What a game!

Check out Third Quarter Collapse for a great recap to one of the biggest games in Magic history!

Magic Win!! Move on to Second Round!!!!!

Yes! This has been such a long time coming! 12 years to be exact. This game was close until the about the fourth quarter. The Raptors seemed to give up at the end.

We now move on to the second round and we are the first team in the NBA to do so. Dwight had his third 20-20 game in this playoff series. He finished with 21 points, 21 rebounds and 3 blocks. Dwight really stepped it up this playoff series and really took it upon himself to take his game to another level.

I've done too much yelling and screaming so more posting tomorrow!

Tonight is a HUGE Game for the Orlando Magic Franchise!!

Winning tonight is more than just a win. It would mean that the Orlando Magic would be the FIRST team to move on to the second round. It would mean that this team has taken another big step. It would give the young guys, basically the whole team, that experience needed in the future. The win would give us the proof that we can close out quarters and we can close out games. This is a huge game. Its time to show who really has the determination and the will to win.

The main keys to tonight's game, in my opinion are as follows:

1. Dwight must stay defensive minded.
D12 will get his on the offensive end, but his main focus should be on defense. We wouldn't have won game 4 if it wasn't for Dwight being that huge force on the inside. The Magic have to make the Raptors beat them from the perimeter. Make them play our game. Dump it into Dwight, but also get the wing guys, Hedo and Rashard, more involved like game 4.

2. Make the extra pass.
Rashard Lewis struggles when he just stands around and jacks up threes in transition. Getting the ball moving around the arc and into Dwight's hands or Rashard in the corner is very effective. Fumbling the ball and kicking it out to a well defended player at the three point line, will only kill the offensive rhythm. Making crisp passes and being alert when Dwight is in the block, is key. Passing the ball to confuse the defense is big tonight.

3. Hedo needs the ball in his hands as much as possible.
For most of the series, Jameer has played exceptionally well. But having the ball in his hands most of the time is not very effective. Hedo is our best ball handler and decision maker. Letting him distribute the ball and make the right decisions will help us get the win tonight.

Magic Come to Play in Game 4! Win 106-94

After the butt whooping we received in Game 3, the Magic had to come out and really give it their all. Toronto started the first period hot, but so did the Magic. Rashard and Jameer had some struggles in the first period, but that doesn't matter. We have Dwight. He absolutely played amazing in the first quarter. After just 12 minutes of play, he already had a stat line looking something like this: 12 points, 7 rebounds, 4 blocks. :O Wow! 4 blocks in the first quarter for him and he didn't stop there. Dwight finished the game with a total of 8 blocks. Wow thats what we need from Dwight. And to think he finished 8th in DPOY voting. Lame. Dwight also added 19 points, 16 rebounds but went 1-6 from the free throw line. Howard finished 1-for-6 from the free throw line and has gone 9-for-23 since a 9-for-11 showing in Game 1.

No matter what happens from here on out, this game was huge for this franchise and you have to like this teams chances. Especially going back home and able to put the Raptors to sleep once and for all. But... we can't get ahead of ourselves.

Even the Raptors know they are still in it until they are sitting at home watching us in the 2nd round. “It’s not over yet,” Ford said. “It’s the first one to four. We got ourselves in a hole and we just have to continue to stay positive.”

Like I said earlier, not just in the first quarter but also the second and third. But he still did not let that stop him. In the fourth quarter, when we see Turk, Rashard, or Dwight step up, Nelson took over. To get the big contribution from Nelson, especially after the night he was having, was a surprise. His first shot was an 18-foot jumper that made it 80-80. He followed with two 3-pointers and a 16-footer.

Point guards always dribble a fine line between making things happen and forcing them. Nelson had gotten tentative, then something kicked in. "Sometimes you start to feel it," Nelson said. "I started feeling it in the fourth quarter. I hit a couple of big shots and teammates started looking for me. When you make shots your confidence goes up."

"Jameer Nelson, he just got hot," Chris Bosh said. "He really hadn't shot like that the whole series. He made a couple of easy shots, and by that time I guess the basket looked a little bit bigger to him."

Jameer finished with 19 points and 5 assists. Rashard Lewis shook of a bad start and put up a huge stat line. He finished the game leading the Magic with 27 points, and added 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and a block.

For tonight's game, instead of continuing the downward trend in this series, we came out to play. In Game 1 we destroyed them, Game 2 could have easily gone their way, Game 3 did. We went from great to ok, then quickly to horrible. But then yesterday we changed all that. We bucked the trend you could say. Thats huge for this team and these guys. After we wrap up this series (hopefully Monday), the Magic can use this series to build upon for the future. They really fought hard and put in the effort needed to move on. Even if we don't win in the second round, still, they learned a lot and gained much experience. And thats well worth it for a young team. No matter what this season was an overwhelming success.

The Morning After The Loss...

Ok so it's been over half a day since the last post. I've had a chance to let the loss sink in and the good things to be realized again. We are still up 2-1 in the series and we still have a much better chance to move on. We are the better road team, and we get to go back on our home court, hopefully to close out the series.

The bad news is that we have been doing a nosedive, as of late. We started off sweltering hot in Game 1, blowing them out of the building. It was a different story in Game 2, where we could have easily lost, but pulled out the 1 point win. And Game 3 was the same outcome as game one, except in their favor. It's time to shake it up, change the pace, or do something different because the game tomorrow is huge. Letting them come back and tie the series just gives them all the momentum in the world. That would be heart crushing for the Magic and their fans. Plus, then it would be anyone's game and they could win the series just as easily as us. Imagine how soft and terrible the Magic would look if they went home in the first round, and let Toronto move on to the second round in our spot!

In other NBA news:

1. T-Mac and crew finally won a game. After crying and whining to reporters that the 2-0 deficit to the Jazz was "all my fault", McGrady led the Rockets to a 94-92 win on Thursday night. T-Mac had 27 points to lead the Rockets, along with 5 rebounds and 7 assists. Alston had 20, Scola had 16/10. Deron Williams had 28 and 10 assists to lead the Jazz.
2. Mere days after being routed by 30 at the Cavs expense, the Wizards dished out the pain right back at Lebron and Co. Last night the Wizards beat the Cavaliers by 36! The end score was 108-72 in a stellar defensive effort in Washington, D.C. This win was without the help of Gilbert Arenas who went out with a left knee injury. The same knee that was surgically repaired and caused him to miss most of the season.
   

Magic Wont Sweep Raptors.. Lose 108-94

You could argue that this was expected. You had one team who was on the road the first two games. They had their backs against the wall. They got their butts handed to them in Game 1 and clawed and fought until the end of Game 2, but lost. This was their game from the get go.

Ford came back tonight with a strong performance. And Jameer didn't get a field goal until the closing minutes of the fourth quarter. Ford mimicked Nelson's strong performances in Games 1 & 2. But it wasn't just Ford who played well at the point, it was Calderon too. No let me clarify, he didn't play WELL, JC played SPECTACULAR. Aside from the un-Calderon like three turnovers, his play was All-Star caliber. The Spanish point guard finished with 18 points, 13 assists, and 7 rebounds... off the bench! The two Raptor point guards combined for 39 points, 16 assists, 12 rebounds, and only 4 turnovers.

Tonight we got beat on the offensive and defensive boards this time. Again our glaring weakness shows. We need another big man to help Dwight out on the defensive end and with rebounds. Unlike every other game this year, Adonal Foyle was not the first big man off the bench to spell Dwight Howard. The Polish Hammer himself, Marcin Gortat, was the first big guy called. He went in during the start of the 2nd quarter. While he only played 5 minutes and score two points on one shot, he is an active player who never stops moving and hustling.

The Raptors got an early lead and never looked back. We never had a chance. We would miss a shot they would sink two or three of them. This was their game. Our guys just didn't have it in them. The big three stepped it up, but we didn't have any support from the starting guards or the bench. Bogans had 12, but was dreadful for most of the game. I even yelled at the TV at one point, telling Van Gundy to "Get him off the court!!".

Dwight Howard put up another solid game of 19 points, 12 rebounds, but he had 6 turnovers. Lewis had 19 and Hedo put up 26 and 7 rebounds. The big three did their part and had a combined 64 points. The rest of the Magic team did anything but play well. Add up all the points from everyone else and you get a mere 30 points. Thats downright dreadful. Absolutely horrible. We HAVE to get more production out of the rest of the team or we will lose this series!

News Before The Game Tonight

To all the readers out there that I hopefully have. You will have to excuse me lately, as I have been VERY busy and the blog has taken a back seat.

Back to the Magic... here are some of the latest headlines in the Magic world:

1. Orlando has formally applied to the NBA to host the 2011-2012 NBA All-Star Weekend, here in Central Florida.
2. The land for the new arena, on Hughey and Church streets, is just about clear. The building is scheduled to go up in July and the Magic have asked Commissioner Stern to attend.
3. Fran Vasquez's status over in Spain is still a mystery. Both Toronto F Jorge Garbajosa and G Jose Calderon played with Vasquez and know him well, yet they are not exactly sure what he plans to do. "Technically, he's a very good player, very talented, and he can do a lot of things," said Garbajosa, who spent most of this season on the injured list for Toronto.
   
   "But to come from Europe and play in this league, you have to be strong mentally and very confident. Two years ago, he wasn't there. Maybe the maturity has helped him now, but I don't know what he plans to do." Maurizio Gherardini, Toronto's assistant GM, said this about Fran: "Physically, he's very impressive," Gherardini said. "He can jump out of the gym. But he's very inconsistent."
4. Check out the thread about the Magic's NBA Championship Chances at Magic Madness.
5. The agent for Maurice Evans says that Evans will look at all his options during free agency and isn't necessarily sure he will resign with the Magic. But his agent also said, "It's an awesome fit, and it can turn into an awesome fit. . . . We'd like to potentially stay here."
6. Current Magic Assistant Coach Patrick Ewing said he has not been contacted at all about the vacant head coaching job in New York.
7. The Raptors might have to rethink part of their game plan after Dwight Howard has been hitting his free throws lately. He was 9-11 in game 1.
8. Check here to see what Magic Owner Bob Vander Weide says about J.J. Redick's future.
   

Magic Win Nail-Biter!! 104-103

This time around it wasn't such an easy win. This one went down to the wire. Toronto was down for most of the game but made a push at the very end. Here's a play-by-play of the closing possessions:

1. Toronto is down 100-91.
2. Delfino hits a three pointer, 100-94.
3. Calderon hits a three, 100-97
4. Calderon hits another big three, 100-100.
5. Delfino hits a free throw, Toronto leads 101-100.
6. Turkoglu drives to the lane for a layup and puts Orlando back on top, 102-101.
7. Turk hits two free throws and Orlando leads, 104-101.
8. Delfino gets a layup, 104-103 with 9.6 seconds left.
9. Keyon is called for an offensive foul, on the inbounds pass.
10. Bosh gets the isolation play along with a jump shot to try to win the game.
11. Rashard rebounds the missed shot and time expires as the Magic win, 104-103.

For the second straight game, Toronto got buried in a double-digit deficit in the opening minutes—this time from inside. The Magic hit only 9-31 shots from three point land, which is a dreadful 29%.

Dwight had another spectacular 20-20 game; he finished with 29 points, 20 rebounds, and three blocked shots. But, Rashard and Turk were a combined 11-36 from the field. Those two must be more consistent and offer more because this is the big boy time. Our forwards need to step it up.

Our buddy Kapono went off again with 20 points off the bench. Bosh was the only starter for the Raptors to score in double digits, but he got significant help off the bench. 57 bench points to be exact.

Jameer, Carlos, and Keyon did a pretty good job on the Raptors point guards, this game. After not forcing Ford or Calderon into any turnovers in Game 1, Forderon turned the ball over 5 times in Game 2. Toronto averages only 12 turnovers per game, so forcing those 5 from them is a good feat.

Game 3 is on April 24th in Toronto, Ontario at 7:30 on Sun Sports.

Today's a BIG Day!

Tonight is the last game before departing to enemy territory for Thursday's game, in Toronto. Going up north with a 2-0 lead would give us a huge advantage for the rest of the season. Not to get lazy, but just in case the Raptors get a game on us up there. But the Magic can't get relaxed because they have a one game cushion. The series is not even close to being ours yet.

It really makes me mad when reports like this one by Jerry Greene, from the Orlando Sentinel. He talks about how the Magic did their part in last Sunday's game, but the fans came up short. He says that the fans were not loud enough and " You let them down". Idiot. I was in the stands and the whole arena was much louder than any regular season game. It was insane. I got a headache because it was so loud in Amway Arena. Everyone was yelling, screaming, and making lots of noise with their Rally Rackets. For playoff game two 18,000 thunder sticks will be given out along with 9,000 blue and 9,000 white “Blue and White Ignite” T-shirts.

To win this game, we need Jameer to step it up big, again. What put Jameer's play over the top, in Sunday's game, was his defense on T.J. Ford. He played superb offensively, but what really made our mouths drop was his shutdown of Ford on defense. He sure isn't known for his defensive prowess, but he showed us that he does have it in him. Keeping up that great play, even if it's only on defense, is critical in our winning of this series.

Lets see if Raptors Coach Sam Mitchell will go with Andrea Bargnani again to defend Hedo Turkoglu. That sure didn't turn out to be the right decision. If you never have started him at small forward during the season, why try it now in the playoffs?? That is something you do in training camp and practice, but not randomly in the playoffs. Horrible coaching decision. Mitchell might try the same lineup again to "show" everyone that he didn't totally make a big mistake in the starting of Bargnani. But lets just wait and see what he does. If Moon returns to the starting lineup, it will be Mitchell admitting defeat and a coaching mistake. I'm so glad the Magic have Van Gundy.

UPDATE: Mitchell is reportedly going to start Bargnani at small forward again in tonight's game.

Magic Win Game 1!! 114-100

What a day! What a game! That was insane! I went to the game today and the whole place was sooo loud from the get go. The crowd was so into it. The 6th man really played a huge part in today's game. The Magic's PR staff really did well today by giving out blue shirts for one half of the arena, and white shirts for the other half. That move really gave the arena a more "togetherness". There were some unlucky Raptors fans there. One Raptors fan near the section I was in, had one of those annoying horn things. Everytime Dwight Howard went to the free throw line, he would press the horn. After about the first or second time people started hurling insults and threats against him. Serves the guy right. Magic fans were telling the ushers to throw him out and trying to get a bunch of fans to jump him after the game. It was all in good fun but what person in their right mind would come to a playoff game dressed in the enemy colors??

Well back to the game... Dwight is a monster, what else can I say? He was a little quiet at first, so I'm sure during timeouts and at halftime, Coach told him to get more aggressive. He did just that, ending with 25 points, 22 rebounds, and 5 blocks! What a performance! He's amazing. Just seeing him step out and hit a jump shot gave me glimpses of the future yet to come. I also saw the future through my crystal ball when I witnessed D12 hit free throw after free throw. In all he hit 9 of the 11 free throws he took, in game one. Thats 82%. Even if Dwight "upped" his free throw percentage a little bit, his points per game would jump drastically. No matter what, just by witnessing this playoff performance today, I know he has potential off the charts.

Jameer played just about the best game of his young career. I can't say that enough. I don't know how many other performances we will see, like this one.. But I do know that he did not just outplay Ford. He demolished him. He destroyed him. He showed who needs to worry about who. Nelson has the potential to play great on offense and defense like we saw tonight. He finished with 24 points, 7 assists, hit 2 three-pointers, and went 8-8 from the free throw line. Ford ended with 5 points, 6 assists.

Mo Evans was the star in the first quarter hitting 3 threes, en route to 11 points. He finished with fourteen, after distributing to the other guys after his hot start. Turk came up big with 21, 6 rebounds, 6 assists. He had the task of handling the ball frequently and did a good job as the makeshift point guard at times. Lewis hit 3 threes and had 13 points in the game. He mostly camped out at the three point line, and I would like to see him drive to the hoop more. But all that is excused because of the great defense he played against Chris Bosh. 13 of Bosh's 21 points came from the free throw line. Lewis "let" him score only 4 buckets, which equals 8 points. That's great defense on Lewis' part. Dooling played great off the bench with 10 points.

The Anthony Parker & Jason Kapono outside shooting duo killed us. We have to body up on them. The only fortunate thing to those two doubling up for 42 points is that we forced the Raptors to take outside shots. They made a good amount, but those shots will not always fall. This is all due to Dwight's outstanding job on the defensive end. Every time a Raptors player came in the lane D12 was there to block the shot or send them packing in the other direction. Even his goaltending one shot sent the message that "nothing is allowed in my house".

1. Boxscore
2. Recap
   

Game 2 is Tuesday 4/22 at Amway Arena. Tip off is at 7:30 on Sun Sports.

The Day Before the Game...

What to do now?... We all can't wait until tomorrow's Magic game of course. Here's some things to keep your mind busy. Check out these thinks:

1. The awesome post on Third Quarter Collapse were Ben Q. Rock shows his appreciation for Maurice Evans.
2. Find out what Toronto fans are saying about the first round match up and who they think will win.
3. Click this GIF showing the many faces of Coach Stan Van Gundy.
   
4. How Van Gundy changes from off the court to coaching in the game.
   
5. See which teams the Sentinel Guys have predicted to win in the playoffs.
6. The Game 1 Playoff Thread at Magic Madness and these cool playoff signature images.
   

Playoffs Start Tomorrow

Remember the early tip tomorrow on ESPN. Its the Cavs and Wizards at 12:30.

I'll be attending the Magic's first game vs the Raptors 12:30 Sunday April, 20. 3QC has a great thread about the game. I would try to do something that great, but this free blogging site just wont allow me to.

All you really need to know about that game is that its going to be a tough matchup. Winning the first two games at home are a must. We can't let this thing go to where we have to win in Toronto. We have to use the home court to our best advantage. Dragging this thing on will only prove fatal.

Lets look at the matchups:
Howard vs Nesterovic:
This is our best bet of a mismatch. Dwight can easily bull around down low and have his way with the Raptor big men. They really don't have a low-post defender who can cope with Dwight. So that means this series needs to be one where Dwight literally takes over and dominates, if we want to adavance.

Lewis vs Bosh:
This is a tough one because, in contrast, we really don't have anyone to put the clamps on Bosh. Lewis will get most of the time against him and have the task of slowing him. This could easily put Lewis in foul trouble from the beginning, meaning Turk will have to step it up.

Turkoglu vs Moon:
With Lewis sticking Bosh, it has to bet Turk who is the 2nd cog and the main distributer and go-to guy. We can't afford to have Hedo have an off night. It's his responsibility to be the X-factor again, this series, just as he was during the regular season. Moon is a good defender and a very athletic player so it could be an interesting matchup between the two.

Evans vs Parker:
This matchup is almost a wash because they are identical players. Yet, Parker is the 2nd leading scorer on the Raptors and their second go to guy. He can hit the jumper and even the three. But, Evans can counter him in every facet of the game. Evans can slash to the rim and get to the hoop. We will really count on him doing in this series, to get easy baskets.

Nelson vs Ford:
Ouch. Ford and Calderon vs our guys. This could be deadly. Nelson had better focus on keeping himself between Ford and the rim. Forget about scoring and shooting, except the occasional easy basket. He has to keep Ford out of the lane or he will collapse our defense and cause even more problems. A great series by Nelson is a must. We could really be seeing a lot of Keyon Dooling in the first round, to body up on Calderon.

My prediction? The same as many. Magic in 6 tough games. Losing any of the first two games could be deadly. Mark my words.

Magic Win Final Game, Move to 52-30

There was no game post for the final game against the Wizards. But who cared about that game anyways. We won and thats all we need to know because its PLAYOFF TIME!!

Here is the much anticipated first round schedule against the Toronto Raptors:

• Game 1: Sunday April 20 @ Orlando, 12:30 PM, TNT
• Game 2: Tuesday April 22 @ Orlando, 7:30 PM, NBA TV
• Game 3: Thursday April 24 @ Toronto, 7:30 PM, NBA TV
• Game 4: Saturday April 26 @ Toronto, 3:00 PM, TNT
• Game 5: Monday April 28 @ Orlando, 7:30 PM, NBA TV
• Game 6: Thursday May 1 @ Toronto, Time and Channel TBD
  
• Game 7: Saturday May 3 @ Orlando, Time TBD, TNT

But, were in luck. In Brian Schmitz's blog, he states that Sun Sports could also carry some or all of the games on NBA TV.

Check out the "Magic Playoff Sigs" and the "Playoffs: Magic vs Raptors" topics from MagicMadness for more on the Magic's First Round Matchup.

51 Wins! Magic Use 2nd Half Surge to Top Hawks 121-105

Mo Evans led the Magic with a career-high 27 points; 23 in the 2nd half. 6 other Magic players scored in double figures as we pulled ahead and kept the lead in the second half. The first half was a major disappointment as we looked like the Magic of old, struggling with the Hawks. SVG must have had a convincing halftime chat with the team because they came out ready. We bumped the lead to double digits and despite some comeback attempts, we didn't let them challenge much.

During much of the second half Coach Stan Van Gundy went with a lineup of:
Foyle
Garrity
Bogans
Redick
Dooling

This lineup would normally be horrid on both ends of the court. Yet, tonight they held their own and play good defense. That kept the Hawks at bay and the lead in double digits.

Dwight - 15 points/13 rebounds
Hedo - 17 points/8 assists
Rashard - 12 points/5 rebounds/5 steals

Marvin Williams and Salim Stoudemire led the Hawks with 16. We luckily kept Joe Johnson at bay for tonight's game and he finished 5-12 with 10 points, 3 assists, 3 assists.


Recap & Boxscore

Our next and LAST game of the season is tomorrow night at home against the playoff-bound Washington Wizards.

Tonight's Game: Magic @ Hawks

Magic (50-30) vs. Hawks (37-43)

Sun Sports
Philips Arena
7 PM

Probable Lineups:
Howard C Horford
Lewis PF Williams
Turkoglu SF Smith
Evans SG Johnson
Nelson PG Bibby

Heading into the playoffs tonight, Van Gundy will slightly reduce the minutes of the big three. Hedo, Dwight, and Rashard need to be fresh and ready for the playoffs. But I think it's very important to keep them in rhythm and ready for the playoffs this weekend.

The Hawks’ final home game will be a celebration, as they face the Orlando Magic on Tuesday, one day after Atlanta secured the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Even though the recent games have been largely meaningless to the Magic, we still have not played up to Playoff standards. Tonight we have to get it going and show the league we are for real. The Hawks game tonight is a great matchup because we regularly have trouble with them so this game is perfect. Time to show themselves and the NBA that the Magic are here to stay among the elite teams in the East.

Playoffs: Magic VS Raptors

It is now for sure that we will play the Raptors in the first round of the playoffs. We haven't had much luck against them lately, though. We are just 5-9 in the last 14 games against them and just 1-7 in Toronto, recently. The Magic were 2-1 against them this season, but Bosh missed one of the games.

This is an intriguing match up and I can't wait for it to get started. I already have tickets to the first playoff game, here in Orlando at the Amway Arena. The times and dates are not known for sure yet, as the game is either Sunday (4/20) OR Monday (4/21). Most likely Game 1 will be Sunday, April 20. That is THIS Sunday, coming up, so mark your calendars. The games will probably be shown mostly on ESPN. On the ESPN program guide there is a spot for NBA Playoffs at 3 P.M. so the game could possibly be on at that time. But as NYC said there is a listing for a 3:00pm Game on ABC and then 5:30pm, 8:00pm, 10:30pm on TNT. So who knows. Updates will follow as we know more.

Counting Down the Days Until the Playoffs...

If the playoffs started today we would face the Toronto Raptors in the first round. This is pretty scary for a few reasons. Chris Bosh can "cancel" out Dwight Howard on any given night. Calderon and Ford are light years above our point guards. And they have a good defensive team.

The good news for us is that they are the 2nd worst rebounding team in the NBA. BUT, they are a better offensive rebounding team than we are. Both teams are near the bottom of the league, though. We have dropped our turnover numbers this season but the Magic are still in the middle of the pack when it comes to turnovers per game. Good thing Toronto is in the bottom of the league when it comes to steals per game. But we still need to watch out for Ford; he is the fastest guy in the league.

Our main advantage would come at the times where Bosh does happen to cancel out Dwight. We have more offensive power to help out the big guy in times of need. Bosh, on the other hand, is their main offensive weapon. No other player on the Raptors averages over 13 points per game.

Tickets for the playoffs have gone on sale today, for the Magic. Yet the dates and times are still up in the air. A rep at the RDV said the dates should be known for the playoffs by Friday or Saturday. I'll be attending at least one home game in the first round. Lets get as many people in that arena as possible!! Buy your tickets early because they will be going fast!

50 Wins!! Magic 104 Bulls 84

We finally have 50 wins! Turkoglu led us with 24 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists and 5 turnovers. Lewis hit 4 three-pointers en route to 18 points. Howard added 19 points, yet he had a low rebounding night, finishing with only 5. Despite Howard's low rebounding number, we still won the rebounding battle 38-43. But Dwight needs a lot of credit tonight for his play at the free throw line. He was 13-17 tonight from the charity stripe. Good job Dwight.

Nocioni led the Bulls with 22 points off the bench and 4 three pointers.

Horrible point guard play tonight.. this is inexcusable. The coaching staff HAS to find a way to get more consistent play or we need another starting point guard. Arroyo and Jameer won't cut it if we keep getting performances like tonight's, from them.

“It’s important,” Turkoglu said. “I’m happy to be a part of it. This is my fourth year here. We’ve had ups and downs. This is special.”

Added Lewis, who came to Orlando in a sign-and-trade deal with Seattle: “It lets you know what the future holds for this franchise.”

We know we will be the third seed but we don't know just yet who we will play. Getting the Wizards in the first round is already out of the question. So now its down to either the Sixers or Raptors. It's looking more and more like we will face the Raptors in the opening round. The Raptors and the Sixers each are 40-40, and if they ended the season tied, the Raptors would claim No. 6 because they own the first tiebreaker --- regular-season head-to-head matchup. The Raptors won the season series 3-1.

Check out the Recap and Boxscore.

Tonight's Game: Magic @ Bulls

Magic (49-30) vs. Bulls (31-48)

United Center
Sun Sports
7 PM

Probable Lineups:
Howard C Noah
Lewis PF Thomas
Turkoglu SF Deng
Evans SG Hughes
Nelson PG Hinrich

The last time the Orlando Magic swept a season series from Chicago, the Bulls were on their way to finishing 40 games under .500.

While Chicago’s record may not be that bad this season, it’s still winding a disappointing campaign.

Orlando looks to complete its perfect season against the Bulls when the teams meet on Sunday at the United Center.

The Magic (49-30) have outscored Chicago (31-48) by 16.0 points in winning all three matchups this season, and are trying to go unbeaten against the Bulls in a single season for the first time since going 3-0 in 2001-02.

Chicago went 21-61 that season, one of six straight without a playoff appearance after winning three consecutive NBA titles. The Bulls returned to the postseason in 2004-05 and made it three years in a row before stumbling this season.

Orlando, meanwhile, is in the playoffs for the second straight season after wrapping up the Southeast Division - the franchise’s first division title since the 1995-96 season - and the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Magic, though, are struggling as the postseason approaches. They’ve gone 5-6 since clinching a playoff spot, including a 102-101 home loss to lowly Minnesota on Friday.

“There’s some troubling things that I don’t like at all,” coach Stan Van Gundy said. “But I would say that myself and my assistant coaches are the only ones concerned. I don’t think our players are real concerned about it.”

Magic Lose Heartbreaker In the Last Seconds: 102-101

The Magic held the lead for the whole entire game... right up until the 2.9 second mark in the fourth quarter. Thats when Ryan Gomes hit two free throws to put them up 102-101 and win the game. Following Gomes’ free throws, Orlando took a 20-second timeout and called on Hedo Turkoglu for the game-winning attempt but his 3-point shot missed the entire goal.

Instead of a normal third quarter collapse, this time it was a fourth quarter collapse. We shot just 8-21 from the field in the fourth. We were ahead with the score 101-100 but we missed two shot attemps and Jefferson tipped the rebound and Gomes got it and was fouled.

Dwight had 20 points, 14 rebounds, and tied Shaq's 68 double-double mark from the 95'-96' season. Turkoglu had 23 points (14 in the first half), his 41st time topping 20 points. Rashard Lewis added 18. We shot a season-best 77.8 percent (14-of-18) from the field in the first quarter and rode three pointers and good shooting for most of the first half.

Orlando made 12 three-pointers, making it the 79th consecutive game the team has recorded at least five three-pointers in a game, the longest such streak in the NBA.

After the loss, Stan Van Gundy added extra insult to injury and salt to the wound. “There’s some troubling things that I don’t like at all,” he said. “But I would say that myself and my assistant coaches are the only ones concerned. I don’t think our players are real concerned about it.”

Boxscore
Recap

Tonight's Game: T'Wolves @ Magic

Magic (49-29) vs. Timberwolves (19-59)

Amway Arena
Sun Sports
7 PM

Probable Lineups:
Howard C Jefferson
Lewis PF Gomes
Turkoglu SF Snyder
Evans SG Jaric
Nelson PG Foye

Say it with me -- F-I-F-T-Y-W-I-N-S! Yes 50 wins is what winning this game tonight, will get us. That is a big jump from the middle-of-the-pack Magic teams of yesteryears. Getting over the 50 mark gets you respect and shows your a "for real" team.

The Wolves lost to the Hornets 112-90 on Wednesday night. The Hornets earned the right to celebrate after setting a team record for victories while maintaining the top spot in the Western Conference with a victory at Target Center.

Dwight Howard leads the league with 67 double-doubles, but stud Al Jefferson is the next guy behind him with 52.

This Wolves team does have talent, just not much of it. They are not deep by any means, and struggle mostly on defense. But they are in the middle to bottom in just about every statistical category. Tonight should be an easy win. We should see Dwight go off for a huge game, as Al Jefferson is not known for his defense. He routinely gives up big numbers to opposing big men.

Just the Win We Needed: Magic win 115-83

The Magic started off slow and the first quarter ended with both teams tied at 26. Our defense needed work and it looked to be another sucky night, here in Orlando. But the defense held up and our shots kept falling. Dwight had a big comeback game with 30 points and 14 rebounds, keeping the baby Bulls back.

Arroyo came off the bench in the first half and played well. He ended up with 13 points and 6 assists to go along with some nice passes and good shooting. Rashard Lewis hit 4 3-pointers to go along with 21 points and Hedo Turkoglu had 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. Howard, Turkoglu, and Lewis had +/- scores of 28, 26 and 20, respectively. In contrast, only one player on the entire Bulls roster had a +/- of any positive number. That was Kirk Hinrich who only had a plus/minus of +1. Not impressive by any means. Carlos Arroyo had the highest plus minus of any player on the court, +43!

Both Nelson and Arroyo had a combined Assist/Turnover ratio of 11/3 (3.67), which signifies good point guard play. The Magic shot 51% from the floor but only hit 9 out of 26 three point attempts.

With about 5 minutes left to play, and a considerable lead up on the scoreboard, Van Gundy emptied the bench. There was a roaring standing ovation (as usual) for J.J. Redick, when he entered the game. He always seems to grin and smile when he hears the little girls screaming for him. I guess because he barely ever sees the court and it's pretty exciting for a bench warmer.

Here is the boxscore and recap for the game.

Tonight's Game: Bulls @ Magic

Magic (48-29) vs. Bulls (30-47)

Amway Arena
Sun Sports
7 PM

Probable Lineups:
Howard C Noah
Lewis PF Thomas
Turkoglu SF Deng
Evans SG Hughes
Nelson PG Hinrich

With the Bulls loss to Miami on Tuesday, they officially will miss the playoffs for the first time in four years. They went from one of the favorites to possibly win the East, this season, to a bottom of the pack team. Now the only thing that matters to the Bulls, now, is jockeying for a good lottery spot.

The Bulls and Magic have faced off twice so far this season, with the Magic winning both. The last matchup was on January 15. The Magic won that game by double digits. The high scorer for the Bulls in that game is now-Cavalier Joe Smith with 13 points.

The Bulls are a better rebounding team than the Magic are, so this causes a major area of concern. If the Magic don't get serious about rebounding it will only give the Bulls more chances to score the ball and a better shot to win the game.

The Big Question

1. The big topic recently is: Should the Magic play their starters consistently as the season is closing? I must say that Stan Van Gundy should remember that this team has won nothing. Getting into the playoffs is great and locking up the third seed is great too. But we haven't won a playoff game since the 2002-2003 season. These core players have little to no experience in the playoffs. Maybe SVG could limit the starters minutes just a little bit, heading into the playoffs. But, I don't think he should hold them out of any games or have them miss too much of one game.


2. Tony Battie has been ruled out of playing during the rest of the regular season and playoffs.
3. Also, Dwight Howard was hit in the mouth by a stray elbow from Marcin Gortat. He left practice, but is not expected to miss any games. I guess Dwight is getting what he deserves for putting Battie, Nelson, and Cook out for extended periods of time.
   

Magic Get Embarrased By Bottom Feeders; Lose to Knicks 100-90

Wow. Our worst fear just came true. We lost to the Knicks. No on predicted this, yet everyone knew it could happen. Everyone, except the Dwight Howard and crew. Check out the horrendous boxscore and recap. We had another player get his season high and career high against us tonight: rookie Wilson Chandler. He had 23 points and 8 rebounds to lead the Knicks. Zach Randolph added 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 steals.

This Knicks win was just after an 0-5 record on the most recent road trip. The Magic, for some reason, seemed to run out of gas after the win in Cleveland.

Dwight Howard had 13 points and 15 rebounds for his 66th double-double of the season, tops in the NBA and two shy of Shaquille O’Neal's franchise record set in 1992-93. But despite the double-double, Dwight did not dominate as usual and looked lacksadaisical for the second game in a row. Howard only shot 3-10 from the free throw line tonight. Turkoglu had 22, 6 assists, 2 steals and Nelson had 19 points. Rashard Lewis, due to foul trouble, had only 6 points but added 9 rebounds and six assists. Evans had 16 points, 7 rebounds and hit 4 three pointers.

And here is something to lighten up the mood. A fan ran onto the court with Turkoglu shooting free throws in the fourth quarter, coming from behind one basket and running the length of the floor and into the seats behind the other one before security finally caught him.

Tonight's Game: Magic @ Knicks

Magic (48-28) vs. Knicks (20-56)

Madison Square Garden
7 PM

Sun Sports

Probable Lineups:

Howard C Randolph

Lewis PF Lee

Turkoglu SF Jeffries

Evans SG Crawford

Nelson PG Collins

Sucks for the Knicks. Even though they are staring at a top 5 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, they still have to play out the last 6 games of their schedule. Too bad for them they came across the playoff hungry Magic who will rock them, just like last time.

The Knicks don't have much to play for; and already have lost Curry and Marbury for the season. They routinely get beat and play lacksadaisical ball, so losing to these Knicks are not an option.

But good new for the Magic is that Dwight Howard has had eight 20-20 games. Two of them have come against the New York Knicks. He will make sure to bounce back with a monster game, like always, and what a great team to do it against tonight. This season Orlando has had three double-digit wins against the Knicks and we can sweep them for the first time since going 4-0 in 2001-02. Hedo Turkoglu is averaging 24.0 points and Rashard Lewis 22.7 against New York, this season.

New York is playing its first home game since naming Donnie Walsh president of basketball operations on Wednesday. The Knicks completed an 0-5 road trip with Friday’s 118-110 loss at New Orleans. Knicks coach Isiah Thomas has been booed constantly during home games, but isn’t worried about the status of his job with Walsh in charge. The Knicks have lost 17 of their last 19 games, with both wins coming against league-worst Miami.

Magic Pull Away In Second Half and to Lock Up #3 Seed and Get a 101-86 Win

Check out the recap by Mike from Illinois over at Third Quarter Collapse. I'm too lazy to write a recap for tonight -- long day.

But...Here is the Recap and Boxscore.

Today's Game: Magic @ Cavaliers

Magic (47-28) vs. Cavaliers (42-33)

Quicken Loans Arena

3 PM

ESPN

Probable Lineups:

Howard C Ilguauskas

Lewis PF Wallace

Turkoglu SF James

Evans SG Brown

Nelson PG West

Today's afternoon matchup of the #3 and #4 seed in the East, is a pivotal game for both teams. If the Magic win today, we clinch the #3 seed with 6 games remaining after this one. Winning this game puts us heading into a pretty easy stretch before the playoffs. We face New York, Chicago, Minnesota, then Chicago again, Atlanta, and then lastly Washington. All except Washington are sub .500 teams, with the Wizards being only 2 games over .500; so the remaining schedule isn't too tough.

These two teams matchup pretty well. In our last meeting, in Orlando, Dwight and Rashard led the way with 23 and 21 respectively. Its tough to have Ben Wallace chase around Rashard Lewis, so we do have an advantage there. James had 30, but thats expected. Ilgauskas wasn't himself in our last meeting, only scoring five points. Look for that total and his touches to improve. Dwight should do a good job besting him. Ilgauskas is averaging 18.6 points and 8.9 rebounds in his last eight games.

The Magic and Cavaliers will each look to avoid their fifth loss in seven games when they meet Saturday afternoon at Quicken Loans Arena. James is nearly averaging a triple-double in three games against Orlando this season - 32.7 points, 10.0 assists and 9.7 rebounds - but the Cavaliers have lost two of three. Orlando has won five of seven in the series, including its last two in Cleveland.

"I just try and go touch the sky every time I dunk."

Check out this video linked on Hardwood Paroxysm. Props to ThirdQuarterCollapse for the link.

In other news:

• Jameer Nelson should be back from injury on Saturday against the Cavaliers and will start in Arroyo's place.
• Winning Saturday's game against Cleveland would allow us to clinch the #3 seed, as reported by Brian Schmitz. The Cavaliers losing to the Bulls last night, set up this senario for the Magic perfectly. Now all we need is a win. Easier said than done, I know. Schmitz states, "Cleveland would fall to 42-35 with just five games left on their schedule, meaning even if the Magic lost their remaining games and the Cavs ran the table, the Cavs couldn't reach 48 victories". We are leading the season series 2-1 so that puts us in good position heading into this game.

It's Official: We're Getting New Uni's

New home and away jerseys are finally being designed. When asked about the new uniform rumor, by John Denton before the Hornets game, Alex Martins said "I can confirm that we have a new model in design now,'' Martins said Tuesday night before the Magic hosted the New Orleans Hornets. "There's a chance the new design might not be done in time for next season, but we are in the design process now.''

Martins said he couldn't confirm whether or not the Magic will delve into their past and bring back pinstriped uniforms. So this means they have not ruled out a possible return to pinstripes, yet they have not made a decision either way. If they do go the pinstripes route, that will be a very popular choice for the fans, as I'm sure Martins is taking that into account when making the decision.

The new uni's could be ready for next season, but there is no set time yet.

Magic Lose a Heart Breaker to Hornets 98-97

Offensive rebounds. That is what killed us. The Hornets got 19 more chances from offensive rebounds than the Magic did, beating us 21-2 in that category!

The game started off a little slow for the Magic, yet we picked it up and played good ball in the first quarter. Dwight missed an alley-oop dunk, Arroyo drew 2 offensive fouls on Chris Paul, and even Pat Garrity checked in at 4:37 in the first quarter, for Turk. Arroyo drawing the two fouls sent Paul to the bench, bringing in Magic Killer Jannero Pargo, which was not a good sight to see for Magic fans. Good thing his shot was not falling much tonight. Oh wait we still lost. But, at the end of the first we led 27-21.

In the second, Dooling had a huge block on Jannero Pargo, who was running down the court for a layup on a fast break. And Dooling hit a huge jumper at the other end of the court, right after. Bogans nailed some big threes, ending up going 3-8 in the game from beyond the three point line. We led by 11 before the half, but the Hornets cut the lead down to single digits. The Magic still led 53-44 at halftime. After two, Dwight had 10/5, Hedo had 13/5/5, and Rashard had 3 three-pointers for 13 points.

Rashard Lewis picked up his third personal foul very early in the third quarter, meaning Garrity got more time on the court. Garrity continued to do nothing, throwing a post pass over Dwight's head and out of bounds. Morris Peterson, who scored in single digits in the Hornets past 10 games, lit it up tonight. He scored 19 points, going 5-6 from distance and kept the Hornets in the game during the 2nd and 3rd quarters. Hedo hit a huge 3 and had 20 points already before the 5 minute mark in the 3rd. At this time the Hornets had out rebounded us 15-1 in the offensive rebound category. This Hornets team is normally just a middle of the pack offensive rebounding team. This horrible performance in that stat really exposes our glaring weakness and the need we have to address. But Turk brought some life back to this team when He hit a fade away, 24-second shot clock buzzer beater from just inside the three point line. New Orleans went on a 11-2 run in the end of the 3rd to cut the lead to 2 points and the quarter ended with a Magic lead 76-74.

The fourth was a nightmare for Magic fans. We saw Chris Paul get it going offensively. The score was tied at 90 and we needed a big shot but Turkoglu couldn't come up with it. The Hornets went ahead by two but the Magic got a big fastbreak tomahawk by Keyon, over Peja Stojakovic. Evans hit a huge three to put us up 95 to 92, then Hedo travelled killing momentum. Morris Peterson pushed off Evans to get an inbounds play and the ref, (standing mere feet from the play) calls a foul on Mo. Peja hit the free throw and hit a big three pointer, his first and only one of the night and bumped the Hornets to a 96-95 lead. We then fouled Peja and the Hornets lead went to 3. Less than 10 seconds left to go and the Magic need a big bucket. Hedo got an easy dunk and then we fouled Chris Paul and to our amazement the 85% free throw shooter missed both shots. We were only down by one point and Hedo inbounded the ball to Rashard who thought he would get fouled. He put the ball on the floor only to be trapped, then dished it to Keyon who didn't expect the ball and threw up a bad shot. That was the end of the game right there. Hedo should have gotten the ball, not Rashard, not Keyon, not Dwight. Hedo is our game winning man, who has won many close games for us this season. The game ended a Hornets win 98-97.

Dwight - 17/15 Hedo - 26/5/7/5 TO Rashard - 24/1/4

Notes:

• This was our 40th game this season with 10+ 3 point field goals made.


• Bob Vanderwiede (who turned 50 today) and the Magic organization raised $105,000 to donate to local Boys & Girls clubs, here in Central Florida.


• Our next game is Saturday on ESPN in Cleveland at 3PM. Then we fly to New York for a game on Sunday at 7 PM.

Magic Win Southeast Division!

Finally after 12 years of waiting, the Southeast Division crown is ours again! Last night, we were able to clinch the division with a little help by Utah's destroying of Washington.

"It's a great accomplishment," Howard said. "I look at the three banners we have and say, 'Put some more banners up.' It's just shows where we have come from."

We can't forget how quick this team has rose from the ashes. Just four seasons ago this team was a league worst 21-61.

"To win a division is a great step," Van Gundy said. But there is much more work to do and much more room to add more banners in the arena.

We owe one to Utah for helping us beat out Washington once and for all, and helping us claim the division. Tonight, beating the Hornets will put Utah one step closer to home court advantage for them in the playoffs.

GO MAGIC!!!

Tonight's Game: Hornets @ Magic

Magic (47-27) vs. Hornets (50-22)

Amway Arena

Sun Sports

7 PM

Probable Lineups:

Howard C Chandler

Lewis PF West

Turkoglu SF Stojakovic

Evans SG Peterson

Arroyo PG Paul

The Hornets are in first place in the West for now, but there is a good chance they wont finish the season there as not one team in the West has clinched a playoff spot yet. That's how close of a race it is.

As first reported by Brian Schmitz, the Magic likely have lost F Brian Cook for the rest of the regular season. The club must replace Cook's 12.2 minutes per game.

Chris Paul is having an MVP type season, so when (not if) he torches our point guards, I will not blame it on bad defense. He is just routinely sick and the best point guard in the NBA, in my opinion.

Gotta cut it short because of college classes, but checkout MagicMadness or Third Quarter Collapse for more coverage of tonight's game.