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.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Game 5: Celtics 92 Magic 88

With 8:49 remaining in the game, the Magic were in complete control with a 77-63 lead. They still had a double-digit lead 85-75 with 5:39 remaining. Inexplicably and shockingly, the Magic collapsed as Boston scored 13 points in a row to take an 88-85 lead with 7.3 seconds remaining before Rashard Lewis made two free throws. Boston made their remaining free throws to complete their stunning comeback 92-88, and take control of the series 3 games to 2.

The Magic controlled the first 40 minutes of the game, as they led 22-16 after one and 45-37 at the half. The Magic were able to maintain their 8 point lead at 67-59 after three and extended their lead to 14 before the disastrous final 8 1/2 minutes.

Magic leading scorers

Rashard Lewis: 19 points (8 of 16 field goals), 5 rebounds
Hedo Turkoglu: 18 points (7 of 14 field goals), 7 assists
Rafer Alston: 16 points (6 of 15 field goals), 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals
Dwight Howard: 12 points (5 of 10 field goals), 17 rebounds, 4 turnovers

Boston leading scorers

Glen Davis: 22 points, 7 rebounds
Paul Pierce: 19 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals
Ray Allen: 13 points (3 of 11 field goals)
Stephon Marbury (bench): 12 points (5 of 10 field goals)

Overall Game Statistics

FG%: ORL 45% (36 of 80) BOS 42.3% (33 of 78)
3 PT FG%: BOS 31.2% (5 of 16) ORL 25% (6 of 24)
FT%: BOS 100% (21 of 21) ORL 83.3% (10 of 12)
REB: BOS 42 (11 offensive) ORL 39 (8 offensive)
AST/TO: BOS 23/8 ORL 23/10
BENCH: BOS 26 ORL 20

Other game notes and stats:

-J.J. Redick started at SG for the Magic and scored 3 points on 1 of 6 FGs in 29 minutes
-Tony Battie led the Magic reserves with 8 points in just 9 minutes
-Courtney Lee played only 11 minutes and scored 3 points off the bench
-Lewis and Turkoglu combined to make just 1 of 9 three pointers
-Howard did not block a shot in 37 minutes
-Rondo and Allen combined to shoot 6 of 23 for the Celtics
-The "Big Three" of Pierce, Allen, and Rondo combined to score 38 points, 22 points fewer than last game
-The Magic missed their final eight field goals of the game; five of them were three point attempts
-The Celtics made 10 of their final 15 shots as they outscored the Magic 29-11 to end the game

Game 6 is Thursday night in Orlando.

For the complete box score, click here

posted by Mike from Illinois @ 12:35 AM  

6 Comments:

  • At 1:22 AM, Blogger Matt said…

    I can only blame the last two losses on tactical mistakes by the coach. In previous game two isolated plays by Hedo ending in two missed 3s sealed the fate of the Magic. The same happened in this last game when coach relied on isolated plays instead of continuing with what had got the team to that lead.

     

  • At 1:42 AM, Blogger Tim said…

    I'm disgusted with the Magic time after time giving up big leads so late in the game even in the ones we win. There is a discerning pattern going on, and not sure what needs to be done. I'm not going to watch the next game until the 4th quarter. I can't get excited no matter how well they play the 1st 3 quarters.

     

  • At 1:57 AM, Blogger Mike from Illinois said…

    Good points, Matt.

    Tim, all Magic fans share your disgust.

    I'm very disappointed in the players and the coach.

    The Magic missed their final 8 FG attempts, and 5 of them were three point attempts. Whatever happened to dribble penetration, like they were doing earlier in the game, and trying to get the ball to your All-Star center?

    SVG mentioned in the post-game interview that the players suddenly stopped playing. Well, why did they stop playing?! Isn't that the coach's responsiblity to call time-out and tell the team how they should be running the offense instead of putting themselves in isolation plays and jacking up long jumpers?

    I think just twice in the final 6 or 7 minutes did they try to drive to the hoop... Turk did but missed the shot and Alston did but tried what looked like a lob to Howard that wasn't even close.

    The Celtics came through in the clutch yet again... Marbury and Davis were the main culprits in that last quarter, and of course Ray Allen's three, even though he had been shooting poorly, was the dagger.

    At the very worst, the Magic should have split the last two games, but they somehow wind up losing them both... absolutely inexcusable.

    The Magic may win Game 6, but there's no way in heck they win a Game 7 in Boston.

     

  • At 6:57 AM, Blogger Matt said…

    Mike:

    I disagree with you that Magic cannot win in Boston. They have won before in there, and they should have won this last game which they had comfortably in hand up until the last 5 minutes. In fact, this series should have been won by now if tactical mistakes were not made at the end of the last two games. I am truly disappointed at a coach as good as SVG for these obvious blunders.

     

  • At 9:32 AM, Blogger Unknown said…

    I do not see men on the floor, all I see are a bunch of tin men. I have been following most of the series in the playoffs, and in comparison with the other teams, the Magic plays with no heart. Anybody who has seen the Rockets or Denver play would agree with me. The reason why we keep getting these leads is because our team is comprised of more skilled players than Boston. Reason why we lose the leads is because the team playing with more heart usually triumphs. The only 2 players wearing blue that have played with any heart are Lee and Pietrus. They should get MUCH more minutes.

    Is it just me or is Rashad camera shy? I think we should nickname him Mr. First Half, because he seems to disappear in the second half, especially during the 4th quarter. It just blows my mind, because obviously he is at an advantage over Glen and Brian. He should be taking 20 shots a game, not Howard-sorry big fellow (via post-game interview), but it is kind of sad when a devoted fan like myself would rather see Gotat go in there and finish. Superman has been Clark Kenting it on the offensive side, but I do give you props for your rebounding in game 5.

    I did not jump onto the Howard bandwagon. I jumped on the Shaq and Penny bandwagon and I have stayed put. Please give me a reason to continue to root for you guys...

     

  • At 9:35 AM, Blogger Big Figure said…

    Yea if your going to place blame it has to be on SVG for letting his team play horrible down the stretch. At the same time when you play that well for three and a half quarters but decide to jack up jumpers to finish the game it means we as a team have no leadership on the floor. Here's where we miss jameer. Hedo did a good job last night down the stretch of being a playmaker instead of just launching jumpers,but this time around uncharacteristically rashard had a horrible last 5 minutes. Bad shot trying to draw a foul on big baby,two ill-advised three pointers when we only needed 1 point,a drive to the hoop that gets stolen and a bad pass to dwight that winds up celtics ball. I dont think i've ever seen such a bad 5 minutes from rashard. The magic players lack discipline and SVG gives them to much freedom bottom line. When your leading 85-75 with more than 5 minutes to go and dont score another point untill the game is almost over,that means that there's no leadership from the coach and no leadership on the floor. I think hedo did a good job of trying to lead but even he needs to understand that drive and kick basketball usually leads to outside jumpers which we didnt need. Down the stretch of close games good teams run their offense and get high percentage shots,the magic dont have that type of discipline or at least they havent shown it,in 4 out of the 5 games in this series the magic have given up double digit leads.

     

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