Orlando Magic and the 7 Biggest Chokers in the NBA

The fourth quarter is the measuring stick that separates the winners from the rest of the NBA. Some take their game to another level, while some shrivel up when the pressure is at its highest.

The Orlando Magic did that last night; they choked away a certain victory against the Boston Celtics.

With that in mind, let's take a look at the biggest choke artists in the NBA right now.

Orlando Magic

Last night's choke job alone gets them a place on this list.

They blew a 27-point lead and during a Boston 15-1 run in the fourth quarter, the Magic went 0-for-7 from the field, missed five of six free throws and committed three turnovers.

They looked like a bad high school team when Boston turned up the defensive pressure.

Good teams don't melt down in the fashion the Magic did.

Golden State Warriors

Golden State is a young team, so they have a bit of an excuse, but several blown fourth-quarter leads have lead to four losses in the final minute of the game.

If they learn how to play in the fourth quarter and close games out instead of giving them away, this Golden State team could be sitting at 9-6 instead of 5-10.

They have the talent to win close games, but both mental and physical mistakes have killed this team so far.

LeBron James

I'm not picking on LeBron here, but until he raises his game in the fourth quarter of playoff games and proves he can handle the pressure, he's going to end up on this list.

Fair or not fair, that's the way James is judged.

His talent raised the bar very high for him, but he simply doesn't perform consistently in pressure situations.

Until he does, and I believe he will eventually, you can't have a list such as this without including him on it.

Pau Gasol

Some, including Chris Paul, think that Gasol is soft.

That's debatable, but what's not is that Gasol has always had a knack for losing aggressiveness and becoming a frail player in tough situations—especially in the postseason, where on more then one occasion he has completely disappeared.

He's a good guy and a good player, but he's certainly no one you want to lean on in crunch time, although he has the talent to be that guy.

Kevin Garnett

Yes, I know Garnett finally got a ring, but without a star-studded cast, he would still be ring-less.

In his prime, Garnett was probably among the top two power forwards in the game, but he disappeared in big moments every time he had the chance.

While a guy like Tim Duncan consistently rose his game to another level when the stakes were the highest, Garnett couldn't do that.

Vince Carter

Carter has had a reputation for being a big regular season scorer in his prime, but that scoring average has always taken a serious hit when it comes time for the postseason.

He's the type of guy that has always wanted to take over tight games in the fourth quarter, but has never been good enough to do it.

Carter makes this list for his lifetime achievements of failures and for doing nothing worthwhile this season.

New York Knicks

Whatever reason you want to come up with, the Knicks just haven't played well down the stretch of games.

Take away Carmelo Anthony's big fourth quarter against Boston on Christmas Day, and fourth quarters have been downright ugly for the Knicks.

They have the talent to turn things around, but in order to do so they have to cut down on the turnovers and execute on offense late in games.