The AP reports: Dwight Howard was in high school the last time the Orlando Magic won a playoff game. On Sunday afternoon, he made sure Orlando didn’t have to wait any longer. Howard had 25 points and 22 rebounds and blocked five shots, and the Magic defeated the Toronto Raptors 114-100 in the opener of their first-round series. Jameer Nelson added 24 points for Orlando… Anthony Parker had 24 points and 8 rebounds for Toronto, Chris Bosh scored 21 and Rasho Nesterovic had 16 points and 8 rebounds. Jason Kapono scored 18 off the bench. The Raptors, who trailed by 20 points after the first quarter, drew within five with 10:24 left in the fourth on two quick 3-pointers by Kapono and a Parker jumper. But Toronto went scoreless for the next 3:16 as Orlando pulled away.
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Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh go way back
Chris Bosh and Dwight Howard have been buddies for years, but now they’re facing each other in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Here’s what Howard said about their relationship, as reported by Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun:
“We’ve really grown closer this past year, but for now we have to be enemies,” Howard said. “I just can’t wait to get it going. We’ve been talking about playing each other since the summer before last. We were around each other for the Olympic team (last year) and we were always talking about how his team would do against us and how my team would do against his.”
Live blogging from Magic-Raptors; Magic lead 60-47 at the half
The Orlando Magic had one of the best first quarters in NBA playoff history, but a lackluster second quarter effort has the Raptors within 13 points at the end of the first half.
The Magic led by as much as 23 in the second quarter, but finally started to miss some shots from behind the arc, just as Jason Kapono of the Raptors started to heat up.
The Magic scored 43 points in the first quarter, a team playoff record, and shot 9-for-11 behind the arc, which set an NBA record for 3’s made in the first quarter of a playoff game.
Unfortunately for Magic fans, who have definitely had in impact in the first half, the Magic managed just 17 points in the second quarter.
The Raptors appear to have weathered the Magic storm, and if Orlando can’t establish an inside game with Dwight Howard in the second half, Toronto could come back and win this game.
As for the marked advantage that Toronto was supposed to have at the point guard position, it has yet to materialize as Jameer Nelson and Keyon Dooling have outplayed T.J. Ford and Jose Calderon in the first half. Nelson had eight points and four assists in the first half, Dooling added eight points in just seven minutes off the bench. Ford had two points and four assists, but shot just 1-for-7 from the field. Calderon had four points and three assists.
As for my second half prediction, I expect the Magic to hold on and win by double digits.
Apr. 16: Magic 103, Wizards 83
The AP reports: The Orlando Magic paid more attention to the guy trying to make a half-court shot for $100,000 than their coach during a third-quarter timeout Wednesday night… J.J. Redick scored a career-high 18 points and Marcin Gortat had a career-high 12 points and 11 rebounds, leading the Magic to a 103-83 victory in a meaningless regular-season finale for two playoff-bound teams. Both teams rested their stars… Andray Blatche led Washington with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Nick Young scored 14. Darius Songaila, Roger Mason and Oleksiy Pecherov each scored 10 points for the Wizards, and Pecherov had a career-high 10 rebounds… Lewis had 15 points in 17 minutes. Redick, a Magic fan favorite who rarely gets off the bench, was 0-for-5 from the field to start, but finished 7-for-14. Turkoglu scored 11 points and Keith Bogans added 10.
Apr. 15: Magic 121, Hawks 105
The AP reports: Maurice Evans had a career-high 27 points and six of his Orlando teammates also scored in double figures, leading the Magic to a 121-105 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night. Evans scored 23 points in the second half as both playoff-bound teams substituted liberally, knowing the game had no impact on their postseason positioning… Orlando shot 57 percent from the field (47 of 82), getting 17 points from Hedo Turkoglu, 15 from Dwight Howard and 14 from Jameer Nelson. Rashard Lewis added 12 points, while Keyon Dooling and J.J. Redick had 11 each. Marvin Williams and Salim Stoudamire led the Hawks with 16 points apiece… Dooling had nine assists, one off his career high.
Raptors to face Magic in playoffs first round
The Orlando Sentinel (Tim Povtak) reports: The Toronto Raptors, by virtue of their 91-75 victory against the Miami Heat and the Philadelphia 76ers’ controversial 91-90 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday, earned the No. 6 seeding in the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs so that is who the No. 3-seeded Orlando Magic will face in the first round. The Sixers lost and the Cavs clinched the No. 4 seeding after refs reviewed a foul by Samuel Dalembert at the end of their game and called the 76ers, who thought the game was over, out of the locker room. Officials put 0.2 second back on the clock, and the Cavs’ Devin Brown sank two free throws for the win.
Apr. 13: Magic 104, Bulls 84
The AP reports: Hedo Turkoglu scored 24 points, and the Orlando Magic beat the Chicago Bulls 104-84 to reach the 50-win mark for the first time in 12 years on Sunday night. Dwight Howard added 19 points even though he sat out the fourth quarter, and Rashard Lewis added 18. Orlando got a much-needed win after dropping six of 10 and losing to lottery-bound New York and Minnesota in that span… Andres Nocioni led Chicago with 22 points and Luol Deng added 19, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Magic from reaching 50 wins for the first time since 1995-96.
Apr. 11: Wolves 102, Magic 101
The AP reports: Ryan Gomes made a pair of free throws with 2.9 seconds remaining to give the Timberwolves a 102-101 victory over the playoff-bound Orlando Magic on Friday night, snapping a six-game losing streak… Minnesota’s Randy Foye had a game-high 25 points and reserve Rashad McCants added 19. Turkoglu scored 23 points to lead the Magic, who were just 8-for-21 from the field in the fourth quarter. Dwight Howard had 20 points and 14 rebounds for his 68th double-double of the season, tying Shaquille O’Neal’s franchise record set in 1992-93, and Rashard Lewis added 18.
Impressive Magic improvement from last season
The Orlando Sentinel (Brian Schmitz) reports: The Magic will win 50 games this season, plus a few more, and they should get it Friday night against the woeful Minnesota Timberwolves at home. Reaching 50 would mean the Magic have made at least a 10-game improvement since last season’s 40-42 record — a significant bump by league standards. It represents a 14-game bump from the back-to-back 36-46 seasons the previous two years. They can become just the fourth Magic team to win 50, and the first since the exalted 1995-96 team of Shaq and Penny. Coach Stan Van Gundy said 50 wins separates a team from mediocrity, providing instant respect. Sort of like breaking 90 on the golf course. It took the Magic a long time to put this thing back together — and they tried — after Shaquille O’Neal’s departure in 1996 started a rapid decline.
Apr. 9: Magic 115, Bulls 83
The AP reports: To the rest of the Eastern Conference playoff field, a note: It’s going to take more than a knock to the head and a fat lip to slow down Dwight Howard. Playing with six stitches in his upper lip after a day after a practice collision with 6-foot-11 reserve Marcin Gortat, Howard had 30 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Magic past the Chicago Bulls 115-83 on Wednesday night. It didn’t affect Howard’s game, but “it is affecting my modeling career,” the All-Star said. “Just for a couple days.” Kirk Hinrich led Chicago with 19 points, while Ben Gordon and Aaron Gray each scored 13. Tyrus Thomas tied a career high with five blocks… Rashard Lewis finished with 21 points and seven rebounds for Orlando, Carlos Arroyo had 13 points and six assists and Hedo Turkoglu had 12 points, eight assists and six rebounds.