HOWARD-LESS MAGIC RIP SIXERS TO ADVANCE

With Dwight Howard suspended by the NBA for game six, the Philadelphia 76ers apparently figured they could just ‘phone in’ a win and advance to game seven on Saturday.  The rest of the Orlando Magic had other ideas.  With the NBA’s best defensive player watching the game from his hotel room, his teammates stepped up and the Magic routed the Sixers in Philly 114-89 to win the best of seven opening round series four games to two.   Orlando will face the winner of the Chicago-Boston series in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Magic had six players score in double figures, including two ‘double/doubles’.  Rashard Lewis led all scorers with 29 points, while Rafer Alton contributed 21 points and 10 assists.  J.J. Redick added 15, reserve Mickael Pietrus 14 and Hedo Turkoglu 12.  Perhaps the most inspired performance was turned in by Marcin Gortat, who replaced Howard in the starting lineup.  Gortat scored 11 points and hauled in 15 boards for a ‘double/double’ which took up a considerable amount of the slack left by Howard’s absence. 

Philadelphia, meanwhile, had only three players score in double digits and was held to a paltry 40.8% shooting for the game.  Andre Miller scored 24 points, Andre Iguodala added 20 and Lou Williams rounded out the Sixers’ double digit scoring triumvirate with 17 points.  Samuel Dalembert also played reasonably well, scoring only 8 points but adding 15 rebounds.  The Sixers’ posted their worst home loss in the playoffs since 1970, and blew a 2-1 series lead for the second year in a row.

After the game, Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said his motivational tactic was simple:

"The only thing I said in the locker room before the game was, 'Be great.’ They wanted to prove something. They have great appreciation in that we would be where we are without Dwight."

If the NBA gave out a ‘most feeble excuse for a loss’ award, the Sixers’ Andre Miller would definitely be a finalist as he tried to justify the rout by making the dubious case that the Magic are actually *better* without Howard and his postseason averages of 24 points, 16 rebound and 3 blocks per game in the lineup:

"They're actually better without Dwight Howard. One of their players told me that they were better without Dwight Howard. They said the ball moves quicker. They're not standing around a lot."

Sixers’ coach Tony DiLeo didn’t bother making excuses, explaining his team’s non-competitive effort with a boxing metaphor:

"We had no answer. They had the first punch and we never had a counterpunch."

Actually, the Magic had more of a 1-2 punch to start the game:  they opened up a 30-19 lead after one quarter and led 62-48 at halftime.  The Sixers dug themselves into a deeper hole during the second half, and were deservedly booed off the court by their home fans after the third quarter.

The Sixers could look drastically different when the 2009-2010 season begins—Andre Miller is an unrestricted free agent, and Philly will likely let him take his excuse making act elsewhere.  Head coach Tony DiLeo, who took over the team in December after Maurice Cheeks was fired, may opt to return to his front office gig.