When Charlotte beat Atlanta on April 6, the Orlando Magic clinched their third consecutive Southeast Division title. They’ve been set for the playoffs since March. The only thing on the line for them in the last few games of the season is the chance to secure home court against anyone but Cleveland, who has that locked up throughout.
So, what was Orlando’s motivation for their 121-94 defeat of the Washington Wizards (a team that has played them close all season)? Was it revenge for the one-point loss they suffered to them at home back in February?
Coach Stan Van Gundy said he would like to see his team use these last games of the regular season to “shore up areas where we need to improve.” But even as the players were warming up Wednesday night, you could tell there were only two main driving forces at work: have some fun and entertain the fans.
The Magic did plenty of both.
However, they got off to a bit of a slow start. Even though the Wizards scored first, Orlando maintained the lead for most of the first quarter until Washington scored ten unanswered points, taking them from a four-point deficit to a six-point lead. The Magic fought back and ended the first down by one.
If fans thought it was going to be a nail-biting night, Orlando dispelled that idea at the start of the second when J.J. Redick sunk a three-point jump shot for the last lead change of the game. The Magic entered half-time with a 50-44 advantage.
And the night only got better for Orlando fans.
“We played well in the second half,” Gundy said after the game in a slight understatement. The Magic lit up the court in the third slowly building up to a double digit lead until the final two minutes of the quarter when fans witnessed why their players are division champions.
Dwight Howard sent cheers through the crowd with an alley-oop dunk assisted by Jason Williams around the two-minute mark. Then as seconds ticked off the clock, Williams sunk back-to-back threes thanks to a steal by Ryan Anderson that put the fans on their feet screaming for more.
The Magic gave it to them in the fourth, expanding the 19-point lead into a 27-point victory. So, while Gundy wanted to see more on defense from his team – particularly on limiting good perimeter players, the fans left the stadium very happy.
With Orlando’s bench seeing almost as much play time as their starters and seven team members putting up double-digit points in Wednesday’s game, the Magic demonstrated how depth is one of their greatest assets. “Every one of those guys has played major roles on multiple wins,” Gundy said.
Fans will have a chance to see a little more home-court magic Friday against New York where the team will need to avoid looking ahead to their road game against Cleveland, April 11 in what could be a precursor to the Eastern Conference finals.
Meanwhile Washington will play at Boston on Friday before traveling home to face Atlanta on Saturday.
Written by, Kimberly Sarmiento, scooping the court. See you at the playoffs!
I was at the game too!! Your witty and suspenseful snapshot of the game gives me goosebumps. I just love how your prose is so crisp and concise! You shoot straight from the hip! You must sit next to me for the next game. Look for me… I am Egyptian and have a curly moustache.