Orlando Magic Blog

Group Blog talking about the NBA 2009 Eastern Conference Champions. Due to the amazing success of the 2009 playoff run comments are now frequently deleted to kill offensive comments, incoherence, or asininity. Comments can no longer be anonymous and require either a Blogger or OpenID account.

Saturday, May 09, 2009

Game 3: Magic 117, Celtics 96

Coming off a terrible performance in Game 2 and without starting point guard Rafer Alston due to suspension, the Magic picked up their play to a much higher level, shooting 59% from the field and never trailed on the way to their most impressive performance of the playoffs.

The Magic led after one quarter 22-18, and opened up their lead to 53-41 at the half. The Magic continued to build their lead in the third quarter, as they led by as much as 74-54 before the Celtics made their only extended run of the game. They scored 15 of the final 19 points of the third quarter and trailed by just 9 points entering the fourth quarter. They were able to get as close as 80-73 before the Magic regained their dominance by going on a 34-16 run to lead 114-89 before cruising to the final of 117-96.

Magic leading scorers

Rashard Lewis: 28 points (9 of 17 field goals), 6 rebounds
Hedo Turkoglu: 24 points (8 of 12 field goals), 4 assists
Dwight Howard: 17 points (7 of 8 field goals), 14 rebounds, 5 blocks, 2 steals
Anthony Johnson: 13 points (5 of 7 field goals), 3 assists, 2 steals
Courtney Lee (bench): 11 points (3 of 4 field goals), 4 rebounds, 3 assists

Boston leading scorers

Paul Pierce: 27 points (6 of 15 field goals), 6 assists, 3 steals
Rajon Rondo: 15 points (7 of 17 field goals), 6 assists, 5 rebounds
Eddie House (bench): 15 points (6 of 7 field goals)
Kendrick Perkins: 10 points, 7 rebounds

Overall Game Statistics

FG%: ORL 59.1% (39 of 66) BOS 43% (34 of 79)
3 PT FG%: ORL 50% (9 of 18) BOS 27.8% (5 of 18)
FT%: BOS 88.5% (23 of 26) ORL 83.3% (30 of 36)
REB: ORL 36 (3 offensive) BOS 29 (6 offensive)
AST/TO: BOS 24/15 ORL 16/19
BENCH: ORL 30 BOS 29

Other game notes and stats:

-Other than Redick, the other four Magic starters combined to shoot 29 of 44 from the field
-Other than Perkins, the other four Celtics' starters combined to shoot 18 of 51 from the field
-The Magic starting frontline outscord the Celtics' starting frontline 69-44
-Pierce, Allen, and Rondo combined to shoot just 16 of 45 for the Celtics for 50 points
-Allen was held to 8 points on 3 of 13 shooting
-Turkoglu and Lewis combined for 52 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals
-House has shot 17 of 21 from the field his last two games
-Johnson played 28 minutes as the starting point guard, and had a harsh exchange of words with Stan Van Gundy as he was pulled from the game near the end of the third quarter
-Lee played 32 minutes in his first game back since his sinus surgery
-Marcin Gortat and Mickael Pietrus each added 7 points off the bench

Game 4 will be Sunday night in Orlando

For the complete box score, click here

posted by Mike from Illinois @ 1:16 AM  

4 Comments:

  • At 1:31 AM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    D12 did indeed dominate, especially on the defensive side of the ball. That really made the Celtics less aggressive and they had to settle for jumpers; only House made those jumpers on a consistent basis.

    With Alston out, everyone had to pick up their game for the Magic, and everyone sure did!

    Super job by A.J. in place of Alston at the point.

    It would be great if both Turk and Lewis could play as well the rest of the playoffs as well as they played in Game 3... when both of them are as effective offensively as they were in Game 3, there's almost no way to beat the Magic.

    I was getting a little worried when the Celtics made their run late in the third and early in the fourth, but fortunately, the Magic did not panic and hit some big shots to further extend their lead.

    The Magic need to play as well in Game 4 as they did in Game 3, because the Celtics know they can ill afford to go down 3 games to 1.

     

  • At 8:49 AM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    This game came down to shutting down players from the celtics that had no business killing us from the jump. Not sure what the final tally was but we did a much better job of defending their bench. We also did a pretty good job on the starters as well without fouling. Big props to AJ who was pushing the ball early and getting the fast break points highly in our favor from the tip. Big props to CL playing very solid basketball after surgery and being off for a couple weeks. Glad to have seen battie get some minutes,i think he can always help,even if he isnt hitting his jumper he still rebounds and blocks shots. Good win!

     

  • At 11:23 AM, Blogger Matt said…

    I was wrong on AJ, and I am glad that I was. But then AJ has had some decent games without being consistent at it. He was back to his normal self when BOS figured him out in the second half. I give credit to brilliant coaching for deciding to run the ball no matter who is at PG. SVG used Hedo and CL at point very liberally, as well.

    Great win for Magic. Now they need to calm down and play a smart game once again. They are a better team, and should not let theatrics of players like Rondo and House to get to them. As long as they do as good as they did on Allen and Pierce, we will be going to Boston 3-1.

     

  • At 3:13 AM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    I agree; excellent job of coaching by SVG as well.

     

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