Orlando Magic Blog – Page 69 – NBA Blog

Rafer Alston pimp-slaps Eddie House

Wednesday night in Boston, the Celtics hosted the Orlando Magic in Game 2 of their second round series.

In one sequence, Celtics guard Eddie House hit a deep jumper from the right corner, and seconds later, Magic point guard Rafer Alston slapped House in the back of the head as Eddie was running back down the floor.

After the game, Alston said that House had utilized an elbow, and that’s what made Alston react the way he did.

I have not seen a clear replay that showed ill-manner use of an elbow, but I will say that Alston should be fined, but probably not suspended.

If it was more of a hard hit with more direct force then I’d say a suspension for one game would be in order. But, it wasn’t.

Magic take opener from Celtics 95-90

The AP reports: Dwight Howard returned from his one-game suspension to get 16 points and 22 rebounds Monday night and Orlando, which led by as many as 28 points in the second half, held off the late-charging Celtics 95-90 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals… Orlando led 65-37 early in the third quarter, but Boston trailed by four points when Ray Allen’s 3-pointer rimmed out with 43 seconds left. J.J. Redick made two free throws with 14 seconds left before Paul Pierce’s high 3-pointer made it a three-point game with 6.6 seconds to play… Pierce scored 16 of his 23 points in the second half and Rajon Rondo had 14 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists… Kendrick Perkins had 16 rebounds for Boston, but Rondo and Allen both went 2 of 12 from the field.

Live fan discussion of this game took place in this forum topic.

LeBron James wins MVP

LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers is the winner of the Maurice Podoloff Trophy as the 2008-09 NBA Most Valuable Player, the NBA announced today.

James totaled 1,172 points including 109 first place votes, from a panel of 121 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Players were awarded 10 points for each first-place vote, seven points for each second-place vote, five for third, three for fourth and one for each fifth-place vote received.

Rounding out the top five in voting for this season’s award are the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant (698 points), Miami’s Dwyane Wade (680), Orlando’s Dwight Howard (328) and New Orleans’ Chris Paul (192).

James, the first Cavalier to win the award, led Cleveland in scoring (28.4 ppg, second in the NBA), rebounds (7.6 rpg), assists (7.2 apg, fourth), and steals (1.7 spg, eighth). Since the 1973-74 season when steals became an official stat, James is the fourth player to lead his team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals, while also leading his team to 50-plus wins (Larry Bird 1985-86; Grant Hill, 1996-97; Kevin Garnett, 2002-03). The 6-8 forward helped Cleveland to an NBA- and franchise-best 66-16 season, a 21-game improvement over last season (45-37), marking the 12th time an NBA team has reached 66 wins in a season.

More info and the voting results on our NBA MVP page.

Magic eliminate 76ers with 114-89 win

The AP reports: On a night the suspended Dwight Howard recorded a double-double in blog and Twitter posts from his hotel room, the Magic advanced to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 114-89 in Game 6 on Thursday… Playing without Howard and injured guard Courtney Lee, the Magic thumped the Sixers from the start… Rashard Lewis scored 29 points and Rafer Alston had 21 to help the Magic win for the second time this series in Philadelphia. The Magic’s decisive run came early when they made 12 of their first 19 shots… Alston hit two 3-pointers during the Magic’s fast start that put them up 15 and quickly negated the home crowd. J.J. Redick made all three 3-point attempts in the first half and ably filled in for Lee… Andre Miller scored 24 points and Andre Iguodala had 20 for the Sixers, who were eliminated in the first round for the second straight season and face a cloudy offseason.

Dwight Howard suspended for Game 6 due to elbowing Dalembert

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard has been suspended one game without pay for elbowing Philadelphia 76ers center Samuel Dalembert in the head, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident occurred with 9:15 remaining in the first period of Orlando’s 91-78 victory over the 76ers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Amway Arena last night.

Howard will serve his suspension Wednesday night (April 30) when the Magic faces the 76ers in Game 6 at Wachovia Center.

Here is a video of the Dwight Howard elbow of Salembert:

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Howard powers Magic to 3-2 series lead over 76ers

The AP reports: Dwight Howard did so much damage to the Philadelphia 76ers he set off a coaching feud. Howard had 24 points and a career playoff-high 24 rebounds, a dominating performance that powered the Magic to a 91-78 victory over the Sixers on Tuesday night and gave Orlando a 3-2 series lead. Afterward, Philadelphia coach Tony DiLeo said Howard should have been called for 3 seconds in the lane several times and asked the league to look into an elbow from Howard on Samuel Dalembert… Rashard Lewis snapped out of his playoff slump with a series-high 24 points, and Rafer Alston scored 14 for the Magic. But it was Howard’s fourth career playoff game with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds that carried the Magic. Andre Iguodala scored 26 points and led a second-half charge that fizzled fast, and Andre Miller added 17 points for Philadelphia.

Magic even 76ers series on Turkoglu 3-pointer

The AP reports: Hedo Turkoglu nailed a 3-pointer over Thaddeus Young with 1.1 seconds left to lift the Orlando Magic to an 84-81 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday, evening their Eastern Conference first-round series at two games apiece… Dwight Howard had 18 points and 18 rebounds, and every Magic starter scored in double figures. Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis each added 17 points. Andre Miller led the Sixers with 17 and Young had 15… After a hard-fought, physical first half that ended in a 36-all tie, the Magic came out firing in the third quarter. Orlando hit its first seven shots and briefly pulled away with a 10-0 run early in the quarter.

Iguodala scores 29, Sixers beat Magic 96-94

The AP reports: Thaddeus Young’s driving layup with 2 seconds left lifted Philadelphia to a 96-94 victory over the Orlando Magic on Friday night, giving the 76ers a surprising 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series… Dwight Howard had 36 points and 11 rebounds for the Magic, who won 59 games during the regular season. Andre Iguodala led the Sixers with 29 points, though he missed two free throws in the final minute. Andre Miller added 24 and Young had six… Courtney Lee, coming off a career-best, 24-point effort in Game 2, didn’t score until 3:25 remained in the first half. The rookie finished with six. Turkoglu, still slowed by a left ankle sprain, had 11 on 2-for-12 shooting. He struggled against Iguodala on the defensive end.

Magic hold off Sixers in Game 2 to even series

The AP reports: Rookie Courtney Lee had a career-high 24 points, Hedo Turkoglu added 16 and the Magic nearly blew another 18-point lead before beating Philadelphia 96-87 on Wednesday night to even the series at a game apiece. Dwight Howard had 11 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out, and Rashard Lewis made a pair of big jumpers in the final minutes to help Orlando get its fourth win in five chances against Philadelphia this season… Andre Miller had 30 points, and Andre Iguodala scored 20 of his 21 points in the second half for the Sixers, who closed the gap to five points and almost erased the same deficit they faced in the series opener. Game 3 is Friday in Philadelphia.

InsideHoops.com notes: Both teams shot OK from the field, but fairly badly from three-point range… Orlando got 30 free throws, hitting 22, while the Sixers were 12-of-18… The Magic controlled the boards, but dished just 14 assists in the game… The Magic blocked 7 shots (Dwight Howard 4), the Sixers only two… All five Magic starters scored in double-figures, plus Anthony Johnson had 11 off the bench… The Sixers got 30 points from Andre Miller, 21 from Andre Iguodala and 20 from Thaddeus Young, but the next highest scorer was Marreese Speights with five.

Dwight Howard named Defensive Player of Year

Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic is the recipient of the 2008-09 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, the NBA announced today.

The 6-11 center led the NBA in rebounds and blocks, averaging 13.8 boards and 2.92 blocks. He also averaged 20.6 points on .572 shooting from the floor. Howard recorded nine 20-point/20-rebound games while leading the team in scoring 39 times and in rebounds on 69 occasions.

Howard, a three-time NBA All-Star, helped the Magic to its second consecutive Southeast Division title (59-23), including a 32-9 record at home. The Magic held opponents under 100 points 54 times this season — compiling a 43-11 record — including a season-low 68 points allowed by New Orleans on Dec. 25. Orlando allowed 94.4 ppg (7,737 points), which ranked sixth in the NBA, and overall the team was in the NBA’s top 10 in seven defensive categories.

Howard became the fifth player in NBA history to finish the season leading the league in rebounding and blocks (1973-74 was the first season blocks were kept as an official statistic). The select group includes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (L.A. Lakers, 1975-76), Bill Walton (Portland Trail Blazers, 1976-77), Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston, 1989-90) and Ben Wallace (Detroit, 2001-02).

Howard received 542 points, including 105 first-place votes, from a panel of 119 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Cleveland’s LeBron James finished second with 148 points and Miami’s Dwyane Wade finished third with 90 points. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote received.

Finishing fourth was Shane Battier, fifth was Ron Artest, sixth was Chris Paul, seventh was Kobe Bryant, eighth was Kevin Garnett, ninth was Chris Andersen and 10th was Rajon Rondo.