Orlando shows it has mojo
George Diaz/ Orlando Sentinel
Shaquille O'Neal and his buddies concocted their own forget-me-not' arrangement after Vince Carter moved back here this summer to take up permanent residence in Isleworth.
They scattered toilet paper all over the lawn.
Carter shot back with some neighborly back-atcha' Sunday afternoon, a day that the Orlando Magic did much to squash the image that they are Charmin-soft. The Magic won a rough-and-tumble set against the Cleveland Cavaliers, 101-95, beating them for the first time this season.
Sure it's only one in the long grind of an 82-game regular season, but the Magic needed this one to get their mojo back against the Cavs. They had lost the first two games against Cleveland this season, and were now facing an amped-up lineup that included All-Star Antwan Jamison.
And so with a playoff vibe in the air _ as well as a few flying elbows _ the Magic gave the Cavs a forget-me-not-loss, a competitive reminder that the Eastern Conference banner still hangs at Amway Arena.
Cleveland is going to have to rip it from these guys.
"People can have whatever views they want of our team," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said, "and they've had the view for over 2 ½ years that we're a soft team, and so my response to them is to always go back and look at our record against the teams that are supposed to be too tough for us ... What matters in this league is results."
Cue the fourth quarter. While the rest of the world continued to obsess over Shaq and Dwight Howard tussling over merchandising rights to the Superman logo, Carter and Jameer Nelson showed that the little guys can own a basketball game.
Does 16 consecutive points work for you?
With the Magic trailing 85-80, Carter and Nelson went on a tit-for-tat barrage. They each scored eight points, capped off by Nelson's 24-foot jumper that pushed Orlando's lead to 96-88 with two minutes left.
But it was Carter's kick-out pass to Rashard Lewis for a 3-point shot that put this thing away with 20 seconds left.
"I've been around long enough that if you have the ball in your hands in the fourth quarter, yeah you want to score," Carter said. "But if you can penetrate and make plays, that's what makes this thing … It's just like scoring to me."
Carter's been in a bit of a transitional funk here at times trying to be the go-to-guy on a team that has a bunch of guys who aren't shot-shy. Van Gundy decided to help him out by putting in a post-up play for Carter during Saturday's practice. He might want to stick with it. On a pass from Nelson, Carter dunked over Flop King Anderson Varejao in a fourth-quarter poster shot that reflects Vintage Carter.
I don't know what was more amazing: That play or LeBron James whining about foul calls. "I feel I go to the hole just as much as anybody in this league and sometimes I don't get the benefit of the calls," King James said, sounding more like a Beauty Queen.
Despite the injustice in the world, LeBron still got 33 points, but three other starters only scored four points each. With Cleveland, it's all about damage control from the other guys. With Orlando, it's always going to be about balance.
Anybody could wear out the telestrator breaking down all the nuances of this rivalry, but here's the takeaway:
Either Cleveland or Orlando (sorry Doc) will win the Eastern Conference title. Both know how to beat each other. Both have superstars and Superman. Both have strong supporting players.
It's going to fabulous to watch.
So before everyone anoints the Cavaliers as the Beast from the East, here's something to remember:
Shaq and his teammates are paper lions unless they roll over Orlando.
Link:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/os-diaz-magic-cavaliers-0222-20100221,0,1241593.column