Atlanta Hawks beat Orlando Magic 88-85, go up 3-1 in the series - Part 2
Orlando played some sloppy basketball in the second quarter, shooting only 28 percent from the field. The Hawks could not get a proper benefit the Magic slump as they were
struggling with their shooting as well. A pin-tight Orlando defense didn’t help either. Being aware of the fact that they could have more damage in the first half, Atlanta managed to take a 46-37 lead going to the locker room.
Trailing by nine points at halftime, Howard seemed frustrated. His frustration grew further when the home crowd resorted to taunt him by saying, “You are the biggest whiner
in the league."
An Atlanta native Howard responded, "You want to come out here and play me?" "I am averaging 33 points a game. Just keep drinking your beer."
A five-time All-Star centre took it as a challenge and was in a different universe, scoring 13 of his game-high 29 points in the third quarter. Atlanta stretched their lead
to 54-41 early in the third. The Magic however fought back and rattled off a 7-0 run in the ensuing minutes to make it 54-48. Howard was the lone man fighting for the Magic though. With three minutes remaining in the quarter, he hit a pair of free throw to
cut the deficit to 61-54, but every time he brought the Magic within striking distance, the Hawks managed to pull away.
However, behind a 13-point assault by Howard, the Magic showed only five down, 66-61, heading into the fourth.
The Magic’s shooting percentage from the three-point range was not impressive as well. After making their first long range effort at the 3:08 mark of the opening quarter,
they did not make another three, until 1:44 of the final stanza.
The Hawks coach Larry Drew acknowledged the effort of his team in restricting the three-point shooting of the opponent team to 8.7 percent only. Drew said, "I give credit
to my players that have done a phenomenal job in just defending the three-point line. Even when they do have looks, we're making a conscious effort to get out and get a hand up."
The Magic got off to fast start in the fourth quarter and managed to make it a one-point contest, 74-75. The Hawks however rebounded to widen their lead to 82-76 with 03:24
to go in the game. The Magic continued to mount a fight back down the deep end of the game and came within a single point two times within the last 22 seconds of the game.
They could not however hold back the dazzling Joe Johnson in the last twenty seconds of the game, who hit four crucial free throws to seal the victory.
Drew was satisfied with the performance of his team and said his team is trying to overcome its weaknesses. He said, "We're starting to grow," "We're starting to really,
really grow in areas we really need to, particularly in the playoffs. We responded to their run and everybody stayed the course. I was very happy to see that, in the past, where we probably would have panicked, we maintained our composure."
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