Rookie Courtney Lee Rises to Magic Playoff Occasion

When Courtney Lee was selected to the Orlando Magic as the No. 22 overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, there's no way he could have pictured where he is now.

Courtney Lee is making it happen.

On Wednesday night, Lee exploded with a career-high 24 points against the Philadelphia 76ers and led the Magic to a 96-87 win, evening the first round series to 1-1.

"He was tremendous today," said Magic Head coach Stan Van Gundy. "Today he played at both ends. I thought that he really, really worked hard and he just seems to be playing more free and looser than the other guys."

After a heartbreaking 100-98 loss in Game 1, the Magic needed someone to step up at home, lest the Magic fans and Stan Van Gundy have a heart attack.

Dwight Howard believes that there will need to be a lot more star performances like Lee's in order to win the best-of-7 series.

"He's been playing great and in order for us to win this series and go far and deep into the playoffs, he's going to have to play like this every night and I believe that he can do it," Howard said of his rookie teammate. "I've been telling him all season, if we're going to win, it's going to come on him to come out every night and play the way he’s been playing."

Lee still can't believe his sensational performance in Game 2.

"Yeah, I definitely didn't imagine this," the Magic’s rookie reflected. "Things are going so well."

Judging by Lee's rookie performance, Magic fans can only be excited about the rest of his career.