ECF Game 1: Magic 107 Cavaliers 106
In a terrific fourth quarter that saw the lead change hands four times in the final 41 seconds, Rashard Lewis's three pointer with 14.7 seconds remaining gave the Magic the one point lead. Cleveland's Mo Williams' catch-and-shoot attempt off a jump ball with a second remaining was just a little long; as a result, the Magic stole home-court advantage from Cleveland in the 107-106 Game 1 stunner. The Magic were able to survive Lebron James setting a Cleveland playoff record with 49 points.
The Cavaliers started like a house on fire, jumping out to a big 33-17 lead with a minute remaining in the first quarter. The Magic were able to get within ten on several occasions in the second quarter, but Williams connected on a long 65 footer at the halftime horn to give Cleveland a comfortable 63-48 halftime lead.
The Magic made their move in the third quarter, as they cut the Cavaliers' lead to two late in the quarter, but the Magic trailed 82-78 entering the fourth. The Magic took their first lead at 85-84 with 10 minutes remaining, and were ahead 102-98 with 1:17 remaining. Cleveland scored five points in a row to take the lead 103-102 with 40.8 seconds remaining to set up the dramatic finish that saw Lewis make a shot followed by a three point play by James followed by Lewis's game-winner.
Magic leading scorers
Dwight Howard: 30 points (14 of 20 field goals), 13 rebounds, 2 steals
Rashard Lewis: 22 points (9 of 13 field goals), 7 rebounds
Hedo Turkoglu: 15 points (4 of 11 field goals), 14 assists, 6 rebounds
Mickael Pietrus (bench): 13 points (5 of 10 field goals)
Rafer Alston: 11 points (4 of 10 field goals), 8 assists
Cleveland leading scorers
LeBron James: 49 points (20 of 30 field goals), 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks
Mo Williams: 17 points (6 of 19 field goals), 5 assists
Anderson Varejao: 14 points, 6 rebounds
Delonte West: 11 points (4 of 13 field goals), 6 assists, 4 steals
Zadrunas Ilgauskas: 10 points, 10 rebounds
Overall Game Statistics
FG%: ORL 55.1% (43 of 78) CLE 48.9% (43 of 88)
3 PT FG%: ORL 45% (9 of 20) CLE 32% (8 of 25)
FT%: ORL 85.7% (12 of 14) CLE 70.6% (12 of 17)
REB: ORL 36 (8 offensive) CLE 33 (8 offensive)
AST/TO: ORL 32/13 CLE 23/8
BENCH: ORL 25 CLE 5
Other game notes and stats:
-After starting the game shooting 8 for 22, the Magic shot 35 of 56
-Lewis and Turkoglu combined to score 26 second-half points
-The Magic used a nine-man rotation, with Johnson, Gortat, and Battie seeing action as reserves along with Pietrus
-The Magic reserves combined to shoot 10 of 17 from the field
-Courtney Lee was the only Magic starter not to score in double figures, finishing with 4 points
-James scored 20 of the 41 field goals for the Cavaliers' starters
-Williams and West combined to shoot just 10 of 32 from the field
-Joe Smith was the only Cavaliers' reserve to score, as the Cavaliers' bench combined to shoot 2 of 7
-The Cavaliers' starters outscored the Magic starters 101-82
-Other than James, the other four Cavaliers' starters combined for 52 points
Game 2 will be Friday night in Cleveland.
For the complete box score from nba.com, click here
The Cavaliers started like a house on fire, jumping out to a big 33-17 lead with a minute remaining in the first quarter. The Magic were able to get within ten on several occasions in the second quarter, but Williams connected on a long 65 footer at the halftime horn to give Cleveland a comfortable 63-48 halftime lead.
The Magic made their move in the third quarter, as they cut the Cavaliers' lead to two late in the quarter, but the Magic trailed 82-78 entering the fourth. The Magic took their first lead at 85-84 with 10 minutes remaining, and were ahead 102-98 with 1:17 remaining. Cleveland scored five points in a row to take the lead 103-102 with 40.8 seconds remaining to set up the dramatic finish that saw Lewis make a shot followed by a three point play by James followed by Lewis's game-winner.
Magic leading scorers
Dwight Howard: 30 points (14 of 20 field goals), 13 rebounds, 2 steals
Rashard Lewis: 22 points (9 of 13 field goals), 7 rebounds
Hedo Turkoglu: 15 points (4 of 11 field goals), 14 assists, 6 rebounds
Mickael Pietrus (bench): 13 points (5 of 10 field goals)
Rafer Alston: 11 points (4 of 10 field goals), 8 assists
Cleveland leading scorers
LeBron James: 49 points (20 of 30 field goals), 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks
Mo Williams: 17 points (6 of 19 field goals), 5 assists
Anderson Varejao: 14 points, 6 rebounds
Delonte West: 11 points (4 of 13 field goals), 6 assists, 4 steals
Zadrunas Ilgauskas: 10 points, 10 rebounds
Overall Game Statistics
FG%: ORL 55.1% (43 of 78) CLE 48.9% (43 of 88)
3 PT FG%: ORL 45% (9 of 20) CLE 32% (8 of 25)
FT%: ORL 85.7% (12 of 14) CLE 70.6% (12 of 17)
REB: ORL 36 (8 offensive) CLE 33 (8 offensive)
AST/TO: ORL 32/13 CLE 23/8
BENCH: ORL 25 CLE 5
Other game notes and stats:
-After starting the game shooting 8 for 22, the Magic shot 35 of 56
-Lewis and Turkoglu combined to score 26 second-half points
-The Magic used a nine-man rotation, with Johnson, Gortat, and Battie seeing action as reserves along with Pietrus
-The Magic reserves combined to shoot 10 of 17 from the field
-Courtney Lee was the only Magic starter not to score in double figures, finishing with 4 points
-James scored 20 of the 41 field goals for the Cavaliers' starters
-Williams and West combined to shoot just 10 of 32 from the field
-Joe Smith was the only Cavaliers' reserve to score, as the Cavaliers' bench combined to shoot 2 of 7
-The Cavaliers' starters outscored the Magic starters 101-82
-Other than James, the other four Cavaliers' starters combined for 52 points
Game 2 will be Friday night in Cleveland.
For the complete box score from nba.com, click here
posted by Mike from Illinois @ 2:00 AM
4 Comments:
At 5:37 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
Wow... how about that for a comeback, Magic fans... It's nice to see the other team blow a big lead for a change.
An outstanding effort from D12, and credit the Magic for not panicking when he fouled out late, thanks to the clutch shots by Lewis.
Just a great second half from the Magic; boy, did Lewis and Turk ever come through after being almost non-existent in the first half.
The Magic bench continues to play well; they outplayed the Celtics' bench, and they were much better than the Cleveland bench in Game 1.
Great ball movement from the Magic, as evidenced by their 32 assists.
What can the Magic do to slow LeBron James though... wow, what a game he had; he just didn't get enough help, unlike Howard, who got plenty of help.
The Cavs had their chance at the end, with West wide-open on his three point attempt.
Great win!
At 12:06 PM,
Big Figure said…
YES!!!! I knew we could do it the whole game. I had this feeling that at some point cleveland was going to start to miss shots and the magic would be able to get back into the game. I felt like the whole first half was basically cleveland just playing off of emotion and our mistakes,but wasnt really doing anything we couldnt handle. SVG made the needed adjustments at the half and we outplayed them from there. We might as well let lebron have his points but make him work on the other end,we have to continue to shut down his help and we'll be fine. Big shot by rashard,but the magic have played this way all year and have three or four guys who can hit a big shot late to seal a game. The magic did everything they had to do to be in the game at the end and actually got pretty tough,lebron looked pretty battered and bruised when it was all over. What can you say about MP,brilliant. Wonder why SVG didnt give JJ a look after starting in the last series?
At 12:48 PM,
WeRDevos said…
I wonder if the Cavs will be favored by 9 again.
At 12:56 PM,
WeRDevos said…
Dwight Howard joked after the game that the goal was to keep LeBron under 50, and it worked!
Cleveland doesn't seem to have a bench. They coughed up 41 minutes, 5 points and 6 boards last night. Even with an 8 day rest, it has to fatigue the starters knowing there is no help.
Even under Van Gundy's tightened playoff rotation the Magic bench played 61 minutes, scored 25 points, 7 rebounds without playing Redick. (What's up with Redick?)
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