MAGIC: GAMETIME: 04/18/07 vs. Miami

GAMETIME: Orlando Magic 94, Miami Heat 68

April 18, 2007 - Amway Arena

	1	2	3	4	F
HEAT	23	14	10	21	68
MAGIC	22	17	26	29	94

GAME INFO

Tipoff: 7:00 PM ET
TV: Sun Sports | Radio: WDBO AM 580 | Spanish Radio: AM 1030 WONQ
Theme Night: Fan Appreciation Night
Giveaway: Del-Air Cheer Cards (first 5,000 fans)

By Matthew Gardner | OrlandoMagic.com

FOURTH QUARTER
Arroyo knocks down a jumper to begin the final quarter and Orlando's lead is up to 20 points. But Wright and Doleac each hit jumpers to pull within 16 points. But Orlando keeps pounding away and still maintain a 20-point advantage with 8:45 remaining.

J.J. Redick checks into the game and quickly hits back-to-back threes as Orlando's lead jumps to 25. Arroyo then gets in on the action and hits one of his own with 6:49 left in the game. The starters have all checked out and it looks like Orlando is just a few minutes away from finishing the regular season with a 40-42 record. Considering the rough stretch this team has had during the second half of the season, two games under .500 looks pretty good. Now, it will be up to the Washington Wizards to determine whether Orlando will enter the playoffs as the No. 7 or 8 seed. A Washington victory at Indiana and the Magic will head to the Motor City as the No. 8 seed. A loss by Washington and the Magic will head to either Cleveland or Chicago - depending on the outcome of their contests tonight.

Final: Orlando Magic 94, Miami Heat 68

THIRD QUARTER
Orlando comes out in the third and picks up its biggest lead of the night, thanks to a pair of free throws from Tony Battie, followed by jumpers from Grant Hill and Hedo Turkoglu. It's a 45-38 lead for the Magic with 8:19 remaining in the third.

The Magic take advantage of a pair of fastbreak opportunties off of steals and Hill and Nelson each finish with baskets as Orlando's lead jumps to 11, 51-43. The home team follows with a basket from Howard and a three by Turkoglu to offset Miami's efforts and extend the lead to 13 points, 53-43. Howard then takes a feed from Hill and throws down a sick two-handed alley-oop!! Orlando is blowing the Heat straight back to South Beach. It's a 59-43 Magic lead with 3:30 left in the third.

While winning is only half the battle tonight, Orlando is at least doing its part to get that No. 7 seed. Washington, however, is currently beating Indiana. Not good! The squad comes out of the timeout and Hedo drains another three as the lead is now 62-45 in favor of the Magic.

End of Third Quarter: Orlando Magic 65, Miami Heat 45

SECOND QUARTER
Magic on the board first to begin the second quarter with Hedo Turkoglu getting his first bucket of the night. Turkoglu off to a rough start with just one make in his first six attempts. Miami snags a 27-26 lead, but Dooling hits a floater as Orlando regains the lead. The teams trade attempts from the free throw line and we've got a 29-29 game at the 5:58 mark. Not much scoring happening in this second quarter as both teams have gone deep to their bench.

We haven't seen the exciting action you'd expect from a Miami-Orlando matchup. That's not surprising, considering the lineups that have been on the floor. Collecting minutes for Miami have been Earl Barron, Dorrell Wright, Wayne Simien, Chris Quinn and Michael Doleac, while the Magic are currently countering with Dooling, Carlos Arroyo and Keith Bogans, along with Howard and Turkoglu - both who just returned to the game, replacing Trevor Ariza and Pat Garrity.

Wright just dazzled the crowd with a two-handed reverse jam off a fastbreak to tie the game. But Arroyo drives to the basket and makes a layup, while being fouled by Barron. Arroyo misses the free throw and missing on a the completion of a three-point play opportunity. Quinn then decides to drive the ball inside and looked like he was going to attempt a layup - that is until he saw Howard standing in the lane. Good call, Chris. That wouldn't have been a very smart decision. Magic take a 33-31 lead, but Wright finds Simien inside with a bold pass and Simien rewards him by making the layup. Simien and Kapono lead Miami with six each.

Wright is flying high tonight. After a timeout, Wright throws down a one-handed alley-oop. Not to be outdone, the NBA's leading dunker, Dwight Howard, takes a pass from Battie and throws it down. Hill then makes a fastbreak layup and is fouled. He hits the free throw and Orlando has a four-point lead. Haslem hits a jumpshot in the final minute to pull Miami within two, but Mourning misses on a chance to tie the game in the final seconds and Orlando takes a two-point lead into the half.

Halftime: Orlando Magic 39, Miami Heat 37

FIRST QUARTER
No Shaquille O'Neal, Dwyane Wade or James Posey for Miami tonight, so Orlando will be battling for the No. 7 seed tonight against a depleted Heat roster. Posey is still recovering from a wrist injury, while there is no reason for Miami to play its two All-Stars now that they are locked in the No.4 playoff spot.

Lots of games to watch tonight. Washington has to lose at Indiana (coupled with a Magic win tonight) in order for Orlando to take the No. 7 seed. Chicago is at New Jersey, while Cleveland is playing Milwaukee. The Cavs will try to win and hope for a Bulls loss in order to overtake Chicago for the No. 2 seed.

Darko Milicic is out for Orlando tonight. An MRI today showed Milicic has a right mid-foot sprain. He is listed as day-to-day and his return will depend on how well he responds to treatment. Travis Diener and James Augustine are also inactive for the Magic.

Alonzo Mourning scores the game's first basket, but the Magic strike right back with a Grant Hill jumper and Dwight Howard dunk. Mourning just had his shot blocked by Tony Battie and was not happy that the officials didn't call a foul. He was mouthing something to one of the refs and as a colleague of mine said, "spitting like a dragon". The ballkids didn't need to grab the mop, but it was close.

Magic jump out to a 9-4 lead, shooting 50 percent from the field, while Miami is just 2-of-9. Jason Kapono hits a pair of free throws, but Hill knocks down another jumper to keep it a five-point lead at the 6:04 mark.

Udonis Haslem hits his first shot of the game and brings Miami within four. Antoine Walker then nails a three and it's a one-point game at the 4:55 mark. Jameer Nelson then buries an 18 footer to keep the Magic on top by a trey. But Gary Payton goes in for a layup for the Heat. Magic lead 16-13 with 2:27 remaining in the opening quarter.

After the timeout, Magic will a nice passing display - finding Hill open for a reverse layup. Grant's got 10 first quarter points. Bo Outlaw was just called for a foul on Wayne Simien. As Simien faked going up for a layup, Outlaw jumped up and literally sat on Simien's shoulder. Incredible leaps for the veteran Outlaw. Simien hits both free throws, but Magic lead by three. Walker then goes in for a layup and is fouled by Battie. He'll head to the line to complete the three-point play. He hits the freebie and the game is tied at 18. Battie knocks down a turnaround jumper to give Orlando another lead in the final minute, but Chris Quinn sinks a three-pointer and Miami is up by one, 21-20. Nelson dribbles through two defenders and hits a jumper from the free throw line, but Simien hits a jumper with 3.3 seconds left and the Heat lead after one quarter.

End of First Quarter: Miami Heat 23, Orlando Magic 22

PREGAME
Just one regular season game remaining and tonight's matchup against Southeast Division winner Miami has big implications for the Orlando Magic. A win, coupled with a Washington loss at Indiana, will give the Magic the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference and a meeting with either the Chicago Bulls or Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round. A loss or a Washington victory and the Magic is headed to Detroit to face a Pistons' squad they've fallen to four times this season.

MAGIC INJURY REPORT
Darko Milicic - sprained right ankle (day-to-day)

TONIGHT�S OPPONENT:
Apr. 18 vs. Miami (Orlando, FL): Orlando is 30-40 vs. Miami (17-18 at home, 13-22 on the road) during regular season action, including 3-0 this season (see recaps below)�The teams split 2-2 last season�Orlando is 2-3 vs. Miami in the playoffs (1997 first round)...Orlando has won the last four meetings, but lost 10 of the last 15 in the series overall�The Magic have lost eight of the last 13 meetings at home, and are 5-11 in the last 16 matchups at Miami�Keyon Dooling went to Dillard High School in Ft. Lauderdale and played in 74 games with Miami during the 2004-05 campaign�Carlos Arroyo played four years at Florida International University�Assistant Coach Morlon Wiley spent time with the Heat during his playing career.

Mar. 18 @ Miami � Magic 97, Heat 83: Five Magic players scored in double figures, led by Hedo Turkoglu�s 20 points, as Orlando defeated Miami, 97-83, at AmericanAirlines Arena. The win snapped the Magic�s five-game road losing streak and the Heat�s nine-game winning streak. Dwight Howard had 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Darko Milicic tallied 12 points and 10 boards. Shaquille O�Neal led the Heat with 20 points. Orlando shot 50 percent from the floor and led for most of the contest. They jumped out to an early 28-16 advantage after the first quarter and never looked back, leading by as many as 21 points. The Magic outrebounded Miami, 44-34, including 14-9 on the offensive glass.�

Dec. 30 vs. Miami � Magic 97, Heat 68: Dwight Howard (18 points-10 rebounds) and Trevor Ariza (16 points-10 rebounds) each tallied a double-double, as Orlando routed Miami, 97-68, at a sold-out Amway Arena. The win snapped the Magic�s four-game losing skid. Tony Battie netted 12 points, while Hedo Turkoglu added 11. The Heat, playing without both Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O�Neal, were led by Jason Kapono with 15 points. Orlando held Miami to just 34.3 percent shooting from the floor and forced 17 turnovers. The Magic outscored the Heat during the second quarter, 21-10, and led 48-37 at halftime. They extended their lead to as many as 29 points during the second half.�

Nov. 24 @ Miami � Magic 107, Heat 104: Grant Hill scored a team-high 24 points, while Dwight Howard tallied 23 points and 12 rebounds, as Orlando edged Miami, 107-104, at AmericanAirlines Arena. Jameer Nelson netted 14 points and Darko Milicic added 11 points and eight rebounds. Miami�s Dwyane Wade led all players with 33 points and 15 assists. There was a combined 74 free throws taken during the contest. Leading 103-102, Hill drained an 18-foot jumper from the baseline with 28.2 seconds remaining to extend the Magic lead to three points. A few possessions later, trailing 106-104, Wade took a fadeaway jumper with 3.9 seconds left, but the shot fell short. Howard made one of two free throws, and the Heat got the ball back for a desperation attempt with 0.4 seconds remaining. Dorrel Wright�s shot from the corner came after the buzzer sounded, and the Magic left with the win.

BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. HEAT: 42 pts., Shaquille O�Neal (@ Miami, 11-5-93); Nick Anderson (@ Orlando, 11-16-92)
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAGIC: 56 pts., Glen Rice (@ Miami, 4-15-95)