Slam Dunk Central

Now this was a contest, that you just hated to see end, that’s how exciting it was! Unless of course you are a fan of the Orlando Magic, in that case you were glad to see your team pull out on top of an absolute roller coaster?of a game, as the Magic just barely got by the Toronto Raptors 104-103 Tuesday. The victory gives the Magic a 2-0 lead as the first round NBA Playoff Series shifts to north of the border. Dwight Howard made his second consecutive trip to the “20-20 Club” that led Orlando to the victory.

This truly was a game of runs, the only question was who would score last. The Magic broke out in the first quarter to a 35-18 advantage at the end of the period. Toronto turned the tables in the second quarter and as the game reached the half Orlando’s lead had been cut to a deuce, 59-57.? The Magic got a little more breathing room by the end of the third quarter as they led 83-78 going into the final 12 minutes. The Raptors would not fade off quietly into the night, they took the lead with 1:04 left in regulation at 101-100, as they hit three straight treys two by Jose Calderon, one by Carlos Delfino, and then Delfino put them on top with one from the charity stripe. Hedo Turkoglu drove the lane and put the ball and up in for two, and then hit two at the stripe, to put the Magic up 104-101. Delfino made it a 1 point game with just 9.6 seconds left, as he penetrated and laid it up and in, to make it 104-103. Chris Bosh got a shot off just before the buzzer, but missed the cylinder.

Howard scored 29 points, 20 boards, 3 blocks, 1 assist, 1 steal. Jameer Nelson came up big for the second game in a row scoring 18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, Rashard Lewis also scored 18 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 1 block. Hedo Turkoglu scored 12 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal.

Chris Bosh led the Raptors with a double-double scoring 29 points, 10 boards, 6 assists, 2 steals, 1 block. Jason Kapono scored 20 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, Jose Calderon scored 18 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds. Carlos Delfino scored 16 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists. Orlando heads to Toronto up 2-0 in the first round series, but this series looks far from being over.

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