Orlando Magic Blog – Page 86 – NBA Blog

Apr. 28: Magic 102, Raptors 92

The AP reports: Dwight Howard had 21 points, 21 rebounds and three blocks—his third 20-20 game in the series—and the Magic advanced to second round for the first time in 12 years by beating the Toronto Raptors 102-92 in Game 5 on Monday night… Chris Bosh, who posted career playoff highs of 39 points and 15 rebounds at Toronto on Saturday, had 16 points and nine rebounds Monday. Howard frustrated him down low into 7-of-19 shooting, and Bosh picked up a third-quarter technical foul after the Magic star muscled past him for a layup. T.J. Ford and Carlos Delfino both scored 14 points for the Raptors, while Jason Kapono had 13 and Jose Calderon 12. Delfino added seven rebounds and Ford had five assists… Keyon Dooling’s free throw after the technical on Bosh put the Magic ahead 73-66 with just under a minute left in the third quarter, and Orlando kept that cushion until midway through the fourth. Delfino hit a jumper and Bosh made two free throws in four trips to the line, plus a hook shot over Howard, to draw the Raptors within 84-82.

InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: Neither team shot particularly well and both teams struggled from three-point range. And both teams shot around 82% from the free throw line, though the Magic got more opportunities. A huge factor was rebounding: Magic 55 boards, Raptors only 37. Assists were almost even. The Magic threw the ball away more than the Raptors. As for individual players, for the Magic: Dwight Howard on just 12 shots had 21 points, 21 rebounds and 3 blocks. Jameer Nelson scored 19. Rashard Lewis had 18 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists. Hedo Turko shot just 4-of-13 but with his 12 points also came 8 rebounds and 9 assists. For the Raptors, Chris Bosh took 19 shots for just 16 points, plus 9 rebounds. Five other Raptors scored between 11 and 14 points.

Apr. 26: Magic 106, Raptors 94

The AP reports: Jameer Nelson scored 12 of his 19 points in the final period, including 10 straight at one stretch, and the Orlando Magic beat the Toronto Raptors 106-94 on Saturday to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series… Rashard Lewis added 27 points and 13 rebounds, and Dwight Howard added 19 points, 16 boards and eight blocks for the third-seeded Magic, who host Game 5 of this first-round series Monday night. Chris Bosh set a career playoff-high with 39 points and added 15 rebounds for the Raptors, while T.J. Ford had 12 points and 13 assists… Toronto stayed close until back-to-back 3-pointers by Hedo Turkoglu and Lewis gave the Magic a 100-92 lead with 1:31 remaining. Turkoglu had 18 points and nine rebounds. Keith Bogans scored 12 points for Orlando… Jason Kapono and Anthony Parker each scored 12 for the Raptors, who were just 2-for-15 from 3-point range. Bosh finished 16-for-26.

Apr. 24: Raptors 108, Magic 94

The AP reports: With a quick start and quality point guard play, the Toronto Raptors turned the tables on the Orlando Magic. T.J. Ford scored 21 points, Jose Calderon had 18 points and 13 assists, and the Raptors beat the Magic 108-94 on Thursday night, cutting Orlando’s lead to 2-1 in their first-round playoff series… Dwight Howard had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Magic, while Hedo Turkoglu added 26 points and Rashard Lewis scored 19… Jamario Moon had 11 points and 10 rebounds in his return to the starting lineup for Toronto, while Bosh and Jason Kapono each scored 15 points and Anthony Parker 10… Keith Bogans scored 12 for the Magic, who trailed by as many as 23. Orlando guard Jameer Nelson collapsed with back spasms as he was walking back the locker room after the game and was seen writhing on the floor in pain… With Jamario Moon back in the starting lineup in place of Rasho Nesterovic, the Raptors had the energy they needed.

Apr. 22: Magic 104, Raptors 103

The AP reports: Two playoff games, two 20-point, 20-rebound outings for Dwight Howard. This time there was no question he was the difference maker. Orlando’s 3-point touch evaporated, but Howard’s 29 points and 20 rebounds powered the Magic past the Toronto Raptors, 104-103, Tuesday night for a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series… Chris Bosh had 29 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto, but missed a 19-footer with 1.9 seconds left that could have won the game. Jason Kapono scored 20 points, Jose Calderon had 18 and Carlos Delfino added 16 for the Raptors… Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis each scored 18 for Orlando. Hedo Turkoglu made the go-ahead layup and finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. Orlando won despite shooting 9-of-31 from 3-point range—including a combined 0-of-13 for Turkoglu and Lewis. The Raptors made 11 of 29 3s, four by Kapono.

Apr. 20: Magic 114, Raptors 100

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.

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.