Turkoglu, Howard lead Magic past Celtics:There will be a Game Seven

That is right Dwight, your dominating performance helped force a Game Seven against the Boston Celtics. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Orlando Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu was awful. He was lucky to graze the rim on many of his shots, and not so fortunate on others. He had just five points, missing nine of eleven shots taken, including all four three-point attempts. This, of course, was until the dubbed Mr. Fourth Quarter awoke from a horrid slump.

The Magic, having taken their first lead of the game earlier in the fourth quarter, were ahead by three points with under a minute and a half remaining. Turkoglu received the ball from point guard Rafer Alston. Despite his struggles, and even though the likes of fellow forward Rashard Lewis, and center Dwight Howard were having better games, there was no question that Turkoglu would be the go-to guy in pivotal situations. So, the eleven other Magic players and head coach Stan Van Gundy were not the least surprised by what transpired in the ensuing seconds.

Turkoglu waited for Alston to give him his space, then took a few steps to his left, shrugged off the defense, and hoisted a long three-pointer. The shot came out of his hands like a bullet, without much arc. Halfway to the hoop, it looked in, and, a split-second later it was. The crowd went crazy, in a shocked state of delirium. Turkoglu sported a smile with his fists clenched, and nonchalantly trotted down the court. His teammates joined him in celebration. The Magic would force a Game Seven.

Now, how was Orlando, shooting 35 percent from the field with minimal production from Turkoglu, J.J. Redick, Rafer Alston, and the bench, in this position? Well, Dwight Howard was a beast possessed, backing up his controversial comments with a dominating performance. He was energized from the start, scoring the first eight points for the Magic. He was just getting warmed up.

Orlando fell behind by nine. They had only 33 points in the game and 11 in the quarter with three minutes to play before intermission. This was not how a Game Seven would be forced. They figured this out, and stepped up their game. Rashard Lewis, the only other player with sightly statistics, found forward Michael Pietrus for a three-pointer, just the teams fourth of the game. Sparked by Pietrus’s shot, the Magic ended the half on a stellar run, climbing within one point on a free-throw by Alston.

This was a pivotal accomplishment. Not only was Orlando in contention, the offensive production was spread out. It appeared that, by finding their groove and grabbing momentum, it would carry over to the second half. To my surprise, it did not. The Magic went scoreless for the first six minutes of the third quarter, finally scoring on a basket by Howard. They were fortunate to only be down eight, as the Celtics offense was nearly as stagnant.

Orlando fueled off Howard (who finished with 23 points and 22 rebounds) at this juncture just as they did to start the game. He made the ensuing free-throw after being clubbed by Kendrick Perkins on his layup attempt, then a tip-shot off a miss by Lewis, and then rose high for a dunk on a pass from Turkoglu. Once again, they closed out a quarter superbly, and once again trimmed the deficit to one, this time entering what could be the final period of their season.

The Magic did not start the fourth quarter particularly well, either. Yet, it did not matter, as they held the Celtics to one field goal over the first three minutes. During this span, they scored only five points, but the last two, a six footer by Rashard Lewis–gave them their first lead of the game.

This advantage was lengthened to five points, 72-67, on two free-throws and a driving layup by Lewis, as well as an explosive move by rookie guard Courtney Lee. Boston quickly responded. Forward Paul Pierce took matters into his own hands, hitting three straight nearly identical jump shots to regain the lead.

Orlando did not score for two and a half minutes midway through the quarter, but when they did, it was huge. Alston picked Pierce’s pocket–the 18th of 19 turnovers committed by the Celtics–then was rewarded for his efforts eight seconds later, as Pietrus found him for a three-pointer drained from well beyond the line. The lead was short-lived, as Boston guard Rajon Rondo made his patented floater. Rondo’s shot came with three minutes and forty-six seconds left. These were the last points the Celtics would score.

The Magic scored the final eight points. Three of these came on Turkoglu’s dagger. A shot that helped send Orlando to Boston for Game Seven. A game that they will win.