The Official Site of JJ Redick

Mon, Apr 20th 2009, 10:39

Game 1 Recap

The Orlando Magic had been so good in these kinds of close-out situations all season, going 48-4 when leading after three quarters and 52-1 when up with 5 minutes to play. That’s what made the Magic’s fourth-quarter faltering against the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday even more shocking.

Philadelphia rallied back from an 18-point deficit and stunned the Magic 100-98 in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series when Andre Iguodala hit a contested jumper with 2.2 seconds to play. Magic shooting guard J.J. Redick, who played six minutes in the third quarter and early fourth period, admitted that it was baffling to see Orlando lose a game it seemed poised to win convincingly.

``It’s surprising that we couldn’t hold on to that lead,’’ J.J. said afterwards in a silent Magic locker room. ``There was a 6-minute stretch where it seemed like we couldn’t get a stop. The outside shots stopped falling and it seemed like they made all of the plays.’’

The biggest play of the game, as it turned out, was Iguodala’s 20-foot jump shot from the top of the key with 2.2 seconds to play. A close second was the game-tying 3-pointer that Philly veteran Donyell Marshall drilled with 34 seconds remaining off a loose ball. Marshall, 35, had played just 25 games all season, but scored 11 fourth-quarter points on Sunday.

A Philadelphia team that limped into the playoffs by losing six of its last seven games leads the best-of-seven series, 1-0. Game 2 is Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at Amway Arena. As for J.J., he got crucial minutes at the end of the third period and at the start of the fourth quarter. J.J. didn’t attempt a shot in six minutes, but he did swing the ball around the perimeter for a Tony Battie open jump shot early in the fourth period. Playing in the white-hot intensity of the postseason was a perk for J.J.

``It was great. There’s definitely a different atmosphere when it’s a playoff game,’’ J.J. said. ``There was a buzz in the air and it’s unfortunate that we couldn’t deliver for the home fans.’’

Shockingly losing Game 1 puts the heat squarely on the Magic come Wednesday night to even the series.

``There’s no way that we want to go to Philly down 0-2,’’ J.J. said. ``This is a must-win in Game 2. We have to even this thing up and go back to Philadelphia with some momentum.’’

Fortunately for the Magic, they have been quite good this season after losses. Orlando usually played with a vengeance after losses this season and was 20-3 following defeats. That’s fully what J.J. expects to see from the Magic come Wednesday night in Game 2.

“It seems like any time we hit a rough game we usually bounce back and get big wins,’’ he said. ``Just a couple of weeks ago we had a tough loss to Toronto and we play Cleveland a couple of days later and we win by 20. You have to come with that same mindset and play better on Wednesday.’’