SIXERS NIP MAGIC, UP 2-1 IN SERIES

Thaddeus Young scored on a driving layup with just under two seconds remaining to propel the Philadelphia 76ers to a 96-94 victory over the Orlando Magic at the Wachovia Center on Friday night.  The win gives the Sixers a 2-1 lead in the opening round NBA playoff series with game four back on their home court Sunday night.

Andre Iguodala led Philly with 29 points while Andre Miller just missed a ‘double/double’ by scoring 24 points and adding 9 rebounds.  Willie Green was the only other Sixer to score in double figures.  The Magic were led by another monster game from Dwight Howard, who scored 36 points, hauled in 11 rebounds and blocked 3 shots.  Rafer Alston added 17 points, while Rashard Lewis chipped in for 14 and Hedo Turkoglu 11 to round out the Magic’s double digit scoring attack.

Thaddeus Young scored only six points, but two were the biggest of the game—if not the biggest of his basketball career.  It wasn’t exactly a textbook play, as Young started his drive to the basket with intentions of passing.  A bobbled ball caused him to change his plans on the fly and put up a shot which he attributed to ‘luck’ that it went in and won the game:

"It was the biggest shot ever for me. It was a lucky shot. I'm glad I hit it. I'm glad the ball was in my hands."

Despite the close game, Magic coach Stan Van Gundy wasn’t happy with the way his team played:

"We were badly outplayed for 30 minutes. We're lucky to even be in the situation we're in. They had no trouble scoring on us and other than Dwight, we didn't do much offensively."

Sixers’ coach Tony DiLeo, conversely, praised his team’s toughness and poise:

"That was a great win for us. They made their push and we kept our poise and kept battling and made some big plays down the stretch."

None of the plays bigger than Young’s improbable game winning basket.  Dwight Howard was the only Magic player between Young and the net, and after watching him bobble the ball expected a jump ball or an out of bounds situation:

"I was expecting a jump ball or something, but he just made the shot. It hurts."

Orlando has plenty of reasons to feel confident about their prospects for game four on Philly’s home court:  the Magic had a better road record this year at 27-14 than Philadelphia had at home (24-17).  After Sunday’s game four the series will shift back to Orlando’s Amway Arena for game five on Tuesday.  Game six, if necessary, will be back in Philadelphia on Thursday night.