical game of the series (8 points, 8 rebounds) Tuesday and the Magic won by 25. Go figure. J.J. Redick ignited the Magic by scoring 10 straight points at one juncture in the first half when Howard was on the bench with foul trouble. Jason Richardson returned from his one-game suspension to lead the team with 17 points. Gilbert Arenas was a major contributor yet again. And the Magic, who shot miserably from beyond the arc during the first three games of this series, hit 11-of-26 treys in Game 5.”

  • Zach McCann of the Orlando Sentinel: “The Orlando Magic played their best defensive game of the playoffs during Tuesday night’s 101-76 win over the Atlanta Hawks, holding the Hawks to a series-worst 36.2 shooting percentage and 76 points on 91 possessions. The Magic’s defense has held the Hawks in check for the most part in this series, but they took it to another level in Game 5, swarming the perimeter and protecting the rim almost flawlessly. The Hawks had very, very few easy baskets and seemingly had a Magic player crowding the ball at all times. Jamal Crawford and Joe Johnson — averaging a combined 44 points per game for the series coming into the game — scored just 13 total points on 20 percent shooting. It’s difficult to imagine the Magic playing much better on defense.”

  • John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com: “On a night when even the team’s mascot, Stuff, banked in a halfcourt shot during a timeout skit early in the game, the Orlando Magic finally found their shooting strokes from afar and breathed some life back into this best-of-seven series. The Magic battered Atlanta early and often by raining in 3-pointers from all corners of the Amway Center to win 101-76 going away in send-a-message style to the embarrassed Hawks. Orlando staved off elimination, pulled within 3-2 in the series and set the stage for what could be an epic Game 6 in Atlanta on Thursday night.”

  • Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post: “Tonight’s game represents what some folks expected might happen in this series: the Magic tear the Hawks apart with Howard inside and the three-point shooters outside, while Atlanta clanks jumper after jumper. That summation is a bit reductive, I admit, but when one considers the Magic’s convincing sweep of the Hawks last season, as well as the Hawks’ six-game losing skid to end the regular season and their negative point differential, it’s not too terribly far off the mark. But nobody could have counted on Orlando’s unbearably bad three-point shooting to date, even accounting for the Hawks’ fourth-ranked three-point defense. Nor could anyone have known Crawford would become the first reserve in six seasons to score 20-plus points in four straight games, or that Hedo Turkoglu would shoot worse than every volume-volume shooter since 1995. All those factors set the stage for the Magic fighting to stay alive Tuesday in just their fifth game this postseason.”

  • Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “After taking a beating from the Magic, the Hawks return to Atlanta facing familiar questions about how far they have really come. Down 3-1 in the series and facing elimination, the Magic struck back for a 101-76 victory at Amway Center. The Hawks still have home-court advantage and history on their side. They can win the series with a victory in Game 6 on Thursday at Philips Arena, and only eight of 194 NBA teams that have faced a 3-1 series deficit have rallied to win. But Tuesday the Hawks looked nothing like the focused, poised group that had won six of eight games against the Magic this season. The Hawks instead resembled the group that Orlando swept by an NBA-record margin of 101 points in the second round of the 2010 playoffs.”

  • Jeff Schultz of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Remember these guys? This is what you feared. Not a game, but a cartoon. Not a loss, but four quarters of exploding body parts. For most of four playoff games against Orlando, we saw what the Hawks were capable of. Then we saw what we already knew they were capable of because they showed it all too often during their bipolar season. Before the game was half over Tuesday night, the Hawks trailed by 10, then 15, then 25, and then everybody pretty much stopped paying attention. Now the doubt is back in Atlanta, and the hope is back in Orlando.”

  • Bret LaGree of Hoopinion: “It’s just one game and some history still awaits the Hawks if they can win at home on Thursday or even in Orlando on Saturday but the chance to record an, if not outright impressive, at least a feel-good series victory likely passed them by tonight. The Hawks took bad shots, their head coach created foul trouble where none yet existed, that choice put an inferior defensive unit on the floor for long stretches of the first half, the Hawks fell way behind, and they tried to catch up by taking more bad shots. A familiar tale for the 2010-11 Hawks.”
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Second Look: Atlanta Hawks 88, Orlando Magic 85

April 25, 2011 at 7:00 am 1 comment

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

  • Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “In the Orlando Magic‘s postgame locker room Sunday night, Stan Van Gundy turned to his assistant coaches and asked a question. Should they take their players directly from Orlando International Airport to Amway Center upon arrival in Florida and shoot baskets until their teamwide shooting woes disappear? Van Gundy was only half-joking. An atrocious shooting slump, poor perimeter defense and a tendency to start games slowly has the Magic one loss away from elimination after they dropped Game 4 of their first-round playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks 88-85 Sunday night at Philips Arena. Only eight teams in NBA history have accomplished what the Magic will try to do now: win a best-of-seven series after trailing three games to one. Dwight Howard boiled down the talk ahead to a simple message to his teammates. [...] Appropriately enough, Game 4 ended on a missed 3-pointer. The Magic inbounded the ball to Gilbert Arenas with 10.5 seconds left, and Arenas swung the ball to Hedo Turkoglu. The Hawks’ Al Horford knocked the ball away, and although Turkoglu recovered it, he had no choice but to take a desperation shot. It clanged off the back left side of the rim, sending the announced crowd of 19,490 and the Hawks into a frenzy.”

  • Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel: “Hate to say it, but it might just be time for the most dreaded four words in the Magic playoff vernacular: Gentlemen, start your razors. Before the Magic began the 2011 NBA playoffs, players vowed not to shave until the postseason was over and fans throughout Central Florida began the rallying cry … “Fear the Beard!” Now, after yet another nail-biting, heart-breaking loss to the Atlanta Hawks that has put the Magic in a nearly hopeless 3-1 hole, it’s getting closer and closer to a time when “Fear the Beer” might be a more appropriate mantra. After all, it probably won’t be long now before Magic fans everywhere are drowning their sorrows following what is quickly turning into an depressingly disappointing season. But there is one positive. Hey, Magic fans, did you see Gilbert Arenas Sunday night? What’s it tell you about this series when the Magic can’t beat the Hawks when Dwight Howard scores 46 points in Game 1 and when Arenas rises from the ashes to score to score 20 in Game 4? Maybe it’s just not meant to be. Maybe just maybe the Hawks, who have now beaten the Magic six of eight times this season, are just the better team.”

  • George Diaz of the Orlando Sentinel: “The Atlanta Hawks are programmed to beat the Orlando Magic. Three out of four in the regular season. Now three out of four in the playoffs after Atlanta took a commanding 3-1 Sunday night. Magic fans can scream all they want about the clank-clank perimeter shooting of Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson, Ryan Anderson and J.J. Redick (at least he has a doctor’s excuse — he’s been hurt). The problem is that the Magic are very beatable when no one doubles down on Dwight Howard. The Magic aren’t very good about creating their own shots or driving to the basket. They are very good in working the ball around and getting good spacing on the floor to set up their perimeter game. But that’s not happening because the Hawks aren’t double-teaming Dwight Howard. The Hawks are bigger and squeezing the Magic out of their comfort zone. They are still getting jump shots, just not where they want them.”

  • John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com: “Much like in this increasingly frustrating series, the Orlando Magic could never get over the hump on Sunday night against the Atlanta Hawks. Now, trailing 3-1, the Magic are faced with overcoming a mountain of odds to save their playoff lives. The Magic dug their way out of an early hole and twice got Game 4 tied in the fourth quarter on Sunday night, but they could never take the lead and had to stomach a crushing 88-85 loss to the Hawks that dropped them into a 3-1 deficit in the best-of-seven series. To get out of the first round of the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season, the fourth-seeded Magic must now beat the fifth-seeded Hawks three straight games. Game 5 is Tuesday night in the Amway Center. Counting regular-season play, the Hawks have now defeated the Magic in six of eight games this season, including all four times at Atlanta’s Philips Arena.”

  • Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post: “About all that’s changed is the sudden emergence of Arenas, who had, at least on this night, the look of a useful NBA player again. Arenas earned a Did Not Play-Coach’s Decision in Game Three as coach Stan Van Gundy called on Turkoglu to play point forward, but he elected to give Arenas a go tonight. The Magic’s big-name midseason acquisition delivered, to a degree, pouring in 20 points in 22 minutes, the sort of high-pressure outing Magic fans had hoped for. Only he and Dwight Howard (a game-high 29 points) could score consistently.”

  • Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “It took a lot of hard work for the Hawks to take homecourt advantage away from the Magic in their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series. They nearly gave it back with several mistakes in the final moments of Game 4 on Sunday night before finally putting away the Magic. Guard Joe Johnson made four free throws in the final 20.2 seconds to secure Atlanta’s 88-85 victory over Orlando at Philips Arena. The Hawks can win the best-of-seven series with a victory at Orlando on Tuesday. Jamal Crawford scored a team-high 25 points and Johnson had 20 for the Hawks.”

  • Mark Bradley of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Say what you will about these Hawks, and by now we’ve said it all, usually with a few choice words interspersed. That they’re sloppy with a lead. That they often act as if basketball was a sport scored on degree of difficulty. That they lead the world in keeping both teams in the game. But here’s something we haven’t been able to say about any Hawks team since 1970: That it leads a best-of-seven series 3-1. Also this: That it’s one game from winning a playoff series in which it didn’t hold the homecourt edge for the first time since 1996.”

  • Bret LaGree of Hoopinion: “Either prolonged exposure to this series is creating an illusion of coherence or Game 4 was the most Hawks/Magic game of this Hawks/Magic series. There were the requisite 88 points scored by the winning team, the terrible shot selection (both teams), the terrible shot-making (Orlando only), the improbably great yet perfectly representative, in kind if not frequency, shot-making of Jamal Crawford, a routine 29 and 17 from Dwight Howard, Jason Collins fouling, 19 unproductive minutes from hideously unqualified Hawk frontcourt reserves, the Hawks building a significant lead despite not playing very good offense, the Magic erasing that lead despite not playing very good offense, and the Hawks prevailing through some combination of the aforementioned Crawford and Collins plus an inefficient but impressive Al Horford, Joe Johnson being efficient but unimpressive for long stretches, Kirk Hinrich making Hawks fans so happy Mike Bibby’s gone, and Josh Smith being inexplicable but not completely useless. “
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Second Look: Atlanta Hawks 88, Orlando Magic 84

April 23, 2011 at 7:31 pm 4 comments

P(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

  • Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “The Orlando Magic can point to a fortunate 3-point heave by Jamal Crawford as the reason why they lost Game 3 of their playoff series to the Atlanta Hawks 88-84. But as Crawford triumphantly hopped up and down the Philips Arena court, game-in-hand with 5.7 seconds remaining, the Magic only had themselves — and not bad luck — to blame. Jason Richardson lost his cool late. Hedo Turkoglu lost his shooting stroke. For one half, the Magic lost their intensity on the defensive end of the court. And now the team trails the best-of-seven series two games to one. The Magic may confront an additional obstacle when Game 4 arrives Sunday. Richardson could be serving a league-imposed suspension for fighting with Atlanta’s Zaza Pachulia late in Game 3′s fourth quarter. With Atlanta ahead 81-80 with 2:22 remaining, Pachulia fouled [Dwight] Howard hard as Howard shot the ball in the lane. As Howard landed, his right forearm careened into the left side of Pachulia’s face just as Pachulia flung an arm at Howard. Richardson raced into the picture, and as he and Pachulia jawed at each other, Pachulia delivered two or three head butts to Richardson’s forehead. Richardson responded by delivering a slap to Pachulia’s face. Both Richardson and Pachulia were ejected for fighting, and Howard received a technical foul.”

  • Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel: “The Orlando Magic are spending money like the New York Yankees, but after yet another loss to the Atlanta Hawks Friday you wonder if they aren’t cooking their books like the New York Mets. Nearly $20 million for Gilbert Arenas, who didn’t even play in Friday night’s 88-84 defeat? Another $10 million for Hedo Turkoglu, who made a triumphant return to Orlando earlier this season but forgot to bring his shooting touch and basketball sense with him? This has to be some sort of Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme, doesn’t it? Somebody please call the Securities and Exchange Commission. Rich DeVos has to be robbing Peter to pay Gilbert, right? The reason we bring this up is because of a recent study conducted by ESPN the Magazine that found the Magic have the fifth-highest salary structure in sports. Let me repeat that: The Magic have the fifth-highest salary structure not in the basketball world but in the entire world. The Magic pay their players an average of $6,367,114 per year, a number only exceeded by Real Madrid and Barcelona of Spain’s premier soccer league, the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Lakers. Hey, you think it’s cheap to build the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference?”

  • John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com: “Of all the ways to get floored Friday night in Game 3, the Orlando Magic couldn’t have ever seen a knockout punch quite like this coming. Jamal Crawford’s questionable shot selection was rewarded when his desperation 3-point shot banked off the glass and gave the Atlanta Hawks an 88-84 defeat of the Magic in Friday’s Game 3 at Philips Arena. Down as many as 14 points in the first half, the Magic came all the way back and took an 84-83 lead with 1 minute to play on Brandon Bass’ clutch jumper from the free throw line. But the Hawks scored the final two baskets of the game – a 15-footer from Al Horford with 46 seconds to play and Crawford’s miracle bank shot from 26 feet out to seal the game. The defeat dropped the Magic into a 2-1 hole in the best-of-seven first-round playoff series. Game 4 is Sunday night in Atlanta, and superstar center Dwight Howard vowed afterward that he still has supreme confidence that his Magic can win the series.”

  • Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post: “The Hawks built a 14-point lead in the second period, mostly with Howard on the bench, and the Magic never really recovered. An outstanding defensive third period bought them to within four points, and a top-of-the-circle jumper from Brandon Bass gave them a one-point lead with a minute remaining. On Atlanta’s next possession, the Hawks leveraged the Magic’s defense against itself. Stationing Al Horford on the weak side, the Hawks fed Johnson the ball in the right short-corner, anticipating the help-defense attention he’d draw. The ball swung to Horford just inside the arc, and he drilled the shot–with no Orlando player anywhere near him, due to the over-rotating–to give Atlanta the lead for good. With 46 seconds remaining, the Magic had possession, trailed by one, and had a decent chance to get a good shot up in a two-for-one situation. They failed to execute. Hedo Turkoglu ran a high screen-and-roll with Dwight Howard, the Magic’s go-to play when they absolutely need to score. Turkoglu drove to his right toward the baseline, tiptoed along it, and continued dribbling toward the corner; he completely missed Howard, who dove to the rim and could have had a dunk.”

  • Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Crawford’s leaning, challenged shot with 5.7 seconds left provided an unlikely ending to Atlanta’s 88-84 victory over the Magic on Friday at Philips Arena. The Hawks lead the best-of-seven series 2-1 with Game 4 on Sunday at home. The Hawks survived to win an intense, physical contest that featured late ejections for Hawks center Zaza Pachulia and Magic guard Jason Richardson. They’ve now won five of seven games against the Magic including the regular season. The lower-seeded Hawks took home-court advantage in the series by winning one of two games in Orlando and kept it with a victory in front of a rowdy, sellout home crowd.”

  • Bret LaGree of Hoopinion: “The Atlanta Hawks are only playing consistently well on one end of the floor (and then only when fielding a five-man unit capable of executing the sound defensive game plan) but, even that limited, consistent success marks them superior to an Orlando Magic team that, Dwight Howard (and for one half of six, Jameer Nelson) excepted, has struggled to score and been just susceptible enough to dribble penetration from Jamal Crawford and Joe Johnson that the Atlanta guards have created enough good shots to augment their abilities to make difficult shots and to overcome their own team’s (self-inflicted) defensive lapses. You don’t have to play well to win a playoff series if you make (and let) the other team play worse.”
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Second Look: Orlando Magic 88, Atlanta Hawks 82

April 20, 2011 at 7:00 am No comments

Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images

  • Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “The Orlando Magic may have saved their season Tuesday night. And to do it, they relied on a tried-and-true formula: an improved defense, a critical hustle play by Jameer Nelson and a 48-minute dose of Dwight Howard. Riding another Herculean performance by their all-star center, the Magic outlasted the Atlanta Hawks 88-82 in an intense, emotional Game 2 to even their first-round series at one game apiece. Those teammates followed his lead. [...] Nelson, his co-captain, played almost 38 minutes even though he missed part of the Magic’s morning shootaround due to a migraine headache. The diminutive point guard probably turned in the most important play of the game — and most important play of the Magic’s season — late in the fourth quarter. The Hawks had gone on a 12-2 run to cut the Magic’s lead to 78-76 with 2:14 remaining in regulation. On the ensuing possession, Atlanta’s Zaza Pachulia knocked the ball out of Howard’s hands and toward the sideline. Nelson sprinted toward the ball, dived onto the parquet floor and collected it before Kirk Hinrich could. Nelson passed it to Howard, who sent it to Ryan Anderson, who tossed it to Hedo Turkoglu. Turkoglu drove to the basket, banked it off the glass and the ball rolled around the rim gingerly before it fell through the hoop.”

  • Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “All I know is that Stan Van Gundy has had to robb Peter to pay Paul as he tries to piece together game plans with baling wire and duct tape. His slim pick’ns aren’t just slim; they’re microscopic. I don’t want to say that Van Gundy was searching for help, but I swear he had dogs and a flashlight at his disposal. You couldn’t blame him if he tried to sign Nick Anderson out of the stands, and Nick’s 43. What’s the whole key for the Magic the rest of the way? Rest. They need to thank the NBA schedule-makers who place two, sometimes three, days between games. Game 2 is Friday night in Atlanta. The Magic are taking today off and will hardly break a sweat on Thursday. Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson could use a week in The Bahamas and intravenous fluids. Because with no bench, Van Gundy needs his starters to put their feet up as much as possible. After two games, Hawks are outscoring the Magic’s reserves, 64-26. Jamal Crawford has 48 himself.”

  • Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel: “Do you know how lucky you are, Magic fans? It’s rare when you actually get to watch a high school kid grow into a legend right before their eyes. And, of course, this is why Orlando fans anguish: Because they know how important these playoffs are to Dwight’s future in Orlando. It certainly didn’t help ease their worried minds a few days ago when one ESPN “insider” speculated that Howard will be traded by the Magic this summer. Forget the speculation about Dwight’s future and savor the coronation of Dwight’s greatness. Van Gundy said something very wise a couple of months ago when he was talking about all the hullabaloo surrounding Carmelo Anthony’s departure from Denver and the resulting speculation about whether Dwight would stay in Orlando. Van Gundy’s message – and I’m paraphrasing – was essentially this: Why do American sports fans and media spend so much time and effort worrying about what might happen down the road rather than enjoying what’s right in front of them now? And what is right in front of Magic fans at this juncture in time is a once-in-a-lifetime player. Sometimes I wonder if Howard is appreciated enough, not only locally but nationally. Do we realize what we are watching? Do we understand that he is not only the greatest Magic player of all-time, but one of the greatest NBA players of all-time? We have another Russell and Chamberlain in our midst.”

  • John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com: “In a game that was never easy – certainly not when Orlando trailed by 10 points in the second quarter nor when Atlanta got within two points with 2 minutes to play – the Magic were finally able to exhale Tuesday night with a 1-1 split in this best-of-seven playoff series. Orlando needed another monstrous, 48-minute game from Dwight Howard, a clutch layup from Hedo Turkoglu and a dagger of a 3-pointer from Jason Richardson to hold off Atlanta 88-82 Tuesday at the Amway Center to pull even in this remarkably even first-round playoff series. J.J. Redick dived on the floor early in the game to corral a loose ball and Jameer Nelson did the same late in the fourth quarter – both dives resulting in key Magic baskets and were emblematic of the effort that the Magic poured into what many considered a must-win.”

  • Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post: “Indeed, the way Drew doled out his frontcourt minutes will come into question here. Leaving two end-of-the-bench types alone to fend with the league’s best center is one thing, but benching one’s own best player for almost the entire first half is another. Al Horford picked up his second personal foul just 2:10 into the game, which prompted Drew to pull Horford for the rest of the half. The trickle-down effect it had on Atlanta’s rotation left it without a reliable offensive big man. On a night when Johnson (6-of-15, 14 points), Marvin Williams (1-of-6, 4 points) and Kirk Hinrich (4-of-12, 9 points) struggled to produce from the wings, Atlanta needed another scorer. The fact that the Hawks whittled a 14-point Magic lead to 4 with less than two minutes to play only further underscores the seriousness of Drew’s gaffe. I believe Horford represents an improvement over Powell and Armstrong to such a degree that he would have been worth at least 6 points, the Magic’s final victory margin, had he played over those two for at least another 8 first-half minutes. He at least commands defensive attention; Howard rightly ignored Armstrong and Powell whenever the Hawks had possession. Indeed, Drew helped turn Howard, the league’s top defender, loose defensively as a helper.”

  • Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Dwight Howard had another dominant performance, and this time more of his teammates chipped in. In the end, the Hawks couldn’t hold down Orlando’s shooters as Howard had his way with their centers. The Magic pulled away late for an 88-82 victory in Game 2 of the first-round Eastern Conference playoffs series. Orlando’s Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu and Ryan Anderson all made timely 3-pointers in the second half. Those plays, plus Howard’s 33 points, were enough for the Magic to tie the series 1-1 as it moves to Philips Arena for Game 3 on Friday.”

  • Jeff Schultz of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “They won game one and threw a scare into Orlando in game two. Forget the odds. Forget the mood swings of the regular season. Forget the part of you that says, ‘I don’t like this team. I don’t trust this team. They’re going nowhere.’ The Hawks didn’t guarantee themselves a playoff series upset with their performances in  Orlando. But they certainly sent a message in game two that game one wasn’t a fluke. After winning the series opener Saturday, they led the heavily favored and desperate Magic by as much as 10 points in the second quarter, fizzled, fell behind by 14 in the fourth, looked dead and then showed the fight and resiliency that too often was missing this season to pull to within two at 78-76 with two minutes left. In the end, they ran out of gasps and spasms, losing 88-82 Tuesday night. But Orlando walked off their home court with their hearts nearly jumping out of their chest — and this time Jameer Nelson didn’t make a stop to make a crack about catching Chicago in the second round.”

  • Bret LaGree of Hoopinion: “As impressive and enjoyable as the Game 1 victory was, two concerns lingered: the probably unsustainable percentage of jump shots the Hawks made (unofficially, I have the Hawks 7-23 from 16-23 feet and, thus, 40.7 eFG% outside of 16 feet once three-pointers are accounted for) and Larry Drew’s tactical personnel decisions. In Game 2, the Hawks shot much worse and had a chance to win despite Larry Drew. It was a terribly wasted opportunity but, if Drew can either commit to playing his best players until they are disqualified or not play his worst players until absolutely necessary, the Hawks, in possession of home court advantage, can still conceivably win this series. Which is rather amazing considering they were outscored over the course of the 82 game season and their head coach either didn’t try his hardest or proved himself obscenely incompetent in one half of their playoff games.”
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Second Look: Atlanta Hawks 103, Orlando Magic 93

April 18, 2011 at 7:00 am 1 comment

Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images

  • Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “The Orlando Magic won’t sweep the Atlanta Hawks out of the playoffs this year. This time, the Magic look like the ones who could be steamrolled. In a dramatic reversal from last postseason, the Hawks dominated the Magic on Saturday, winning Game 1 of their first-round playoff series 103-93 at Amway Center. Only a Herculean night on offense from Dwight Howard and a spectacular third quarter from Jameer Nelson prevented the loss from turning into a rout. Almost nothing worked for Orlando. The Magic didn’t defend. They didn’t protect the basketball. And only Howard and Nelson posed a threat on the offensive end of the court. Howard scored a Magic playoff-record 46 points, while Nelson chipped in 20 of his 27 in the third period. Together, they accounted for 73 of the team’s 93 points. Shooting guard Jason Richardson? Small forward Hedo Turkoglu? They combined for just 10 points. Power forwards Ryan Anderson and Brandon Bass? They didn’t score a point. The Hawks didn’t have that problem. Five players on their roster scored in double figures, led by shooting guard Joe Johnson, who poured in 25 points. After it ended, Howard looked dazed at the postgame press conference that he shared with Nelson. Howard stared blankly at the box score on the table in front of him for almost three consecutive minutes.”

  • Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “As you might suspect, Hawks center Jason Collins and his brother, Jarron, played all the pranks that twins play growing up. Subbing on dates. Posing for one another in classrooms. Impersonating each other on the phone. Jason played a spectacular prank Saturday night on Dwight Howard. He was on the floor for just 18 minutes against him, scored a whopping one point and fouled out with half of the final quarter remaining. Howard tied a franchise playoff record with 46 points in Game 1 — and lost. Collins left the court like a battered pitcher, but he got the W. Nice gag. Are you kidding me? Ok, I now believe in Big Foot, aliens and Jason Collins — whatever mystical mojo that Collins conjures against Howard. He now has beaten Dwight’s team four of the last five times.”

  • Zach McCann of the Orlando Sentinel: “The Orlando Magic kept going to Dwight Howard Saturday night, and it’s hard to blame them. He was unstoppable, showing the world his offensive improvement translates to the postseason by scoring a career-high 46 points on 16-of-23 shooting. But for some pesky reason, the Magic don’t seem to play well when Howard goes off. They’re 3-4 when he scores at least 30 points in playoff games, and it’s no coincidence that most of those games featured teams who insisted on single-covering Howard, like the Hawks did during Saturday night’s 103-93 win over the Magic. It’s not complicated why this happens. Howard continues to get his points, but the Magic’s offense doesn’t open up because the defenders are staying glued to the perimeter players. That’s why the Magic shot 27.3 percent from three-point range and everyone except Howard and Jameer Nelson combined to score just 20 points.”

  • John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com: “In the days leading up to Saturday’s Game 1 against the Atlanta Hawks, the Orlando Magic installed placards on each player’s dressing stall that featured a picture of the NBA’s Larry O’Brien championship trophy and the word ‘BELIEVE’ in bold, block letters. After the double-whammy that Orlando was hit with on Saturday – getting repeatedly gashed defensively and looking stagnant offensively outside of the play from captains Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson – the Magic likely had a hard time believing their shaky plight so early in these playoffs. Five Atlanta players scored in double figures and the Hawks shockingly shot 73 percent in the second and third quarters to stun the Magic 103-93 at the Amway Center despite a slew of franchise playoff records set by Howard and Nelson.”

  • Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post: “It’s tempting, I believe, for Magic fans to panic here. I’m not entirely sure that’s warranted. Yes, the Hawks scored efficiently. I understand that much. But it’s the Hawks’ first truly great offensive performance against the Magic’s typically stout defense since March 22nd, 2008, when Mike Bibby (five three-pointers) helped the Hawks score 112 points in 96 possessions… in an Orlando victory. Indeed, the Hawks went more than three years without cracking 1.1 points per possession against Orlando, and I’m skeptical their jump-shooting core of Johnson, Jamal Crawford, and Josh Smith can continue to hit mostly difficult shots with a high degree of accuracy. But the Magic still have serious issues to work out if they are to rally back and take this series. Apart from the serious scoring imbalance, turnovers continue to plague the team. Their 18 miscues tonight led to 21 Hawks points. Howard will draw criticism for his 8 turnovers, but if anything, Quentin Richardson (2 turnovers in 7 minutes despite hardly ever touching the ball) and [Gilbert] Arenas (3 in 12 minutes) deserve a bit more scrutiny.”

  • Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “The Hawks flipped the switch. Suddenly guard Joe Johnson looked like a five-time All-Star again. Jamal Crawford found the form that made him last season’s Sixth Man of the Year. Kirk Hinrich showed why the Hawks traded for him in February. And when the Orlando Magic attempted to rally from 18 points down in the fourth quarter, the Hawks responded with the kind of toughness and resolve they had shown only occasionally in the regular season. The Hawks stunned the Magic 103-93 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference playoffs on Saturday night. They nullified Orlando’s home-court advantage in the best-of-seven series that continues here Tuesday. It was a surprising result given the history and circumstances.”

  • Bret LaGree of Hoopinion: “A tremendous win for the Atlanta Hawks. Yes, that degree of jump shooting accuracy is unlikely to be sustainable for another game but neither can Dwight Howard (for an entire game) nor Jameer Nelson (for another half) be expected to be so simultaneously tremendous again for the Magic, especially if Larry Drew can resist the temptation to ask Josh Powell and Etan Thomas to defend Howard for a 12-minute stretch of the first half or leave Kirk Hinrich on the bench for a ten-and-a-half minute stretch of the second half so Nelson can enjoy the freedom of being guarded by Jamal Crawford.”
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Second Look: Orlando Magic 111, New York Knicks 99

March 24, 2011 at 7:00 am No comments

Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

  • Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “The Orlando Magic may have found their teachable moment Wednesday night. After a first half in which the New York Knicks’ Chauncey Billups, Toney Douglas and Roger Mason Jr. drained 3-pointer after 3-pointer, the Magic returned to the visitors’ locker room inside Madison Square Garden and received a not-so-gentle reminder from their coach. Stan Van Gundy pointed to a dry-erase board that listed what the team wanted to accomplish on defense. Then he asked his players if they had achieved those goals. Nobody answered “yes.” Point made. The Magic ramped up their defense and rode an MVP-caliber offensive performance from center Dwight Howard to recover from an eight-point deficit and beat the slumping Knicks 111-99 at Madison Square Garden. [...] Orlando limited New York to 40 points and 31.8 percent shooting in the second half, prompting what remained of the sellout crowd to boo the Knicks as the final minute ticked off the clock. ‘We didn’t give up a ton of easy shots,’ Van Gundy said. ‘That was the key to the game.’ Superb effort on defense likely will be the key to their rapidly approaching postseason. The Magic have won four consecutive games largely because of their defense.”

  • John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com: “Prior to Wednesday night’s game at Madison Square Garden, Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy asked the New York media to hold their votes for the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award and consider superstar center Dwight Howard. Howard then went out and backed up his coach’s bold talk with a dominant, do-everything effort that proved worthy of the media not yet awarding the honor to heavy favorite, Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose. Howard demolished New York inside to the tune of 33 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots to lift the Magic to an impressive 111-99 victory and possibly lift himself back into the race to win the league’s MVP honor. Howard was unstoppable on the offensive end, making 11 of 15 shots and a jaw-dropping 11 of 13 attempts from the free throw line. And the two-time Defensive Player of the Year also did solid work on the defensive end, limiting Amar’e Stoudemire to a 2 of 16 shooting start and a pedestrian 13 points in the game.”

  • Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post: “In Jared Jeffries and Ronny Turiaf, the Knicks have two players who can handle Howard better than most in the post, but with New York trailing, coach Mike D’Antoni elected to play Stoudemire at center in order to get more offense. His idea, a sound one in theory, backfired. Howard managed to get deep position and gave the Knicks no choice but to foul him. Due to all the foul shots, the fourth quarter won’t exactly make Howard’s season highlight reel, but perhaps his work earlier will. 11-of-15 shooting from the floor for Howard as he chewed up the Knicks with a series of back-to-basket moves. There ought to be no argument anymore about his offensive game: he is well nigh unstoppable on that end most nights.”

  • Jonathan Abrams of the New York Times: “Amar’e Stoudemire slowly unwrapped the ice from his knees and unraveled the tape from his ankles before exhaling loudly. He logged more heavy minutes, lost another game, and still assumed the burden of explaining exactly what went wrong. Stoudemire is the model of consistency in this rickety Knicks season, supplying points and filling a leadership void. Those commendable assets were missing Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. Stoudemire scored 13 points — his fewest as a Knick — under a blur of missed shots and opportunities. The Knicks otherwise remained the same. They played capably for three quarters, collapsed badly and rallied late against the Orlando Magic in a 111-99 loss. The outcome dropped the Knicks (35-36) below .500 for the first time in four months, long before the addition of Carmelo Anthony turned from fantasy to reality. On Wednesday, the ‘Me-lo’ chants that greeted Anthony melted into boos that cemented another loss.”

  • Howard Beck of the New York Times: “The advice probably sounds strange coming from the N.B.A.’s most famously stressed-out superstar. Jerry West — Lakers legend and Hall of Fame worrier — believes Knicks fans need to relax. Few people have explored the extreme highs and lows of competition as thoroughly as West did over four decades as a player and executive. He took defeat harder than most, tortured himself with unreasonably high expectations and pushed his health to the brink. So West is speaking from a unique place when he counsels Knicks fans fretting over the Carmelo Anthony trade to chill out. The statement is particularly poignant coming from West, the architect of two Laker dynasties (in the 1980s and 2000s), and a star player on another (in the 1960s). Patience was never his strength. West’s teams lost in the finals seven times — an experience that — ‘scarred me even to this day’ — before finally winning a title.”

  • Chris Sheridan of ESPN New York: “One month from now, the New York Knicks will be sitting in their locker room, preparing to play Game 3 of their first-round playoff series. And if they are sitting there tied 1-1 in that series, nobody is going to remember what’s been happening this March. So climb off the ledge and get back inside. Knock off the panic. Cool it on the doomsday hysteria. The Knicks might seem like they are in a world of trouble, but they aren’t. And if you don’t want to hear that from a sportswriter, consider this: That message is exactly the message Chauncey Billups delivered to the rest of the team in the wake of their 111-99 loss to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night, their seventh defeat in the past eight games as they dropped one game below .500 (35-36).”

  • Ian Begley of ESPN New York: “The Knicks are just 7-10 since Carmelo Anthony’s arrival, but you can’t put their latest loss all on Anthony’s shoulders. That’s because Amare Stoudemire, the other half of New York’s All-Star tandem, had his worst night as a Knick on Wednesday. Stoudemire missed 15 of 20 shots to finish with a season-low 13 points as New York lost 111-99 to the Orlando Magic. The Knicks have lost four straight and seven of eight, falling under .500 for the first time since Nov. 27. Afterward, Stoudemire blamed fatigue for his subpar night.”
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Second Look: Los Angeles Lakers 97, Orlando Magic 84

March 15, 2011 at 7:00 am No comments

Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images

  • Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “The [Orlando] Magic couldn’t shake Kobe Bryant. Bryant stayed at The Ritz, the Magic’s team hotel, on Sunday night (he has a permanent residency there to avoid constant travel back to his home). And the Magic couldn’t get away from him Monday night, especially. Kobe shook off a sore ankle and a fractured first-half shooting linescore to help the Los Angeles Lakers beat Orlando 97-84 at Staples Center. Bryant was a game-time decision after re-injuring his left ankle Saturday night, but he played — not that anyone was surprised. The Magic were dialed in defensively for the most of the first half, holding Bryant to 2-of-10 shooting and the Lakers to 35.4 percent. But Bryant, as he often has done in his spectacular career, recovered to hit 5-of-8 shots in a third-quarter spurt in which the Lakers outscored the Magic 14-3 to close the period. L.A., trailing 46-41 at halftime, struck quickly to begin the third and tied it at 48. Forcing turnovers and surrounding [Dwight] Howard, the Lakers showed their championship pedigree. Kobe was far from terrific, but gutted it out to come up with clutch shots. He scored just 16 points, making only 7-of-19 shots.”

  • John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com: “When discussing the legitimacy of his team as a true championship contender prior to Monday night’s nationally televised showdown against the Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic offered up several reasons why the Magic are a powerful and dangerous team … with one caveat. ‘We’re pretty good,’ [Stan] Van Gundy said, ‘when we’re not throwing the ball to the other team.’ Van Gundy was talking, of course, about the Magic’s problems with turnovers. That area of concern reared its ugly head again Monday night when the Lakers picked up the defensive pressure and the Magic collapsed under an avalanche errors and botched possessions. The Magic shot well enough (47.1 percent) and held Kobe Bryant and Company in check for a half, but ultimately the errors piled up and the Lakers poured it on in the second half of an unsightly 97-84 Orlando loss at Staples Center.”

  • Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times: “Each time a substitution took place, the standing ovation sounded louder and louder. The Lakers’ starters in Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Derek Fisher and Ron Artest checked in for Lamar Odom, Steve Blake, Matt Barnes and Shannon Brown, prompting cheers for the reserves ability to maintain a 12-point over Orlando with 6:04 remaining. Three minutes later, Brown checked back in for Bryant and before the two locked hugs and handshakes, the 18,997 at Staples Center stood up and clapped for Bryant’s ability to play through his sprained left ankle. And when Odom stepped in for Bynum’s place moments later, the crowd reserved the loudest roar for the his career-high rebounding effort. Those standing ovations served as the perfect visual for satisfaction over what the Lakers displayed on the court Monday in their 97-84 victory over the Orlando Magic. Whether it was Bryant overcoming a poor first-half shooting performance (two of 10) with a much sharper second half (five of nine), Bynum grabbing a career high 18 rebounds or a strong supporting cast producing in various ways, the Lakers provided all signs of a team ready to maintaining the excellence required for a playoff caliber team.”

  • Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times: “After all the nonsense they unveiled last month, after all the silliness with losses in Charlotte and Cleveland, the Lakers took another step toward seriousness. They came back from a successful road trip and then throttled the Orlando Magic on Monday at Staples Center, 97-84, giving their fans further hope that a herky-jerky season was comfortably in the past. Kobe Bryant played despite a sprained ankle he called the worst of his career, Andrew Bynum continued to come of age— against the game’s top center, no less — and the Lakers moved to 10-1 since the All-Star break. [...] Forget about avenging an 89-75 loss last month to Orlando in which they made two of 16 from three-point range and an equally appalling seven of 15 from the free-throw line. The Lakers (48-20) are now avenging their entire regular season. It’s tough to argue with their last four weeks, though they didn’t give fans much to cheer in the first half Monday, trailing, 46-41. Then came the return of a defense that has been unfriendly at best in recent weeks. Orlando was limited to 38 second-half points.”

  • Mark Heisler of the Los Angeles Times: “Let’s have a big Lakerdom welcome for . . . whomever. The Lakers’ center of the future was back in Staples Center, even if you couldn’t be sure which of the two who met Monday night it will be. In a surprise to some Lakers fans and even some Lakers players — at least the ones who wanted him traded for Jason Kidd or Carmelo Anthony — Andrew Bynum held his own, scoring 10 points with 18 rebounds and four blocks to Dwight Howard’s 22-15-two in the Lakers’ 97-84 victory. Howard, of course, is the NBA’s best center . . . and would continue a Lakers tradition of stealing them from Orlando. And Bynum is the NBA’s best center, too! Well, he was briefly after going for 22 and 15 Saturday in Dallas when Channel 9′s John Ireland gave him a field commission — “the best center in the NBA since the All-Star break” — before bumping him down to “best center in the West since the break.”

  • Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles: “Against Dwight Howard, the player most Lakers fans are hoping comes to Los Angeles to man the middle when he becomes a free agent in 2012, Bynum played perhaps the best first quarter of his career (11 rebounds, six points and three blocked shots). Bynum got into foul trouble early in the second quarter, picking up two, and only played a little over three minutes with three fouls in the second quarter. When Bynum was in the game he controlled the paint and set the tempo for the Lakers, finishing with 10 points, tying a career high with 18 rebounds and four blocks in just 28 minutes. Howard finished with 22 points, 15 rebounds and two blocked in 43 minutes. The most telling stat when comparing Bynum and Howard, however, is the turnovers. Howard finished with 9 turnovers compared to none for Bynum. Howard’s turnovers contributed to the 18 turnovers Orlando had as a team which lead to 20 points for the Lakers while Los Angeles took surprisingly good care of the ball, turning it over five times leading to three points for Orlando.”
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Second Look: Orlando Magic 99, Miami Heat 96

March 4, 2011 at 7:00 am 4 comments

Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

  • Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “When the final buzzer sounded, Jason Richardson clasped both sides of his head. Jameer Nelson pumped his right fist and turned toward Dwight Howard. The two co-captains exchanged high-fives. Coach Stan Van Gundy raised both arms into the air. None of them will forget what their team accomplished Thursday night. Trailing by 24 points several minutes into the third quarter, the Orlando Magic stormed back against the Miami Heat and pulled out a pulse-pounding 99-96 road victory. [...]  The announced crowd of 19,600 inside AmericanAirlines Arena and a national television audience watched the Magic complete the second-largest comeback in franchise history and saw a game that once belonged to LeBron James and Dwyane Wade take an unbelievable turn. The Magic, once seemingly out of hope, closed the game on a 40-9 run.”

  • John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com: “When shots incredibly started falling in bunches and the defense on LeBron James and Dwyane Wade dramatically rose to suffocating levels, the Orlando Magic’s belief swelled that they could possibly pull off something historic Thursday night. Remarkably, a Magic team given up for dead when it trailed the rival Miami Heat by 18 points at halftime and by as much as 24 points in the second half awoke from its slumber and pulled off a comeback win for the ages. A second half that started as ‘a playing for pride thing,’ as Ryan Anderson put it, morphed into a monumental night as Orlando registered the second greatest comeback in franchise history and shockingly beat the hated Heat 99-96 at American Airlines Arena. Once down 73-49 early in the third quarter, the Magic used runs of 22-7 (to end the third period) and 18-2 (to start the fourth quarter) – a shocking 40-9 spurt in all – for what very well could be the biggest regular-season victory in franchise history.”

  • Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post:The 24-point comeback is really something else, isn’t it? To pull that off, on the road, against a team of Miami’s caliber? Appreciate it, sure, but don’t lose sight of the fact that the Magic could have had a less exciting, but probably more meaningful, win had they not trailed by such a big margin in the first place. That entails taking better care of the ball, rotating on defense, and (obviously) making shots. Every game is but one of 82 in theory, but in practice–in the narrative terms in which we define our world–games like tonight’s mean more. So it’s worth noting that in the fourth quarter, with his team needing anything he could provide in order to prevent a near-historic collapse, James took just two shots in 9 minutes, missing them both and going scoreless. Howard scored just 4 points (on 4-of-4 free-throw shooting, without any shot attempts from the field), but blocked three shots and pulled in 10 rebounds. Again, that’s three blocks and 10 rebounds in one period of play for Howard.”

  • Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel: “This could have, and perhaps should have, been a night when Erik Spoelstra rested his starters in advance of Friday’s road game against the San Antonio Spurs. When the Miami Heat moved to a 24-point lead early in the third quarter, amid a run of nine consecutive conversions from the field from forward LeBron James, it sure appeared headed that way. Instead, against an opponent capable of making 3-pointers, the Heat not only had to fight to the finish but wound up flailing to the finish of what turned into a disturbing and disheartening 99-96 loss Thursday night to the Orlando Magic at AmericanAirlines Arena, the Heat’s fourth loss in their last eight games. [...] What was a 73-49 Heat lead with 8:47 to play in the third quarter turned into an 82-82 tie with 8:41 to play on a Gilbert Arenas 3-pointer. The Magic completed the comeback on a Ryan Anderson layup with 7:38 to play, for an 84-82 lead, with an Arenas 3-pointer putting Orlando up 87-82 with 7:01 to play, with a cascade of boos following as Spoelstra called time out.”

  • Dave Hyde of the Sun-Sentinel: “Well, Mike Bibby is officially a member of the Heat now. He got the big standing ovation upon first entering. He got the kind of open 3-point shot the Heat supporting cast often gets. Bibby then got a first-hand look at what’s wrong in the Heat’s 99-96 loss to Orlando. The Heat blew a 24-point lead. They were outscored by, take your pick, 18-0 or 40-9 by the Magic. Dwyane Wade missed all six of his shots in the second half. LeBron James didn’t score in the fourth quarter. The Heat missed seven of eight from the free-throw line at one point. And we haven’t even got to the radioactively bad part yet. That was the final play. That was the one that could have saved the night. Instead, it piled on the tough questions. Now, granted, the Heat needed a 3-point shot on that play. That made it easier for Orlando to defend. But down three points with 9.6 seconds left in the NBA represents a decent chance.”

  • Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald: “LeBron James delivered his message very clearly 90 minutes before tipoff Thursday: ‘It’s about time,’ James said, ‘that we turn it on and play at a high level.’ Unfortunately for the Heat, that high level of play during a terrific first half was followed by a collapse of epic proportions, one that ended in a stunning 99-96 loss to Orlando at AmericanAirlines Arena. [...] Ahead by 18 at halftime and by 24 early in the third quarter, Miami was overwhelmed by an avalanche of Magic three-pointers during a devastating 40-9 Orlando run over much of the third quarter and half of the fourth. Included in that stretch was an 18-0 Magic stampede after the Heat scored the first basket of the fourth quarter. By the time the Magic’s blistering barrage was over, Orlando had surged ahead, 89-82. The Heat went 6:13 without scoring in the fourth before Chris Bosh’s layup with 5:12 left.”

  • Israel Gutierrez of The Miami Herald: “Regular season games don’t mean anything. Until they do. This epic Heat collapse means something. You could see it on the face of Erik Spoelstra, who did his best to maintain the calm façade of a coach but couldn’t help but let some of that frustration and aggravation and confusion peek through as he spoke following Thursday’s loss. You could see it and hear it in Chris Bosh, who looked defeated and sounded defiant. What it actually means is yet to be determined. But there are very few games, wins or losses, that resonate like this. Losing a 24-point, second-half lead to the Orlando Magic one game after losing a 15-point lead to the Knicks and three games after losing an 11-point lead to the Bulls — that more than stings. It burns. Bad.”

  • Brian Windhorst of The Heat Index: “Each year the NBA teaches there are no absolutes in the regular season, the “playoffs” sticker affixed to the floor in late April having magical powers to erase so many supposed certainties learned over the first 82 games. It is a fundamental truth, but it can also be a crutch. Right now the Miami Heat are using the crutch. But that isn’t the worst part for the team that owned not just championship hopes, but championship expectations. They know they’re clinging to hope and not belief — and that current reality is going down like bitter medicine. Calling the Heat’s 99-96 loss Thursday to the Orlando Magic — in which they blew a 24-point lead — a collapse isn’t really accurate. For a collapse, there must be something strong and towering that falls. The Heat, now more than three-quarters of a season into their fascinating experiment, can’t honestly say they’ve ever fit that description this season. Proper credit must be given to the Magic, who shot their way back into the game by making nine 3-pointers in the second half. They also showed some of their better defense, relying on Dwight Howard to wall off the paint and rebound while their bombers had a great night. Orlando has scored wins over the Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks and now their in-state rivals in less than a week.”

  • Michael Wallace of The Heat Index: “Move over, Charlie Sheen. When it comes to spiraling out of control before our very eyes these past few days, dude, you’ve got company. Star-studded company. Miami Heat company. To borrow a line from Scottie Pippen, two-and-a-half players company. Meet LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, the talent core of a team going through another stretch of turbulence. And that’s never a good thing, especially when this latest post-debacle itinerary included boarding a plane after midnight Thursday to San Antonio to face a Spurs team Friday that is sporting the league’s best record. Just like yours, Charlie, the Heat’s show was once the hottest thing going. After Thursday night’s demoralizing 99-96 loss at home to the Orlando Magic, this Miami cast is only crashing and burning. In blowing a 24-point lead over the game’s final 20 minutes, the Heat continued a destructive set of trends that reveal this team is stumbling backward at a time when it was supposed to be storming down the stretch and peaking on the way toward the playoffs. “
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Second Look: Orlando Magic 101, Washington Wizards 76

February 17, 2011 at 7:00 am 1 comment

AP Photo/Reinhold Matay

  • Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “If nothing else, Wednesday night’s matchup between the Orlando Magic and the Washington Wizards can serve as Exhibit No. 1 for anyone who argues that the NBA regular season is too long. The Magic did exactly what they were expected to do: They clobbered a rebuilding Wizards team that cannot win on the road even with a completely healthy lineup, let alone a lineup that lacked a pair of injured starters. At least Magic players will enter the all-star break with a little added confidence. An easy 101-76 pasting of an opponent — even an opponent as hapless as the Wizards — will do that. Orlando recovered from a sluggish start and salted this one away early in the third quarter behind a dominant performance by Dwight Howard.”

  • Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “The correct way to get the Magic into any game is to feed Dwight Howard 2.0. What we’re witnessing now is the Howard we’ve waited to see for six seasons. His offense was finally arrived, near full bloom and I say [Stan] Van Gundy can’t get him enough shot attempts. Howard is so good right now that he wasn’t distracted by the Wizards (32 points) or his growing A-list status. In fact, he’s turned playboy party-planner, holding the biggest all-star bash in L.A. A website bills the Saturday night affair as ‘LARGER THAN LIFE’ (uh, larger than Orlando, Dwight?) and continues to read, ‘Hosted by Dwight Howard, his celebrity friends and models.’ The gorgeous models are shown in various states of undress. So Dwight needs no prodding. The rest of the Magic had to find something to get them going — and they found Howard, who scored 12 in a tell-tale second period.”

  • John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com: “At the conclusion of Tuesday’s Orlando Magic practice, head coach Stan Van Gundy gathered his team around him and issued a cryptic question that also doubled as a stern challenge. ’Are we a team that can do it night after night or was that just a one-night thing?’’ Van Gundy asked his squad, referring to the Magic’s thrilling throttling of the Los Angeles Lakers last Sunday. The Magic, led of course by the continued excellence of superstar center Dwight Howard, answered that question in resounding fashion on Wednesday night, thumping the hapless Washington Wizards 101-76 at Amway Center. Howard, the Eastern Conference’s reigning Player of the Week, gashed the Wizards inside with 32 points and 10 rebounds in just three quarters of work. He made 12 of 15 shots – most of them with ease – meaning he made 25 of 31 shots in the Magic’s last two victories against the Lakers and Wizards.”

  • Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post: “The game didn’t start great for the hosts, though, who clearly looked as though they had mentally checked out for All-Star Weekend. Two turnovers on inbounds passes, and a 9-point scoring outburst for backup combo guard Kirk Hinrich, lowlighted Orlando’s first 18 minutes. A three-point play from Hinrich gave the Wizards a 31-28 lead at the 6:13 mark of the second period, but Orlando responded by scoring 10 straight points and never trailed again. It took a 5-point advantage into halftime, a lead it pushed to 21 after only three more minutes, shutting the door on the Wizards, who simply couldn’t get a basket from anyone apart from Wall. You’d rather the Magic show up and dominate from tip to horn, but they corrected their mistakes reasonably early and coasted after halftime. On a night when the two-time defending champion L.A. Lakers lost to the NBA-worst Cleveland Cavaliers, you like to see that.”

  • Michael Lee of The Washington Post: “The Wizards haven’t lost every game – although they needed 26 games to finally break through away from Verizon Center. They arrived at Amway Center on Wednesday a much different team since their inauspicious opener. But with limited options offensively, and no one capable of providing any resistance to Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard, the Wizards lost, 101-76. Rashard Lewis, a focal point of the Wizards’ biggest change from opening night – the Dec. 18 trade that shipped the former face of the franchise, Gilbert Arenas, to the Magic – was forced to miss his return to Orlando with a right knee injury that sidelined him for the past three games. The Wizards were also without leading scorer Nick Young, who sat out with a bruised left knee suffered in the previous victory in Cleveland. It didn’t help that center JaVale McGee arrived with a sore left back.
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