They gave away home court in Game 1 and faced a 2-1 deficit in the first round against Philadelphia. They heard about (and
read about) the stats how the Celtics' franchise had an all-time record of 32-0 when holding 3-2 series leads. Then, they
stared down a Game 7 in Boston, a veritable graveyard of opponents' postseason hopes and dreams.
But after Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals, Orlando finally has history on its side.
Sure, it took them an extra five minutes of coaxing, cajoling and courting, but with a thrilling 116-114 overtime win,
the Magic now have a 3-1 lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers and are one game away from their first NBA Finals apperance since
1995.
(Miss the action? Catch the replay of Game 4 at Noon ET on NBA TV.)
Just how big is the hole that the Magic have put the Cavaliers in?
Just how big is the hole that the Magic have put the Cavaliers in?
Not only does Cleveland need to win three consecutive games against a team they have only beaten three times in the last
11 regular season and postseason meetings, but only eight teams in NBA history have fought their way back from a 3-1 series
deficit. In 2006, the Suns shocked the Lakers in the first round, but no team has scratched, clawed or fought their way back
from 3-1 in a conference finals since the Larry Bird-led Celtics defeated the Julius Erving-led Philadelphia 76ers in 1981.
Daunting, yes. Impossible, no. That's why Magic coach Stan Van Gundy isn't ready to size himself up for an Eastern Conference
championship t-shirt just yet.
"This one will be a lot harder to get," Van Gundy said.
But if this series holds to form, the Magic will get it. And they'll get it for the simple reason that they have stayed
truer to who they are throughout the first four games of the series for longer stretches than the Cavs have.
The Magic know who they are: "We run, move the ball and defend," Dwight Howard said after Game 3. No two plays epitomized
Howard's description than two of the 17 3-point shots they made on Tuesday, one near the beginning of the fourth quarter and
one at the end.
Thanks to Rafer Alston and his 15 third-quarter points, the Magic whittled an eight-point halftime deficit to one to start
the fourth quarter. One minute into the fourth, the Magic managed to take their first lead since late in the second quarter
on some of the prettiest and crispest ball movement you will ever see.
It started, as it usually does, with Howard taking an entry pass in the post. He passed out of a double-team to the strong-side
corner to Rashard Lewis. Lewis whipped a pass to the wing to Courtney Lee, who sent a laser to Alston on the other wing. Alston
found super-sub Mickael Pietrus alone on the weakside corner for a wide-open, nothing-but-net 3-pointer that gave the Magic
an 81-79 advantage.
The Cavaliers, despite their five fourth quarter turnovers, managed to take a 98-97 lead with 1:05 left when LeBron James
made the second of two free throws.
When Orlando responded to the Cavs' lead with misses on two rushed 3-pointers (also something that's part of Orlando DNA),
the Magic were lucky to have the Cavs' Delonte West knock a loose ball out of bounds with 6.4 seconds left.
Van Gundy called a 20-second timeout and again, the Magic's Really Big Three of Howard, Lewis and Turkoglu managed to make
the Cavaliers pay.
With Turkoglu inbounding the ball, Lewis came to the corner with Ben Wallace on him. Howard managed not only to screen
his man (Anderson Varejao), but picked off Wallace as well, leaving Lewis wide open for a three.
"I didn't really know who to screen," Howard said. "Usually they switch the four and five pick-and-roll toward the ends
of games. And I think Ben had a head start, so I tried to hit him before he got a chance to close out to Rashard. And then
Rashard just hit the shot."
Once again, the Cavs couldn't defend an inbounds play. Before Lewis hit his game-winning 3-pointer in Game 1, TNT cameras
caught James pleading with his teammates to just get one stop. Tonight's repeat had James shaking his head after the game.
If you have watched the Cavaliers all season, this is not the Cavaliers team you've watched. They haven't defended well
when it counts. They haven't moved the ball to get easy buckets. And throughout the second half of Game 4, they went to isolation
plays instead of making the Magic work on defense.
"We just need one stop," James said, "and we haven't gotten one stop to win a game yet."
Therein lies the difference from being up 3-1 and down 3-1. When the Magic have needed Howard, he's been there. Tonight
after James sent the game into OT with two clutch free throws with 0.5 left, Howard scored 10 of the Magic's first 13 OT points.
The Cavs haven't helped James much at all this series with either their words or their deeds. Despite eight turnovers in
Game 4, James was his usual brilliant self with 44 points, 12 boards and seven assists. No one else on the Cavs has been up
to the standards they set thus far.
Mo Williams, who guaranteed the Cavs would win this series, had 18 points, but was only 5-for-15 from the field. Varejao
only had two boards. And for the second straight game, the Pietrus outscored the Cavs' bench. Add into the mix that Howard
went 7-for-9 from the free throw line and is 21-for-28 in the last two games, and the Cavs don't just have their backs to
the wall, they're blindfolded and have just been asked if they have any last words.
"You move on to the next game," James said. "You try to get the game on Thursday back home and come back down here and
try to get Game 6. We are looking forward to the challenge."
But quickly realizing that he's been brining it all series long, he changed pronouns as quickly as he changes direction
off the dribble.
"I know I am. I'm up for the challenge," LeBron said. "I think my play, my leadership has spoken for that. So I will be
ready and I think our guys will be ready also."
They had better be. Because you know the Magic will.
