Game 1 Recap: Toronto at Magic

The Orlando Magic won their first playoff game in five years as they defeated the Toronto Raptors, 114-100 in front of a raucous Amway Arena crowd. Orlando lit up the nets for much of the first half, and never trailed in the game.

What went right:

1. Great start- The Magic were hitting on all cylinders to start the game as they scored 43 points in the first period, a playoff record, and held a 20-point lead that they would never relinquish.

2. Superman was in the building- Dwight Howard finished with MVP type of stats, as he scored 25 points and grabbed 22 rebounds, despite not being involved in the offense much early. Howard hit on 8 of his 13 shots from the field and more impressively, 9 of 11 free throws.

3. Nelson won the point guard matchup- One of the most worrisome matchups in this series will be the combination of Jameer Nelson and Keyon Dooling against the Raptors T.J. Ford and Jose Calderon. The first battle clearly went to Nelson as the Orlando point guard scored 24 points on 7 of 13 shooting, and dished out 7 assists. The Raptors point guards combined for just 14 points on 4 for 20 from the field.

4. Free throw shooting- Although Orlando didn’t match the Raptors super-human effort of 27 for 28 from the line, the Magic did hit on 19 of their 23 attempts for 82.6%.

5. Three-point shooting- The Magic hit on 13 of 29 three-point attempts, including a playoff record 11 in the first half. Maurice Evans led the way with four shots from long distance, and Rashard Lewis added three more.

6. Good defense- Orlando had a nice team effort on defense as they held the Raptors to just 37.6% shooting from the field (32-85), and Dwight Howard blocked 5 shots.

7. Rebounding- The Magic outrebounded the Raptors, 42-35, and were led by Dwight Howard’s 22 boards.

8. Defense by Rashard Lewis- Rashard Lewis spent much of the game matched up against Chris Bosh, and Lewis did a very solid job. Bosh was held to just 21 points on 4-11 shooting, and he turned the ball over 3 times.

Co-MVP’s- Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson- Howard was dominant on both ends of the court, and Nelson was the best point guard on the floor.

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What didn’t work:

1. Three-point defense- Toronto hit 9 of 20 three’s for 45%, and their outside shooting helped keep them in the game.

2. Defense on Anthony Parker- The Magic were slow chasing screens for much of the day and Parker benefited by scoring 24 points on 7-14 shooting.

3. Short bench- Orlando’s bench played just 50 minutes and were outscored by Toronto, 29-17.