ORLANDO - Long before the Orlando Magic’s 2009 playoff defeats of Boston and Cleveland and their stirring run to the NBA Finals, there were a couple of troubling hiccups against the pedestrian Philadelphia 76ers that nearly put their playoff lives in peril.
After rolling through the 2008-09 season with a 59-23 record and posting the NBA’s top defensive rating, the Magic wilted late in Game 1 of the playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers and then had to play without superstar center Dwight Howard much of Game 2 because of foul trouble. Later in that series, the Magic fell into a 2-1 hole and forced to rally again.
Fortunately for the Magic, they found a way to gut out Game 2 and Game 4 victories and start a run that would eventually take them through the Sixers, Celtics and Cavaliers and all the way to the NBA Finals opposite Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.
``I kept thinking, `Man, I hope these (Philadelphia) boys don’t come back again,’’ Howard said after the Magic held on to win Game 2 96-87 with him fouled over the final 3:11 of the fourth quarter of the game.
With the 2019-20 NBA season suspended in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe, Fox Sports Florida has used much of April and May to show select classic games from the Magic’s glorious, 31-year history. Fox Sports Florida is re-airing Orlando’s run to the 2009 NBA Finals, starting with the four first-round victories over the Sixers. Game 2 will be televised on Tuesday at 6 p.m., while Game 4 will follow at 8:30 p.m. Game 5 will follow on Thursday (8 p.m.), while the clinching Game 6 will be televised on Saturday (7:30 p.m.).
Despite being heavy favorites over the 41-41 Sixers, the Magic actually fell behind twice in their first-round playoffs series after Philadelphia got clutch late baskets in Games 1 and 3. Andre Iguodala drilled a 22-foot jumper in Game 1, allowing Philadelphia to rally from 18 points down to win 100-98. In Game 3, Thaddeus Young converted a layup with two seconds remaining to give Philadelphia a 96-94 lead and a 2-1 edge in the series.
In Game 4, it was a struggling Hedo Turkoglu’s turn to produce to the late-game heroics to get the Magic back on track in the series. Turkoglu, who was in a seven-of-30 slump in the first three games of the series, drilled a game-winning 3-pointer over Young to lift Orlando to the win that knotted the series at 2-2.
``(Head coach Stan Van Gundy) had confidence in me,’’ Turkoglu said after the victory. ``He called a play for me and I’m just glad that I made it.’’
That victory – one in which Howard had 18 points and 18 rebounds – proved to be a big one for the Magic, which won Games 5 and 6 to shake free of the 76ers and reach the second-round of the playoffs.
The ugly, low-scoring play in Game 4 played right into the hands of the Magic, who limited teams to a NBA-best 101.9 points per 100 possessions in the 2008-09 season. Orlando held Philadelphia to 38.8 percent shooting in Game. Howard, who averaged 24 points, 15.8 rebounds and 2.8 blocks a game in the series, swatted three shots in the momentum-swinging Game 4 for the Magic.
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