ECF Game 5: Cavaliers 112 Magic 102
Cleveland staved off elimination thanks to a triple-double from LeBron James, who also had plenty of help from his teammates. Five Cavaliers finished in double figures.
Playing at home, the Cavaliers jumped out quickly again on the Magic, as they made 10 of their first 11 shots on their way to a 34-12 lead late in the first quarter. The Magic quickly came back in the second quarter, cutting their deficit to just 56-55 at the half.
The Magic then started quickly in the third, scoring the first nine points to get their largest lead of the game at 64-56. The Cavaliers would cut the Magic lead to 79-78 at the end of three. The Cavaliers scored eight of the first nine points of the fourth to go ahead 86-80, but the Magic came back to lead 90-89 with 6:44 remaining, their last lead. The Magic were within 94-93 with under five minutes remaining before the Cavaliers outscored the Magic 18-9 the rest of the way.
Magic leading scorers
Hedo Turkoglu: 29 points (10 of 18 field goals), 6 rebounds, 2 steals
Dwight Howard: 24 points (8 of 10 field goals), 10 rebounds
Rashard Lewis: 15 points (4 of 13 field goals), 8 rebounds, 4 steals
Mickael Pietrus (bench): 13 points (3 of 5 three point field goals)
Cleveland leading scorers
LeBron James: 37 points (11 of 24 field goals, 15 of 19 free throws), 14 rebounds, 12 assists, 4 turnovers
Mo Williams: 24 points (6 of 9 three point field goals), 2 steals
Zadrunas Ilgauskas: 16 points (6 of 8 field goals), 6 rebounds
Delonte West: 13 points (6 of 13 field goals)
Daniel Gibson (bench): 11 points (3 of 4 three point field goals)
Overall Game Statistics
FG%: CLE 50% (38 of 76) ORL 45.8% (33 of 72)
3 PT FG%: CLE 50% (9 of 18) ORL 32.0% (8 of 25)
FT%: CLE 79.4% (27 of 34) ORL 68.3% (28 of 41)
REB: CLE 39 (8 offensive) ORL 38 (8 offensive)
AST/TO: CLE 21/12 ORL 12/12
BENCH: ORL 22 CLE 15
Other game notes and stats:
-Rafer Alston, who scored a playoff career-high 26 points in Game 4, scored just 3 points on 1 of 10 shooting, including 1 of 7 from three point range, but led the Magic in assists with 4
-The other starting guard for the Magic, Courtney Lee, added nine points and three steals
-The Cavaliers' trio of Williams, West, and Ilgauskas combined to score 53 points on 19 of 35 shooting
-The Cavaliers' starting guards outscored the Magic starting guards 37-12
-James either scored or assisted to account for all 34 Cavaliers' points in the fourth quarter
-In a span covering late in the first through the second quarter and early in the third quarter, the Magic outscored the Cavaliers 52-22, making 20 of 32 shots, to overcome a 34-12 deficit to begin the game
-Cleveland made 14 of their first 18 shots, while the Magic made just 4 of their first 15 shots
-Howard fouled out late in the fourth for the Magic
-The Magic made just 11 of 22 free throws in the first half
-The Cavaliers outscored the Magic 85-74 from the field
-Alston and Lewis combined to shoot 2 of 12 from three point range
-The Magic were whistled for 27 fouls, while the Cavaliers were whistled for 25 fouls, but the Magic had more free throws attempted at 41 while the Cavaliers had 34 free throw attempts
Game 6 will be in Orlando Saturday night.
Here is the complete recap from nba.com
Here is the complete box score from nba.com
Playing at home, the Cavaliers jumped out quickly again on the Magic, as they made 10 of their first 11 shots on their way to a 34-12 lead late in the first quarter. The Magic quickly came back in the second quarter, cutting their deficit to just 56-55 at the half.
The Magic then started quickly in the third, scoring the first nine points to get their largest lead of the game at 64-56. The Cavaliers would cut the Magic lead to 79-78 at the end of three. The Cavaliers scored eight of the first nine points of the fourth to go ahead 86-80, but the Magic came back to lead 90-89 with 6:44 remaining, their last lead. The Magic were within 94-93 with under five minutes remaining before the Cavaliers outscored the Magic 18-9 the rest of the way.
Magic leading scorers
Hedo Turkoglu: 29 points (10 of 18 field goals), 6 rebounds, 2 steals
Dwight Howard: 24 points (8 of 10 field goals), 10 rebounds
Rashard Lewis: 15 points (4 of 13 field goals), 8 rebounds, 4 steals
Mickael Pietrus (bench): 13 points (3 of 5 three point field goals)
Cleveland leading scorers
LeBron James: 37 points (11 of 24 field goals, 15 of 19 free throws), 14 rebounds, 12 assists, 4 turnovers
Mo Williams: 24 points (6 of 9 three point field goals), 2 steals
Zadrunas Ilgauskas: 16 points (6 of 8 field goals), 6 rebounds
Delonte West: 13 points (6 of 13 field goals)
Daniel Gibson (bench): 11 points (3 of 4 three point field goals)
Overall Game Statistics
FG%: CLE 50% (38 of 76) ORL 45.8% (33 of 72)
3 PT FG%: CLE 50% (9 of 18) ORL 32.0% (8 of 25)
FT%: CLE 79.4% (27 of 34) ORL 68.3% (28 of 41)
REB: CLE 39 (8 offensive) ORL 38 (8 offensive)
AST/TO: CLE 21/12 ORL 12/12
BENCH: ORL 22 CLE 15
Other game notes and stats:
-Rafer Alston, who scored a playoff career-high 26 points in Game 4, scored just 3 points on 1 of 10 shooting, including 1 of 7 from three point range, but led the Magic in assists with 4
-The other starting guard for the Magic, Courtney Lee, added nine points and three steals
-The Cavaliers' trio of Williams, West, and Ilgauskas combined to score 53 points on 19 of 35 shooting
-The Cavaliers' starting guards outscored the Magic starting guards 37-12
-James either scored or assisted to account for all 34 Cavaliers' points in the fourth quarter
-In a span covering late in the first through the second quarter and early in the third quarter, the Magic outscored the Cavaliers 52-22, making 20 of 32 shots, to overcome a 34-12 deficit to begin the game
-Cleveland made 14 of their first 18 shots, while the Magic made just 4 of their first 15 shots
-Howard fouled out late in the fourth for the Magic
-The Magic made just 11 of 22 free throws in the first half
-The Cavaliers outscored the Magic 85-74 from the field
-Alston and Lewis combined to shoot 2 of 12 from three point range
-The Magic were whistled for 27 fouls, while the Cavaliers were whistled for 25 fouls, but the Magic had more free throws attempted at 41 while the Cavaliers had 34 free throw attempts
Game 6 will be in Orlando Saturday night.
Here is the complete recap from nba.com
Here is the complete box score from nba.com
posted by Mike from Illinois @ 3:15 AM
8 Comments:
At 4:29 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
Well, I give Cleveland credit. They played their best game of the series, and James' supporting cast played by far their best game of the series.
The Magic weren't nearly up to the task, though they played outstanding basketball when they went on that 52-22 run to turn a 22 point deficit into an eight point lead.
It didn't help any that Alston and Lewis had off-nights shooting.
I am confident the Magic will be ready for Game 6, as I'm sure SVG will be working on adjustments, and it won't be as likely that the Cavs will outshoot the Magic from the field and three point line like in Game 5.
The home crowd should provide a big emotional boost for the Magic, much as the Cavs' home crowd did in Game 5.
At 5:33 AM,
Matt said…
The Magic should have won the game had they executed well at the end. I remember that the game was close (within a point up or down) when Hedo and Rafer came down the court and attempted 3-pointers for no obvious reason, which they missed and CLE scored on the other end. Add many missed free throws by even Rashard and Hedo, and of course Magic misses on the opportunity to close out the series tonight. I am confident that Magic will win the series. The only way that they are going to lose is to play two stupid games in a row. Yes, you read right. I am saying that even Saturday night's game is not that important for the Magic since they can win in Cleveland, if it gets to that point. My advice to the Magic is just to play smart, and they will be fine.
At 8:55 AM,
magicfan4life said…
The refs were F****ng horibble. i never use that excuse but they called everything on the oppsite side of the floor.. ANd dwight is acting so young, "fouled out" it jus cant seems that he can keep his mouth shut. Rafer Alston needs to step it up a notch, ANthony was doin better than himm last nite. And these comebacks cant always work. Well, anyway lets look at game 6.
At 11:41 AM,
Big Figure said…
Free throws and not making shots did us in. Ill give cleveland credit for extending the series,but this series should be over saturday night. Cleveland had to play damn near perfect to beat us on their home floor,but back in orlando the magic should do the same thing and make it a one man show and shut everybody else down.
At 2:33 PM,
Anne said…
I agree. Not Magic's best game but definitely one played well by the Cavaliers. I am excited about Game 6 at home. Let's GO MAGIC!!!!
At 7:02 PM,
Mike from Illinois said…
I know we're all excited about Game 6 at home Saturday night, Anne!
Matt brought up a good point about the Magic needing to play smarter; they definitely took a couple of quick threes in the fourth when it was still a close game. They didn't fall, and the Cavs were able to extend their lead.
Regarding the officiating as brought up by Magicfan4life... I won't dispute the fact that some calls went against the Magic, but overall the Magic had a seven free throws attempted edge over the Cavs.
Like Big Figure said, missed free throws really hurt the Magic, as evidenced by their 11 of 22 free throw shooting in the first half.
It's going to be really hard for Cleveland to play as well in Game 6 as they did in Game 5; if guys like Alston and Lewis can play better in Game 6 for the Magic, the Magic will have an excellent chance of closing the Cavs out.
At 5:46 PM,
Anonymous said…
the problem with the magic is that the seemed to be allergic to getting offensive rebounds and are often out of position for rebounds on both ends of the court.
At 5:48 PM,
Anonymous said…
The Magic should concentrate on their offensive rebounds and not rely too much on the 3-point shot. Also, someone should wake up Rashard Lewis - biggest disappointment in the playoffs.
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