Orlando brooms come out to celebrate
Güncelleme Tarihi:
AFP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Haziran 11, 2009 00:00
ORLANDO - The brooms came out early in game three in Orlando but it had nothing to do with a Los Angeles Lakers' series sweep that some had been forecasting. This time it was to help celebrate a Magic victory.
Orlando’s Turkish forward Hidayet "Hedo" Türkoğlu was a major part of the success, finishing the game with 18 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
With just 0.2 seconds remaining on the clock a trigger happy Magic employee accidently released a shower of confetti onto the Amway Arena court.
Workers tried to sweep up the mess but eventually gave up so Rashard Lewis could step up to the free throw line and ice the 108-104 victory yesterday morning Turkish time, which cut the Lakers series lead to two games to one.
The Magic shot a final series record 62.5 percent from the field, surpassing the 1991 Chicago Bulls who shot 61.7 percent. The blistering offensive performance is in sharp contrast to game one where Orlando shot just 23-of-77 percent from the field. A loss in game two as well had some in the Los Angeles media predicting a four-straight series win for the Lakers.
"I knew our shooting would come back," Türkoğlu said. "We didn't shoot the ball well in Los Angeles but we have guys who play good at home.
"We just had to have confidence in ourselves to make the extra pass and find the open guy and expect him to make it." And they did all night long was they shot a whopping 24-of-32 in the first half in front of a boisterous crowd of 17,461.
"We are excited about being at home and our crowd really gave us extra energy," said Rashard Lewis, who was one of five Magic players to finish in double figures.
After being written off following a game two loss in overtime, the Magic are just a layup away from being ahead 2-1 in the series. Tuesday's game went down to the final minutes for the second straight contest. The adjustments that coach Stan Van Gundy made after they were run off the court in game one are finally starting to pay off.
’Never quit’
"The one thing you can't question about our team on is our resilience," Van Gundy said. "Our team will keep playing. We had bad games like game one but it is never a matter of quitting."
Said Dwight Howard, who has posted a double double in 20 of his last 21 playoff games, "When we lost two games there was no need to roll over."
In the first quarter it looked like it could be another long night for the Magic after Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant put on a shooting and passing clinic. Bryant finished with 17 points in the opening quarter on seven-of-10 shooting but cooled off in the second half and struggled all night from the free throw line.
"My rhythm was off at the free-throw line," he said. "I just shot poorly. It was a bad night."
Orlando did a better job of holding off Bryant in the second half but it still went down to the final minute as they needed a key dunk and steal from France's Mickael Pietrus to clinch the victory. Pietrus has the thankless task of shadowing Bryant in this series. He got warmed up for Bryant, by guarding league MVP LeBron James in the semifinals. "I am just trying to limit his touches," Pietrus said of Bryant. "He came out with a lot of energy and focus. But we were able to focus and get the win."
Pietrus finished with 18 points as the Magic finally got their offence clicking in the series.
"They did a great job making adjustments," Bryant said of Orlando. "We ran them off the three-point line and they converted inside the arc. It is on us to make adjustments as well."
Orlando is up against long odds if they are to rally and beat the Lakers. Only 14 teams in 222 attempts have ever come back from losing the first two games of a best-of-seven series.
"We believe in each other," Türkoğlu said. "As long as we are playing our game, our system and fighting 48 minutes then why not?"
With just 0.2 seconds remaining on the clock a trigger happy Magic employee accidently released a shower of confetti onto the Amway Arena court.
Workers tried to sweep up the mess but eventually gave up so Rashard Lewis could step up to the free throw line and ice the 108-104 victory yesterday morning Turkish time, which cut the Lakers series lead to two games to one.
The Magic shot a final series record 62.5 percent from the field, surpassing the 1991 Chicago Bulls who shot 61.7 percent. The blistering offensive performance is in sharp contrast to game one where Orlando shot just 23-of-77 percent from the field. A loss in game two as well had some in the Los Angeles media predicting a four-straight series win for the Lakers.
"I knew our shooting would come back," Türkoğlu said. "We didn't shoot the ball well in Los Angeles but we have guys who play good at home.
"We just had to have confidence in ourselves to make the extra pass and find the open guy and expect him to make it." And they did all night long was they shot a whopping 24-of-32 in the first half in front of a boisterous crowd of 17,461.
"We are excited about being at home and our crowd really gave us extra energy," said Rashard Lewis, who was one of five Magic players to finish in double figures.
After being written off following a game two loss in overtime, the Magic are just a layup away from being ahead 2-1 in the series. Tuesday's game went down to the final minutes for the second straight contest. The adjustments that coach Stan Van Gundy made after they were run off the court in game one are finally starting to pay off.
’Never quit’
"The one thing you can't question about our team on is our resilience," Van Gundy said. "Our team will keep playing. We had bad games like game one but it is never a matter of quitting."
Said Dwight Howard, who has posted a double double in 20 of his last 21 playoff games, "When we lost two games there was no need to roll over."
In the first quarter it looked like it could be another long night for the Magic after Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant put on a shooting and passing clinic. Bryant finished with 17 points in the opening quarter on seven-of-10 shooting but cooled off in the second half and struggled all night from the free throw line.
"My rhythm was off at the free-throw line," he said. "I just shot poorly. It was a bad night."
Orlando did a better job of holding off Bryant in the second half but it still went down to the final minute as they needed a key dunk and steal from France's Mickael Pietrus to clinch the victory. Pietrus has the thankless task of shadowing Bryant in this series. He got warmed up for Bryant, by guarding league MVP LeBron James in the semifinals. "I am just trying to limit his touches," Pietrus said of Bryant. "He came out with a lot of energy and focus. But we were able to focus and get the win."
Pietrus finished with 18 points as the Magic finally got their offence clicking in the series.
"They did a great job making adjustments," Bryant said of Orlando. "We ran them off the three-point line and they converted inside the arc. It is on us to make adjustments as well."
Orlando is up against long odds if they are to rally and beat the Lakers. Only 14 teams in 222 attempts have ever come back from losing the first two games of a best-of-seven series.
"We believe in each other," Türkoğlu said. "As long as we are playing our game, our system and fighting 48 minutes then why not?"