ECF Game 3: Magic 99 Cavaliers 89
In an extremely physical, tightly called game which featured a combined 86 free throws, the Magic prevailed, led by five players in double figures. Cleveland's LeBron James scored 41 points, but shot poorly, and only two other teammates finished in double figures.
The Magic did indeed get off to a fast start in their first home game of the series, leading 16-6, which was their largest lead of the game. The Magic led 24-17 after one. After Dwight Howard picked up his third foul with 7:27 remaining in the second quarter and went to the bench, the Cavaliers went on a run and led 34-29 for their largest lead of the game. The Magic were able to take back the lead at the half 42-41.
The Magic were able to extend their lead in the third quarter, leading by as much as eight points before settling for a 68-63 lead after three. The Magic were able to maintain their lead throughout the fourth quarter, leading by as much as nine points. Cleveland got as close as 94-89 with 36 seconds left before the Magic closed the game out with free throws.
Magic leading scorers
Dwight Howard: 24 points (5 of 8 field goals, 14 of 19 free throws), 9 rebounds
Rafer Alston: 18 points (6 of 13 field goals), 3 steals
Mickael Pietrus (bench): 16 points (4 of 9 field goals), 6 rebounds, 2 steals
Rashard Lewis: 15 points (5 of 8 field goals)
Hedo Turkoglu: 13 points (1 of 11 field goals, 11 of 12 free throws), 10 rebounds, 7 assists
Cleveland leading scorers
LeBron James: 41 points (11 of 28 field goals, 1 of 8 three point field goals, 18 of 24 free throws), 9 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 steals
Mo Williams: 15 points (5 of 16 field goals), 7 rebounds, 5 turnovers
Delonte West: 12 points (5 of 11 field goals), 4 turnovers
Overall Game Statistics
FG%: ORL 42.9% (27 of 63) CLE 37.2% (29 of 78)
3 PT FG%: ORL 35.3% (6 of 17) CLE 19.2% (5 of 26)
FT%: ORL 76.5% (39 of 51) CLE 74.3% (26 of 35)
REB: CLE 42 (11 offensive) ORL 40 (8 offensive)
AST/TO: CLE 17/15 ORL 16/13
BENCH: ORL 20 CLE 8
Other game notes and stats:
-James' teammates combined to score just 48 points
-Ilgauskas, Williams, and West combined to shoot just 13 of 37
-The Cleveland bench combined to shoot 4 of 11
-Sasha Pavlovic went scoreless for the Cavaliers off the bench in 25 minutes, attempting just two field goals
-The Magic starters combined to shoot 32 of 40 from the free throw line
-The Magic made 30 of 35 free throws in the second half, including 19 of 23 in the fourth quarter
-The Cavaliers were whistled for 34 personal fouls, the Magic 24 fouls
-The Magic's Anthony Johnson was whistled for a flagrant 1 foul after an elbow to Williams' face
-Howard played just ten minutes in the first half due to his foul trouble, but didn't foul out until the final minute of the game
-The Cavaliers shot just 7 of 21 in the fourth quarter, including 2 of 12 from three point range
-The Magic made 6 of their first 7 shots and finished the first quarter 10 of 17 shooting
Game 4 will be Tuesday night in Orlando.
Here is the complete box score from nba.com
The Magic did indeed get off to a fast start in their first home game of the series, leading 16-6, which was their largest lead of the game. The Magic led 24-17 after one. After Dwight Howard picked up his third foul with 7:27 remaining in the second quarter and went to the bench, the Cavaliers went on a run and led 34-29 for their largest lead of the game. The Magic were able to take back the lead at the half 42-41.
The Magic were able to extend their lead in the third quarter, leading by as much as eight points before settling for a 68-63 lead after three. The Magic were able to maintain their lead throughout the fourth quarter, leading by as much as nine points. Cleveland got as close as 94-89 with 36 seconds left before the Magic closed the game out with free throws.
Magic leading scorers
Dwight Howard: 24 points (5 of 8 field goals, 14 of 19 free throws), 9 rebounds
Rafer Alston: 18 points (6 of 13 field goals), 3 steals
Mickael Pietrus (bench): 16 points (4 of 9 field goals), 6 rebounds, 2 steals
Rashard Lewis: 15 points (5 of 8 field goals)
Hedo Turkoglu: 13 points (1 of 11 field goals, 11 of 12 free throws), 10 rebounds, 7 assists
Cleveland leading scorers
LeBron James: 41 points (11 of 28 field goals, 1 of 8 three point field goals, 18 of 24 free throws), 9 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 steals
Mo Williams: 15 points (5 of 16 field goals), 7 rebounds, 5 turnovers
Delonte West: 12 points (5 of 11 field goals), 4 turnovers
Overall Game Statistics
FG%: ORL 42.9% (27 of 63) CLE 37.2% (29 of 78)
3 PT FG%: ORL 35.3% (6 of 17) CLE 19.2% (5 of 26)
FT%: ORL 76.5% (39 of 51) CLE 74.3% (26 of 35)
REB: CLE 42 (11 offensive) ORL 40 (8 offensive)
AST/TO: CLE 17/15 ORL 16/13
BENCH: ORL 20 CLE 8
Other game notes and stats:
-James' teammates combined to score just 48 points
-Ilgauskas, Williams, and West combined to shoot just 13 of 37
-The Cleveland bench combined to shoot 4 of 11
-Sasha Pavlovic went scoreless for the Cavaliers off the bench in 25 minutes, attempting just two field goals
-The Magic starters combined to shoot 32 of 40 from the free throw line
-The Magic made 30 of 35 free throws in the second half, including 19 of 23 in the fourth quarter
-The Cavaliers were whistled for 34 personal fouls, the Magic 24 fouls
-The Magic's Anthony Johnson was whistled for a flagrant 1 foul after an elbow to Williams' face
-Howard played just ten minutes in the first half due to his foul trouble, but didn't foul out until the final minute of the game
-The Cavaliers shot just 7 of 21 in the fourth quarter, including 2 of 12 from three point range
-The Magic made 6 of their first 7 shots and finished the first quarter 10 of 17 shooting
Game 4 will be Tuesday night in Orlando.
Here is the complete box score from nba.com
posted by Mike from Illinois @ 2:48 AM
3 Comments:
At 4:44 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
Great job by the Magic, who came ready to play, and didn't let the physical style of play or some of the calls bother them.
Once again, the Magic's better overall depth than the Cavaliers really showed again in Game 4.
James is simply not getting enough help from his teammates, and it really wore on him Sunday night. He shot a poor percentage, was horrible from three point range, and even missed some free throws badly.
Lots of players contributed for the Magic. Rafer Alston was the key for the Magic's fast start with his outside shooting. Pietrus off the bench was huge again, just to name a few.
Even though Turk had a horrific night shooting, he made his free throws and was able to contribute in other ways, as evidenced by his rebounding and assists.
Great job shooting free throws in the second half for the Magic... 30 of 35 in that second half! D12 was especially clutch, foiling the Cavaliers' strategy of fouling him whenever possible. The Magic's free throw shooting kept the Cavs from getting too close from the Magic.
The refs called it very tight, with several ticky-tack fouls. Fans from both sides could have a legit complaint with some of the calls, but Orlando fans shouldn't complain about the officiating too much, as the Magic wound up with a 16 free throws attempted advantage.
The foul call that upset me the most was Dwight's 6th foul in the final minute; that was a heck of a block he made on James coming from behind, and he got all ball as evidenced on replay.
James made all three FTs to cut the Magic lead to 5; thank goodness the Magic were able to close the game out well.
"The shot that saved Cleveland" in Game 3 is now a distant memory, thanks to the Magic's nice Game 4 win.
At 1:03 PM,
WeRDevos said…
The conspiracy theory states that when the NBA wants to give advantage to the visiting team they put a bad referee team on the game.
There's not much worse than Joey Crawford (gave Howard a tech for woofing at the Cav's bench) Except maybe for Mark Wunderlich who is the guy who missed the foul call in the Denver Dallas series. (and called the horrible sixth foul on Howard.
Yeah, I'm biased, but have to believe the refs kept the game much closer than it should have been by 8 to 10 points. They did their job.
It's great to see the Magic are learning to battle through the bad calls and keep up their intensity on both sides of the court.
Tuesday is huge. This post season is great.
At 9:32 PM,
Anonymous said…
I can guarantee magic win if they stop Gasol, odom and ariza in paint . Give them all open jumpers they want but nothing nothing in the paint. magic have to make a statement for this from game 1. forget about kobe and other. just protect paint from gasol,odom,ariza and magic will win!!!!!!!!
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