 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Toronto Raptors 108 VS Orlando Magic 94: RECAP
April 25, 2008
|
Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - T.J. Ford and Jose Calderon were the catalysts behind Toronto's 108-94 victory over the Orlando Magic, as their combined 39 points, 12 rebounds and 16 assists gave the Raptors a much-needed win in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.
The Magic lead the series, 2-1, with Game 4 scheduled for Saturday at Air Canada Centre.
Ford was a force in the first half and Calderon was at his best in the second. Ford finished with a team-high 21 points, while Calderon logged four three- pointers, seven rebounds and a whopping 13 assists for Toronto. Chris Bosh also shook off his errant game-winner in Game 2 to net 15 points, and Jamario Moon was effective in his first start of the series with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the first postseason double-double of his career.
Dwight Howard had a big first quarter, but finished with just 19 points and 12 boards for Orlando. Hedo Turkoglu had a game-high 26 points to go along with seven rebounds, and Rashard Lewis deposited 19 points in the loss.
"Well, we knew Toronto was going to come out tonight with a better effort than they did at our place and we expected it, but we just didn't weather the storm," Howard said. "They came out firing on all cylinders and we didn't do a great job of coming back at them. We kind of let them set the tempo. We let them set the way the game was going to be played all night. We couldn't stop it."
Orlando struggled from three-point range (6-for-27), while the Raptors tied a franchise playoff record with 12 makes from behind the arc in the win.
The Raptors ran up-and-down the court in the opening stanza, and Orlando couldn't handle the up tempo style. Moon made his presence known with a steal and breakaway dunk midway through the quarter.
The play capped a 12-2 Raptors run and the home team took that momentum to lead, 28-20, despite Howard's 13-point, five-rebound first quarter effort.
"We had two bad starts," Toronto head coach Sam Mitchell said of the first two games in the series. "In the second game we came within one shot of winning the basketball game down there (Orlando) so we felt that if we could just clean up some things then we should play a lot better."
Great ball movement helped Toronto hold onto the lead in the second quarter. During a 13-2 spurt, Rasho Nesterovic came off a pick a roll to nail a jumper at the top of the key, and Moon calmly sunk a three-pointer a few possessions later after terrific perimeter passing.
"Just like I've been doing all season, I just wanted to come out and be agressive and try to bring energy to my teammates," Moon said.
Leading 45-35 with just under three minutes left in the half, Ford dropped 11 points, including a three-point play, and Bosh threw down a monster slam to punctuate a 61-40 halftime lead for Toronto.
Lewis popped in two quick three-pointers for Orlando to start the second half, and its offense began to click. But each time the Magic cut into the lead, Toronto had an answer.
A Howard layup made it a 68-55 game midway though the third, but the Raptors rattled off seven straight points en route to maintaining an 80-69 lead with a quarter to play.
Trailing 87-76 with 7 1/2 minutes left, Keith Bogans had a chance to cut the Magic deficit to single digits. However, his attempt was off the mark, and Orlando barely challenged after the miss.
Jason Kapono then hit a huge three-pointer, and Bosh threw down a dunk on a pass from Calderon for a 94-80 advantage with just five minutes. Back-to-back threes from Carlos Delfino and Kapono later in the frame sealed the impressive victory.
Game Notes
Toronto's 34 three-point attempts were also a franchise playoff record... The Raptors hit 12 three-pointers in a playoff loss to Philadelphia on May 11, 2001...The Raptors are now 8-for-12 in playoff home games at Air Canada Centre...Kapono had 15 points off the bench, and Anthony Parker added 10 for the Raptors...Bogans tallied 12 points for Orlando...Toronto is 3-3 all-time in Game 3s in the postseason...The Raptors have never won a best-of-seven playoff series (0-2)...Magic point guard Jameer Nelson, who made just 2-of-8 from the field in the loss, experienced back spasms following the game. He will be evaluated on Friday...Toronto's 108 points were also a franchise playoff-high.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
