Updates
Tue, May 5th 2009, 10:42
J.J. SCORES 12 IN MAGIC'S BIG GAME 1 VICTORY
Seeing a commanding 28-point lead sliced all the way down to three was excruciating for the Orlando Magic, so much so that it sapped the life out of what should have been a joyous postgame locker room. But when the Magic’s run-away first half and Boston’s remarkable rally were finally over Monday night, Orlando still emerged with a 95-90 victory, a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series and in possession of the homecourt advantage.
``We let the lead slip away, but there are still plenty of positives,’’ said Magic guard J.J. Redick, who scored 12 points in 29 minutes and hit four game-sealing free throws down the stretch. ``We got a big road win to start off the series and that’s what matters most. We have to make some adjustments and figure out a way to get better shots. We have to make some tweaks to our offense, obviously.’’
Once up 65-37 early in the third period on a transition 3-pointer by J.J., the Magic had to hold on for dear life over the game’s final 21 minutes for one of the franchise’s biggest victories in years. The Magic got just enough scoring down the stretch from Rashard Lewis (18 points) and Mickael Pietrus (17 points) and the clutch free throw shooting from J.J. to avoid what would have been the biggest playoff collapse in playoff history. The Magic were outscored 28-17 in the fourth period, a quarter in which they made just five of 20 shots. Still, they did just enough to get the decisive victory.
``We knew they were going to make a run, but we could have done a much better job of holding them off,’’ J.J. said. ``But they hit some tough shots, made some free throws and stopped the game and made those last two quarters go by awfully slow.’’
Some wondered going into the series how J.J. would fare against Boston star guard Ray Allen, one of the best players of the first round. On this night at least, J.J. got the better of Allen, outscoring him 12-9. J.J. made two 3-pointers and all four of his free throws, but his biggest contribution came on the defensive end of the floor. He hounded Allen off screens and contested most of his shots. Allem missed 10 of 12 shots, including six of seven misfires from 3-point range. He could just as easily make those shots in Game 2, Redick stressed. But for one game at least, Redick did the job of frustrating Allen.
``Ray is a great scorer and some nights he’s going to hit those tough shots, but tonight he just didn’t hit them,’’ J.J. said. ``The goal is to get a hand in his face as much as possible and contest every shot. Sometimes he can hit those anyway.’’
Getting production from all parts of the team the way they did in Game 6 against Philadelphia, the Magic dominated the first half and shockingly led 54-36 at the break. Once down 30-28 midway through the second quarter, Orlando used a 26-6 spurt to close the first half for a commanding lead. Boston was sure to suffer somewhat of a hangover from its epic, seven-game, seven-overtime series against the Chicago Bulls. But Boston turned up the defensive pressure late in the game and the Magic melted down somewhat offensively. But what matters most is that the Magic got a key victory and homecourt advantage in the series.
``I think it was our offense leading to their offense,’’ J.J. said. ``They are so great in transition, finding open shooters and they have you scrambling all over the place. But we did what we had to down the stretch to get the victory.’’