NBA Roundup 6th April: Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers win (Part-1)
Orlando Magic 111 – Charlotte Bobcats 102
On Wednesday night, the Orlando Magic extinguished the flickering playoff hopes of the spirited Charlotte Bobcats in an enthralling 111-102 overtime victory at Time Warner Cable Arena. Orlando didn’t have too many reasons to celebrate
otherwise.
Big man Dwight Howard received his eighteenth technical foul of the season and could be suspended for the Sunday’s stimulating face-off against the Chicago Bulls. In a bad tempered game, Quentin Richardson was also ejected from
the game for shoving the Bobcats’ Gerald Henderson in the face.
Gilbert Arenas landed a team-high 25 points for Orlando to spearhead the late fight back in the second half of the game. Brandon Bass complemented the incredible effort of Arenas, with 19 points as the Magic eclipsed a 10 point
deficit tremendously in the final quarter to snatch a win.
Gerald Henderson was absolutely amazing with the ball and racked up a game-high 32 points, however his dazzling surge was overshadowed by Arenas and company after the halftime.
The Magic assailed aggressively from beyond the arc right from the beginning and buried five blistering 3-pointers in the first quarter. Henderson led the response from the Bobcats in the face of a forceful assault from the visitors
and scored 17 points in the first half to spark Charlotte to 47-53 advantage.
Orlando really turned on the screws on the Bobcats offense after the break. After hounding them throughout the third quarter, the Magic completely pulled down the hammer on the Bobcats deep into the fourth quarter and sprinted
to a five point lead with 1:39 remaining in the regulation time. Augustin and Kwame Brown however combined for five unanswered points within a span of 28 seconds, taking the game into overtime.
Magic proved a little too hot for the Bobcats to handle in O.T. They scored on 7 of their 8 scoring opportunities, including three scorching blows from downtown, as they rocketed to a 111-102 victory.
Indiana Pacers 136 – Washington Wizards 112
On Wednesday night at Conseco Fieldhouse, the Indiana Pacers finally cemented their position as the eighth Eastern Conference team in the playoffs when they routed the Washington Wizards 136-112. After winning the game, the team
and staff members rushed to the locker room to see the overtime battle between Charlotte Bobcats and Orlando Magic. The Pacers and their expectant crowd erupted after seeing the Bobcats defeat.
The starting five of Indiana truly had an impressive scoring night as nobody scored less than 15 points. Forward Danny Granger led the starters with a team-high 25 points while Paul George landed 23 in an utterly dominating performance
against the lowly Wizards.
Despite facing a thwarting defeat, Jordan Crawford had another excellent night. He racked up a game-high 29 points for Washington. Andray Blatche responded with 23 points. However, their efforts proved to be no match infront of
the well primed offensive battery of the Pacers.
The Pacers Interim coach Frank Vogel said after a tremendous victory. "I'm just really, really happy for a lot of people...the guys in the locker room who haven't been there in a while or at all and the young guys. I'm so happy
for our fans. When I came as an assistant I could see the passion in them. It's going to be a fun ride. I'm happy for everyone.
The home team headed out aggressively and romped with 20-10 run in the starting six minutes of the game. With the playoff position at stake, Indiana turned on the heat and buried seven scorching blows from downtown before halftime
to seal a massive 75-56 lead.
Granger then carried the action for the home team in the second half and scored 11 points in the third quarter. The starters continued the action the final period as Indiana Pacers ended the night with an effortless 136-112 victory.
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