Orlando Magic Blog – Page 58 – NBA Blog

Rashard Lewis is playing with viral infection

The AP reports:

Maybe this is why Orlando Magic forward Rashard Lewis has been struggling in the Eastern Conference finals: He’s been playing with a viral infection.

Lewis says he’s been sick the ”whole series” against the Boston Celtics.

”Overall it affects you,” he said after Orlando’s shootaround Wednesday. ”I’ve been throwing up. I haven’t been at full strength. I’ve been feeling weak, my legs been feeling weak. I find myself getting tired very fast in the first quarter. You know, when you can’t hold food down you have no energy in your body to go out there and perform.”

Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel report (via blog):

Orlando Magic power forward Rashard Lewis expects to receive intravenous fluids tonight before Game 5 of the Eastern Conference playoffs against the Boston Celtics as he continues battle a nasty stomach virus that’s plagued him all series.

Lewis said after the Magic completed their shootaround today that he’s “not 100 percent, not where I want to be,” but he added that he’s “getting better.”

Lewis received IV fluids before Game 4 on Monday in Boston. His illness was first reported by ESPN’s Rachel Nichols and was later confirmed by the Orlando Sentinel.

2010 NBA Finals schedule

The 2010 NBA Finals schedule is now official.

Of course, we don’t actually know which teams are playing in it. The Celtics currently lead the Magic 3 games to 1, while the Lakers and Suns are tied at 2 games apiece.I think we’ll see a Lakers-Celtics championship round.

But, the actual times and dates of the finals are confirmed.

See the schedule here.

Game 4: Magic beat Celtics in OT

The AP reports:

Put away the brooms. Hold off on those “Beat L.A!” chants. The Boston Celtics still have some work to do before they can play for their second NBA title in three years.

Dwight Howard had 32 points and 16 rebounds, and Jameer Nelson made back-to-back 3-pointers in overtime to lead the Orlando Magic to a 96-92 victory over Boston on Monday night to avoid a four-game sweep in the Eastern Conference finals…

Paul Pierce had 32 points and 11 rebounds, and Kevin Garnett had 14 points and 12 boards for Boston. Ray Allen hit consecutive 3-pointers in overtime, but Pierce missed two tries in the final minute as the Celtics failed to complete the sweep…

Nelson finished with 23 points and nine assists for the defending Eastern Conference champions, who led by 10 in the second quarter and were up 85-78 with 2:24 left in regulation before Boston scored eight of the next nine points to force overtime at 86-all.

The Boston Globe reports:

Doc Rivers: “We didn’t execute it at all, I can tell you that. It was supposed to be Paul at the top with a pick‑and‑roll with Ray [Allen], and then the floor was supposed to be flat and spaced. When you look at it, half our team was standing next to Paul. The execution was so bad ‑‑ I thought we executed poorly throughout the game. We didn’t make the next rotations, we didn’t make the next pass. It was amazing how bad we were execution‑wise and still had a chance to win that game. That was amazing to me.”

Dwight Howard: “We didn’t win this game just to win a game to say we were in this series. You know, we want to make this a series and win this series. We all have to believe that. I told the guys before the game put out all disbelief, anxiety and fear. We just got to keep playing. We can’t think about losing or think about being swept. We have to think about winning and staying together.”

The Orlando Sentinel reports:

Orlando did build a 10-point lead, its largest of the series, midway in the second period. Howard, using his quickness to elude Kendrick Perkins, keyed the run with two baskets, but the Celtics quickly recovered, Pierce answering with two buckets and Garnett with another.

But the Magic didn’t allow the Celtics to gain momentum, and led 51-47 at halftime.

Not a shocker: Celtics green is all across Boston

In the least shocking blog entry I’ve posted in a long time, Boston is currently flooded with Celtics green. Walk any busy section of the city and every 10 or 20 seconds, someone passing by has Celtics gear on, or at least some green.

The Celtics tonight have a chance to do what no one expected and sweep the Orlando Magic. Coming into the series, most of the NBA world was still surprised how Boston managed to handle the Cleveland Cavaliers.

I still think LeBron James’ elbow was a huge factor, even if many others refuse to factor it in. He was using his off-hand far more than usual, especially as the series progressed, and I doubt it was for the fun of it. Still, credit Boston for the series win.

And now, the Celtics are playing on a truly championship level, more or less on par with their title-winning 2008 team. And the Magic are getting wrecked.

Will the real Orlando team show up tonight for Game 4? I think we’ll see more fight than they’ve displayed in the first three games, but that isn’t saying much.

While it’s possible the Magic win tonight, there’s simply no reason to expect it.

Magic are all shook up

Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel reports:

Coach Stan Van Gundy said players “were down” on Sunday when they started reviewing Game 3 videotape, conceding they are “a little shaken.

“It didn’t start great in the film session. Guys were down, but as it went along, they were fine,” he said. “Our guys haven’t been in this situation in a long time … to be beaten like that. We took a lot of losses in the playoffs last year. But other than Game 1 in L.A. (against the Lakers in the NBA Finals), we hadn’t been beaten like this.

“They don’t have a lot of experience with this. Our guys are a little shaken.”

The Magic unraveled in the first quarter when shots didn’t drop. Turnovers mounted and players decided to go one-on-one instead of patiently making the extra pass. The mass frustration spilled over to the defensive end.

Game 3: Celtics dominate Magic yet again

The AP reports:

Paul Pierce helped the Celtics open a 16-point, first-quarter lead, then watched as Rajon Rondo and Glen “Big Baby” Davis helped Boston coast to a 94-71 victory over the Orlando Magic and take a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals…

Pierce had 15 points and nine rebounds, Ray Allen scored 14 and Garnett added 10 points in just 24 minutes. But this time it wasn’t the Celtics’ aging all-stars that did the damage—it was the two youngest players on the roster, Davis and Rondo, who were born in 1986, the year that Larry Bird and the original Big Three won the last of their three NBA titles.

Davis scored 17 points, and Rondo added 11 points and 12 assists, and they also gave the team energy and defense that the Magic couldn’t match, diving to the floor for loose balls and getting the crowd going with spectacular plays…

One game after scoring 30 points, Dwight Howard had just seven and seven rebounds. Rashard Lewis was also disappointing, scoring four points on 2-for-8 shooting, missing all four 3-point attempts. Vince Carter and Jameer Nelson had 15 points apiece…

Pierce had eight points and five rebounds in the first quarter, when the Celtics scored the first seven points and then added a 14-0 run to open a 21-6 lead.

NBA referee Joe DeRosa suspended

NBA referee Joe DeRosa has been suspended without pay for one game for throwing a ball to a fan at halftime of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals on May 18.

The suspension was announced today by Ron Johnson, NBA Senior Vice President, Referee Operations.

DeRosa will miss the next game he would have been scheduled to work.

The fan was not ejected from the arena as was reported previously.

Magic not in panic mode, yet

Tania Ganguli of the Orlando Sentinel reports (via blog):

Stan Van Gundy said he didn’t implement any drastic changes to the game plan today. He does not plan to change his starters, either.

“We are not in panic mode,” Van Gundy said.

But they did insert a few new plays to help Rashard Lewis’s offensive game, and worked on improving ball movement, shot selection and offensive and defensive transition games.

During today’s practice, the team was intensely focused, having moved past the disappointment of Tuesday’s loss and looked forward to Saturday’s Game 3 in Boston.

Celtics beat Magic 95-92 to take 2-0 lead

Jonathan Abrams of the New York Times reports:

Paul Pierce spent a majority of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals scoring or sprawling on the floor.

Whether the fouls he drew were phantom or flagrant, Pierce collected plenty of them, emptying his bag of tricks in Boston’s 95-92 victory Tuesday over the Orlando Magic, staking the Celtics to a 2-0 lead in the series.

Before the game, the Celtics uniformly chanted, “Let’s be greedy,” as they jogged onto the Amway Arena court. They were. The Celtics can claim their 21st conference title and a ticket to the N.B.A. finals by winning the next two games in Boston.

“These games are meaningful and guys are happy that we’re winning, but we know what our ultimate goal is and we don’t want to get complacent,” Pierce said.

Pierce scored 28 points, toying with Vince Carter and J. J. Redick, and made 9 of 11 foul shots, including two with 34.7 seconds left that stretched Boston’s lead to 95-92. Pierce fouled out on the next possession, and Carter, who promised after his trade to Orlando that he would take the clutch shots, missed both free throws.

The Sports Network reports:

Pierce fouled out with 31.9 seconds left and Boston clinging to a 95-92 lead, then watched from the bench as Vince Carter missed two free throws. After a Kevin Garnett miss, the Magic had one last chance, which ended in Jameer Nelson’s off-balance 30-foot heave that drew air just short of the rim.

Rajon Rondo added 25 points with eight assists and five boards while Garnett and Kendrick Perkins donated 10 points apiece for Boston, which gets to rest until Saturday’s Game 3 with a 2-0 series edge.

Dwight Howard, in a far better effort than his 13-point showing on Sunday, scored a game-best 30 points with eight rebounds, while Carter and JJ Redick added 16 points apiece for Orlando.

Gary Dzen of the Boston Globe reports (via blog):

The Celtics led by eight points at the end of the third quarter, and Rasheed Wallace threatened to put the game out of reach when he started the fourth with a three-pointer to put the Celtics up 81-70. But as they had done all game the Magic answered, cutting the lead to 85-83 at the 6:57 mark in the fourth. Vince Carter put them ahead 90-89 with a jumper with 3:36 remaining. A turnaround jumper by Kevin Garnett was the game’s only scoring until Rajon Rondo’s jumper with 1:33 left put the Celtics up 93-90.

The teams traded a Jameer Nelson layup and Pierce free throws and the Celtics clung to a 95-92 lead with 34.7 seconds left. On the next possession, Vince Carter drew the sixth foul on Pierce, but Carter missed both free throws, giving the Celtics the ball back with a three-point lead. Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy elected not to foul, and despite a miss by Garnett, the Magic got the ball back with only 3.5 seconds remaining after J.J. Redick delayed in calling a timeout.

Dwight Howard frustrated by Celtics in Game 1 loss

The AP reports:

Dwight Howard knew what the Boston Celtics had planned. Whenever he got the ball in the post, someone was going to hit him, bump him, push him, do whatever it took to keep him from getting into rhythm.

It wasn’t a new approach.

The Celtics simply do it better than just about everyone else.

Howard made only 3 of his 10 shots from the floor Sunday, continuing what’s been a yearlong offensive struggle against the Celtics, and his Orlando Magic lost Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals to Boston 92-88.

”I played like a robot,” Howard said.

He doesn’t have long for reprogramming. Game 2 is Tuesday night.