By Nick Adams | April 17, 2008

SERIES PREVIEW

The Orlando Magic and the Toronto Raptors met three times this season with the Magic coming up victorious in two of those meetings, splitting a pair of games in Toronto while winning the lone match-up at Orlando.

Toronto All-Star power forward Chris Bosh did not play in the two teams' last meeting (102-87 Magic victory in Orlando on March 4th) but has averaged 33 points and 7.5 rebounds in their first two match-ups.

Orlando has averaged 105.7 points against the Raptors this season led by their dynamic front line of Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis, and Dwight Howard.

Here are their respective averages against the Raptors this season:

Hedo Turkoglu: 21.3 points, 8.6 rebounds, 7.7 assists
Rashard Lewis: 20.7 points
Dwight Howard: 24.3 points, 12.7 rebounds

The Magic as a team have shot lights out, converting on nearly 50 percent of their field-goal attempts against the Raptors.

Here is a more in depth look into the season series between the two first round opponents:

Toronto Raptors (First Round, NBA Playoffs): Orlando is 25-21 all-time vs. Toronto (14-8 at home, 11-13 on the road) during regular season action, including 2-1 this season (see recaps below)…The Magic went 0-4 last season against the Raptors...The Magic have lost seven of the last 10 games in the series…Orlando has split the last 10 matchups at home, but lost seven of the last nine games at Toronto…Carlos Arroyo began his NBA career with the Raptors in 2001-02…Assistant Coach Brendan Malone was the first-ever head coach of the Toronto Raptors in 1995-96…Assistant Coach Bob Beyer served as an assistant for the Raptors in 2003-04 and as an advanced scout in 2004-05.

Nov. 7 @ Toronto – Magic 105, Raptors 96: All five Magic starters scored in double figures, led by Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis with 24 points each, as Orlando defeated Toronto, 105-96, at Air Canada Centre. It was Orlando’s third consecutive victory and third straight away from home. Turkoglu added a career-high 15 rebounds and six assists for the Magic. Keith Bogans tallied 17 points and a season-high 11 rebounds. Chris Bosh led the Raptors with a game-high 26 points and 10 boards. Orlando exploded out of the gates, opening the game with a 17-4 run, led 31-23 after the first quarter and 52-47 at halftime. Leading 78-74, the Magic opened the final stanza with a 7-0 run and led 85-74 with just over 10 minutes remaining. The Raptors answered with an 11-0 run of their own and took a 92-91 edge after a three-pointer by Andrea Bargnani with 3:56 left. Orlando would quickly answer with three-point shots from Lewis and Jameer Nelson, putting the game on ice.

Feb. 20 @ Toronto – Raptors 127, Magic 110: Chris Bosh scored 40 points on 14-of-16 shooting from the field and a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line, as Toronto defeated Orlando, 127-110, at Air Canada Centre. Carlos Delfino netted 23 points for the Raptors, while Jose Calderon added 19 points and 13 assists. Toronto shot a blistering 58.8 percent from the floor and made 11-of-20 from three-point range. Dwight Howard led six Magic players in double figures with 37 points and 15 rebounds. Toronto led for most of the contest and by as many as 21 points during the second half. The Raptors dished out 33 assists on their 47 field goals.

Mar. 4 vs. Toronto – Magic 102, Raptors 87: Dwight Howard scored 16 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter as the Magic defeated the Toronto Raptors, 102-87, in front of a sellout crowd at Amway Arena. Orlando shot 75 percent (12-of-16) while outscoring the Raptors 31-19 in the game’s final 12 minutes to capture their fifth consecutive win at home, tying a team high for the season. Hedo Turkoglu led all scorers with a game-high 24 points, while also adding a team-leading eight assists and seven rebounds, and Rashard Lewis added 22 on 9-of-13 shooting for the Magic. The Raptors, who were without Chris Bosh, had four double-digit performers, led by T.J. Ford’s 20 points off the bench.

ORLANDO MAGIC (52-30)
NELSON	EVANS	TURKOGLU	LEWIS	HOWARD
TORONTO RAPTORS (41-41)
FORD	PARKER	MOON	BOSH	NESTEROVIC

2007-08 Season Statistics

vs. News | Players | Stats | Schedule News | Players | Stats | Schedule

Orlando Magic Record: 52 - 30 (.634) Standings: First, Southeast At Home: 25 - 16 At Road: 27 - 14 Streak: W 2 Toronto Raptors Record: 41 - 41 (.500) Standings: Second, Atlantic At Home: 25-16 At Road: 16-25 Streak: L 1

Season PPG: 104.3 Opp PPG: 99.1 FG%: .473 Opp FG%: .445 RPG: 42.0 Opp RPG: 41.7 Season PPG: 100.2 Opp PPG: 97.2 FG%: .469 Opp FG%: .457 RPG: 40.1 Opp RPG: 41.5

Player G PPG RPG APG Howard, D 82 20.9 14.3 1.4 Turkoglu, H 82 19.7 5.8 5.0 Lewis, R 80 18.3 5.4 2.5 Nelson, J 69 10.9 3.5 5.6 Bogans, K 82 8.7 3.3 1.3 Evans, M 75 8.6 2.9 1.1 Dooling, K 72 8.0 1.4 1.7 Arroyo, C 62 7.1 1.8 3.5 Cook, B 51 4.7 2.1 0.5 Redick, J 35 3.5 0.6 0.4 Garrity, P 31 2.1 1.3 0.4 Foyle, A 82 1.9 2.6 0.2 Augustine, J 25 1.4 1.0 0.1 Gortat, M 7 1.2 1.0 0.0 Head Coach: Stan Van Gundy Player G PPG RPG APG Bosh, C 67 22.5 8.7 2.6 Parker, A 82 12.6 4.1 2.2 Ford, T 51 12.0 2.0 6.2 Calderon, J 82 11.3 2.9 8.3 Bargnani, A 78 10.1 3.7 1.2 Delfino, C 82 9.0 4.4 1.8 Moon, J 79 8.5 6.2 1.2 Nesterovic, R 71 7.9 4.9 1.1 Kapono, J 81 7.2 1.5 0.8 Humphries, K 70 5.6 3.7 0.4 Graham, J 38 3.7 1.6 0.3 Garbajosa, J 8 3.1 2.1 0.4 Baston, M 16 2.7 1.7 0.2 Johnson III, L 9 2.6 1.8 0.5 Brezec, P 50 2.1 1.6 0.2 Head Coach: Sam Mitchell

SCHEDULE
Game 1 - Sunday, April 20, 12:30 p.m., TNT (Orlando)
Game 2 - Tuesday, April 22, 7:30 p.m., NBA TV (Orlando)
Game 3 - Thursday, April 24, 7:30 p.m., NBA TV (Toronto)
Game 4 - Saturday, April 26, 3:00 p.m., TNT (Toronto)
If necessary
Game 5 - Monday, April 28, 7:30 p.m., NBA TV (Orlando)
Game 6 - Thursday, May 1, Time and TV TBD (Toronto)
Game 7 - Saturday, May 3, Time TBD, TNT (Orlando)

*All Times Eastern
*Sun Sports Coverage To Be Announced
*All games on Magic Radio Network (Flagship AM 580 WDBO) and in Spanish (AM 1030 WONQ)