FINAL: Orlando Magic 111 - Detroit Pistons 86

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May 7, 2008 - Amway Arena

	1	2	3	4	F
PISTONS	16	26	27	17	86
MAGIC	30	24	19	38	111

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LIVE POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCES
Moments after the conclusion of the game, click here to access a live video stream of the postgame press conference, featuring Orlando's Stan Van Gundy and Detroit's Flip Saunders, in addition to several players from each team.



By Nick Adams | OrlandoMagic.com

FOURTH QUARTER
All 17,000 plus fans in attendance are on their feet at Amway as the two teams take the court for the final 12 minutes as the Magic cling to a four point lead.

Rashard Lewis has put the Magic on his back as he cans another triple to start the fourth. Lewis has a game-high 28 points on a scorching 9-of-11 shooting from the field.

Lewis feeds Dooling for a wide open three in which Dooling calmly nets as the crowd goes crazy. The Pistons are forced to call a timeout as the Magic have gone on a 7-0 run to begin the fourth and lead 80-69 with 10:42 remaining.

Dooling keeps the crowd on their feet by converting a tough layup. The Magic are on fire as Lewis scores his season and playoff-high 30th point and Turk drills a three.

Turk is beginning to feel it now in his favorite quarter as he hits another trey to give the Magic a 90-73 lead as we near the halfway mark in the fourth. The Magic are shooting an excellent 45 percent (10-of-22) from beyond the arc.

Evans hits an impossible fadeaway 17-footer as the shot clock expires and Nelson strokes a jumper. It is like New Year's Eve at Amway as the Pistons call a timeout with the Magic leading 94-77 with six minutes to go.

Kiss' "I Want To Rock and Roll" plays loudly during the timeout and it is literally a party inside the arena. Chants of "Detriot Sucks" welcome the Pistons back out onto the floor as these fans are willing the Magic to victory. Amway quickly becoming a very difficult place for opposing teams to play.

You can feel the fans ready to celebrate a Magic playoff victory against the Pistons as Orlando leads 101-83 with 2:33 left in the ballgame.

It is only fitting that Rashard Lewis nails the three-pointer to put the Magic ahead by 21. Both teams go to their reserves as the Magic are one minute away from victory.

A huge win for the Magic as they win 111-86.

Final: Orlando Magic 111, Detroit Pistons 86

THIRD QUARTER
With Detroit stars Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace sidelined, the Magic took a commanding 54-42 lead into the half behind 18 points from Rashard Lewis. Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson added 13 and 12 points respectively.

As a team, the Magic shot a tremendous 55 percent (21-of-38) from the field and took great care of the basketball committing just four turnovers. Let's hope the Magic can keep it up in the second half and come away with a victory in Game Three to get back into this series.

I was just told that Chauncey Billups would not return this evening after pulling his right hamstring in the first quarter. Rodney Stuckey, Billups replacement, scores the first points of the second half. Stuckey has done a great job in replacing Billups, scoring 11 points off the bench.

Turk becomes the fourth Magic player to score in double figures as he drains a three to put the Magic back ahead by 15 points.

A 6-0 Pistons run quiets the crowd briefly but Wallace's fourth foul, sending Lewis to the line, gets the crowd fired back up. Lewis splits the pair as Wallace heads to the bench yelling at the refs with the Magic leading 62-52 halfway through the third period.

Richard Hamilton brings the Pistons within single digits but Jameer Nelson answers back with 3:37 remaining in the third to put the Magic back ahead by 11 points.

Rodney Stuckey is taking advantage of his size advantage over Nelson, backing Nelson down while bringing the Pistons back within seven as we head under three minutes to go in the third. Dooling checks in for Nelson providing a taller defender to guard Stuckey.

Lewis drills a clutch three-pointer to ignite the crowd after the Pistons had cut the Magic lead down to three points.

The quarter closes with two Lewis' free-throws as the Magic take a 73-69 lead into the final period. End of Third: Orlando Magic 73, Detroit Pistons 69

SECOND QUARTER
With Billups in the locker room with what I am told is a right hamstring pull, and Wallace on the bench in foul trouble, the Magic must look to put away the Pistons in this second quarter.

Detroit comes out strong without their two leaders but a pair of Mo Evans free-throws sustains a double digit Magic lead.

Wallace checks back into the game for the Pistons and quickly goes to work on Marcin Gortat by stroking a jumper, but Gortat answers right back with a dunk. Bogans cans a trey to give the Magic a 40-26 advantage halfway through the second quarter.

Wallace picks up his third foul and during a timeout throws a hissy fit, throwing his towel up into the air while walking away from his teammates.

Howard also checks back into the ballgame and immediately makes his presence felt by converting a layup at the offensive end and swatting a shot into the front row at the defensive end. Lewis drills another Magic three-pointer to give the Magic a 15-point lead.

Detroit makes a little run to cut the Magic lead to ten as we head under a minute. Lewis burries a huge three-pointer and converts a layup to close out the half with the Magic leading 54-42.

Halftime: Orlando Magic 54, Detroit Pistons 42

FIRST QUARTER
Good evening Magic fans and welcome to Amway Arena for tonight's Eastern Conference Semifinal Game Three as the Magic get set to take on the Detroit Pistons.

The first two people I ran into as I made my way to the lower concourse from the upstairs Communications room was Reggie Miller and Marv Albert, so I knew this was a very important game.

The half blue, half white Amway crowd is on their feet, cheering loudly while shaking their rally-rackets making it extremely hard to hear as Dwight Howard and Rasheed Wallace meet at center court for tonight's opening tip.

Orlando is getting every call to start the game and Rashard Lewis scores the first points of the ballgame on a transition layup as the crowd erupts. The crowd is hanging on every single move and is the loudest I have heard it to begin a game.

Chauncey Billups hits the deck and is very slow to get up as a timeout is called with the Magic leading 6-2 in the early goings.

Everything is going the Magic's way to begin the game, every call, every bounce, as Nelson drills a three and Howard tips in a shot to give the Magic a commanding 14-2 lead halfway through the first period. You just kind of get the feeling that tonight is going to be the Magic's night.
The roof blows off Amway as Lewis converts a fast-break layup to give the Magic a 16-2 lead forcing a timeout from the Pistons. To make matters worse for the Pistons, Billups heads to the locker room.

Just when I thought this place could not get any louder, Turk hits Howard for a beautiful alley-oop. Wallace quiets the crowd briefly with a triple. The Magic have held the Pistons to just 2-of-14 shooting from the field to start.

Orlando has been a lot more aggressive at both ends of the floor tonight and Howard has especially been aggressive looking to create down on the block.

Things continue to go the Magic's way as Rasheed Wallace picks up his second personal foul and heads to the bench.

A near flawless quarter of basketball ends with the Magic leading 30-16.

End of First: Orlando Magic 30, Detroit Pistons 16

SHOOTAROUND
Dealing with adversity is common in competitive sports and the championship caliber teams always find a way of overcoming their obstacles.

Recently the Magic have had a lot of obstacles to overcome.

Not only are they down 2-0 against their arch-nemesis the Detroit Pistons, but their team plane experienced mechanical problems forcing the team to land in Cincinnati as a precaution late Monday.

As a result, the Magic had to miss practice on Tuesday and had an extended shootaround Wednesday morning at RDV Sportsplex.

At shootaround, the Magic were bombarded with questions concerning the controversial three-point basket awarded to Chauncey Billups at the conclusion of the third quarter.

After reviewing the play following the game, the league admitted that the basket should not have counted, however, the Magic aren't using it as an excuse.

"What are you going to do? We have to stay focused on the things we can control," stated head coach Stan Van Gundy.

"That was a tough call to make either way," added Jameer Nelson. "We made stuff difficult on ourselves by turning the ball over and making defensive mistakes regardless of the call."

Van Gundy continued, "You can't blame the game for that one play. We still had chances to win the game and didn't make the right plays."

The topic of making the right plays, not the plane mishap or the controversial call, was the Magic's main concern during shootaround.

"We have to just be smarter," commented Hedo Turkoglu about Orlando's play. "We had a few turnovers because we were rushing a little bit. We just need to slow down a take our time and work the inside/outside game."

"We have to play more solid basketball," Van Gundy added. "We have to make fewer defensive mistakes, take care of the ball better, and make better decisions with our shooting."

Orlando appears to have handled their recent adversity with maturity, but their biggest obstacle still lies ahead of them in Game Three on Wednesday.

"Every game is important for us," stated Turkoglu. "Being down 2-0 it is on us now to protect our home court. We just need to win these two games and go from there."

"It is really important," continued Nelson, "because we have to protect our home court and if we don't, we put ourselves in a bigger hole."

Going down 3-0 is one obstacle the Magic can control.

PREGAME
"A series doesn't start until someone loses at home."

These were the words of Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy after the Magic took a commanding 2-0 series lead against the Toronto Raptors, two weeks ago in round one.

In round two, Orlando is on the flip side staring down a 2-0 series deficit to the Detroit Pistons, but according to Van Gundy's words, the series has not started.

The Magic return to Amway Arena for Game Three on Wednesday night looking to protect their home floor; something they have already accomplished three times this postseason.

In three home victories this postseason, the Magic have been on fire offensively averaging nearly 107 points per game on 47 percent shooting from the field. They have also knocked down 10.3 three-pointers per game, and converted on 82 percent of their free-throw attempts.

Defensively, Orlando has been equally as solid, holding their opponent to just over 40 percent shooting while winning the battle on the glass by an average margin of 11 rebounds.

A major factor for the Magic's success at home this postseason has been the play of Dwight Howard who has averaged a mind-boggling 25.0 points, 21.0 rebounds, and 3.7 blocks at Amway.

Orlando will need to continue their stellar play at home, and if they continue to protect home court, they set themselves up for no worse than a winner-take-all Game Seven in Detroit.

Step one begins in Game Three on Wednesday night at Amway.

MAGIC INJURY REPORT
Tony Battie – Out, torn rotator cuff, left shoulder – underwent successful surgery on Oct. 24; will likely miss the entire season.
Brian Cook – Out, fractured third metacarpal, right hand.

EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS VS. DETROIT RECAPS:
Eastern Semifinals - Game #2 – May 5 @ Detroit – Pistons 100, Magic 93: All five Pistons starters scored in double figures, led by Chauncey Billups’ 28 points, as Detroit defeated Orlando, 100-93, in Game #2 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference Semifinals series at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Detroit takes a 2-0 lead, as the series shifts now to Orlando. Tayshaun Prince tallied 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Rasheed Wallace scored 17 points. Dwight Howard had 22 points and 18 rebounds for the Magic, and Jameer Nelson also netted 22 points before fouling out. After the score was tied at 29, Detroit outscored Orlando during the second quarter, 21-11, and took a 50-40 lead at halftime. The Magic responded during the third quarter, going 7-of-7 from three-point range, and looked like they would take a 76-75 edge into the final stanza. However, officials allowed a Billups three-pointer to stand to give the Pistons a 78-76 lead, despite the clock not starting properly. Trailing 95-93 with under a minute to play, the Magic had two chances to tie the game or take the lead. However, they could not get the shots to drop and the Pistons escaped with the win.

Eastern Semifinals - Game #1 – May 3 @ Detroit – Pistons 91, Magic 72: Chauncey Billups netted 19 points and dished out seven assists, as Detroit defeated Orlando, 91-72, in Game #1 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference Semifinals series at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Richard Hamilton added 17 points for the Pistons, who outscored Orlando during the second half, 48-30. Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis each paced the Magic with 18 points. After trailing 43-42 at halftime, the Magic went cold during the second half. Detroit opened the third quarter with a 21-7 run and cruised from that point forward. The Pistons led by as many as 24 points during the fourth quarter. Orlando shot just 40.5 percent from the floor and was just 2-of-15 from three-point range