Hitting Back :: A New York Sports Blog

Well, at least the Magic have an excuse. They played better against the Pistons in Game Two but had a tough call go against them. Near the end of the third quarter, the clock never started creating tons of confusion when Chauncey Billups nailed a three to put Detroit up two.

The question was did he get it off in time? There were 4.9 seconds left when the controversy took place. Due to NBA regulations, the three officials couldn’t review the tape instead conferencing for about five minutes before deciding to reward the Detroit point guard with a three. From watching TNT replays, I counted 5.2 which the network later confirmed as the fourth quarter began.

Unfortunately for Stan Van Gundy’s Magic, it didn’t matter. They still had 12 minutes to overcome that mistake. Orlando certainly had their chances but just couldn’t make enough big plays down the stretch getting outscored 22-17 in the fourth quarter and falling 100-93.

They had fallen behind by 10 at the half after a miserable second quarter which saw them score only 11 points. Then the Magic came out and played a superb third quarter outscoring the Pistons 36-28 to pull within two. In particular, Rashard Lewis came alive draining a couple of treys and scoring 16 of 20 in the second half. Jameer Nelson also was much better scoring the ball and nailing five triples to the tune of 22. In fact, Orlando who shot just 2-of-15 from the outside was a perfect seven-for-seven in the third.

Too bad the Billups trey counted. Otherwise, they would’ve led by one entering the final quarter. Those kind of shots can swing momentum. For Orlando, it was a bad break cause it definitely shouldn’t have counted. Regardless, they did come out strong in the fourth and even took a four point lead on a thunderous follow-up jam by Dwight Howard, who was much better finishing with 22 and 18 boards (8 offensive) plus two rejections.

Clearly, the Pistons were on the ropes forcing Flip Saunders to call for time. Howard was getting players in foul trouble. That the Magic didn’t exploit that in the last five and a half minutes was a big reason they lost to fall behind 0-2 in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference Semi series.

How did the experienced Pistons respond out of the timeout? Like you’d expect. By going on a 7-0 run to take a 91-88 lead. First, a classic Rasheed Wallace score in the post cut it to two. After a bad Magic possession, Richard Hamilton made a contested three from the key to put them up one. Billups then hit a 14-foot runner. In less than two minutes, they were up three and back in control.

Orlando kept it close on an open Nelson three to cut it to two. They never got the game tied as Billups was great down the stretch getting to the charity stripe and making his free throws where one of the game’s best converted all 10. Hamilton also made five of six despite an off shooting night (4-of-18 FG) to still net 14 in support of Billups’ game high 28.

The Magic did have a chance to tie it a couple of different times but a wild Hedo Turkoglu three off an in bounds missed completely. Their last gasp was a Lewis runner which went off the back of the rim with Howard’s tip try also missing right to Turkoglu, who had the ball cleanly stripped by Theo Ratliff off his leg handing it back to Detroit. The Pistons converted enough free throws to put the game out of reach.

Both teams had all five starters in double digits with Orlando getting a better game from Maurice Evans, who hit a couple of three’s and netted 13 in a losing effort. Turkoglu struggled with his scoring touch only making 5-of-11 from the field despite two treys. Though he involved other teammates with a game best seven assists, the NBA’s Most Improved Player was awful turning the ball over six times. Lewis also had six miscues and Howard turned it over five comprising for 17 of Orlando’s 19 on the night. Just way too many to win on the road. By contrast, the Pistons only had eight.

Detroit got a better game from Wallace, who hit for 17 (7-of-10 FG). Supporting cast players Tayshaun Prince (17 pts, 10 rebs, 5 assists, 2 steals, blk) and Jason Maxiell (11 pts, 5-of-5 FG, 4 rebs, 3 blks, 3 assists) each had solid overall games.

The Piston bench outscored Orlando 13-4 with Antonio McDyess getting six and Rodney Stuckey adding five. Former Piston Carlos Arroyo netted all four for the Magic.

Key stat difference: Winning basketball games means taking care of the ball. Assist to turnover ratios are crucial.

Orlando- 16 assists, 19 turnovers, minus-three

Detroit- 23 assists, 8 turnovers, plus-15

Clearly, that needs to change for the Magic to make it a series.