MAGIC EVEN SERIES WITH WIN OVER SIXERS

The Orlando Magic finally put away the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night to win by a 96-87 score and tie their opening round series at one game apiece.  The Sixers didn’t go quietly, however, again obliterating an 18 point third quarter deficit to eventually draw within five.  This time the Magic responded to the run and didn’t allow Philly to get any closer.

The Magic were led by Courtney Lee’s 24 points while Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis added 16 apiece.  Newly crowned NBA defensive player of the year Dwight Howard posted a ‘double/double’ with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Rafer Alston and Anthony Johnson also chipped in for 11 points apiece.  Howard fouled out with 3:11 remaining in the game and had to watch from the bench as his teammates tried to put away the feisty Sixers.  His thoughts during that time?:

"Man, I hope these boys don't come back again.”

This time, they would come close but the Magic would prevail thanks to some clutch jumpshots by Lewis in the final minutes of the contest.

Philly was led by Andre Miller’s 30 points, while game one hero Andre Iguodala scored 21.  Thaddeus Young added 20 as the only other Sixer to score more than five points.  Clearly, the Sixers need to get more productivity from the rest of their lineup as their top three scorers combined for 71 points while the rest of the lineup combined for only 16. 

Iguodala explained the difference between games one and two:

"We feel like we had some opportunities. They did all the little things. They hit a big 3. They got all the little loose balls. They made the shots. They got all the rebounds. They did a great job of sealing the game this time."

Sixers’ coach Tony DiLeao concurred:

"Three nights ago, we made timely shots. Tonight, we had some opportunities to make some big shots and then we didn't."

Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy suggested that his team was ‘playing tight’ with the exception of rookie Courtney Lee:

"He just seems to be playing freer and looser than some of our guys. Some of our guys look like they have the weight of the world on their shoulders. Hopefully, we can all start playing like that."

The series will resume in Philadelphia on Friday night, with game four back on the Sixers’ Wachovia Center home court on Sunday afternoon.  The series will switch back to Orlando for game five on Tuesday night.