The Official Site of JJ Redick

Fri, May 15th 2009, 09:05

MAGIC WIN GRITTY GAME 6, FORCE GAME 7 ON SUNDAY

Given up for dead at times in this back-and-forth series against the defending champion Boston Celtics, the Orlando Magic are headed now for a decisive Game 7.

The Magic forced a Game 7 Thursday night with a gritty, clutch 83-75 defeat of the Celtics in Game 6 at Amway Arena.

The victory was hardly a thing of beauty for a Magic team that shot 36.6 percent from the floor, made only six of 26 3-pointers and missed 14 free throws. But the Magic were particularly good on the defensive end of the floor and this time they finished the game strong. Orlando held Boston to just 29 points in the second half and it scored the game’s final eight points for the crucial victory.

Once again, the Magic were good in the face of adversity. That’s been the case all season as the Magic always seem to muster their best when their backs are to the wall.

``I thought our guys fought extremely hard as they pretty much have all year. It’s just not a problem with this group,’’ Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. ``Our guys come to play all of the time. Everybody was wondering how we’d be after two tough losses and the thing with Dwight (Howard) and I just kept saying, `We’ll do what we always do.’ Our guys come and play. We didn’t play great, but we fought hard.’’

Nobody fought harder than Howard, who had 23 points, 22 rebounds and three blocked shots. He had 10 offensive rebounds, helping the Magic score 24 second-change points.

Rashard Lewis added 20 points, while Mickael Pietrus added 11 off the bench. Rafer Alston had a 3-pointer and a floater in the lane as the Magic pulled away late in the fourth period and Hedo Turkoglu overcame a bad shooting night with a game-sealing 3-pointer with 1:23 to play.

Like many of his teammates on a night when points were tough to come by, J.J. Redick struggled with his shot and scored two points. But he did grab three rebounds and block a shot in 20 minutes. And his relentless pursuit of Ray Allen around screens helped limit the Boston star guard to two of 11 shooting and seven misses on his seven 3-point shots. For the series, Allen has made just five of 36 3-pointers (after hitting 27 against Chicago) and is shooting 30.7 percent against J.J., Courtney Lee and Pietrus.

``The guy guarding Ray has to stay on him tight because all it takes is for him to hit one 3-pointer to get him going,’’ said Lewis, a former teammate of Allen’s in Seattle. ``He’s the type of shooter that he won’t miss the rest of the night if he ever gets himself going.’’

Next up for the Magic is a decisive Game 7 for the right to move on and play Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals. Orlando is 1-1 all-time in Game 7s, while Boston has a much more extensive history. The 17-time champs are 25-5 all-time in Game 7s and 17-3 in Boston. Their current team won two Games 7s in Boston last season and eliminated Chicago in the first round earlier this month in a Game 7.

``Game 7, everything is on the line for both teams,’’ Howard said. ``I just think if we play Magic basketball for 48 minutes at the end of the game we should be ahead, I believe that. We’re going up there to give it our all.’’