Magic prepare for second round of playoffs

Stan Van Gundy celebrated the Orlando Magic’s defeat of the Toronto Raptors by taking his wife to a late-night dinner and then rising before dawn to get one of his daughters ready for school.And then I started to panic,” Van Gundy said in all seriousness, referring to his mind immediately shifting to the preparation ahead for the eventual Detroit-Philadelphia winner in the second round of the playoffs.

Well, at least the Magic’s relentlessly driving coach took a few hours off to enjoy the franchise’s biggest accomplishment in more than a decade. Then, predictably, it was back to the grind of studying game tapes and preparing game plans for not one, but two possible opponents in the second round of the playoffs.

Long-suffering Magic fans, allow that phrase — the second round of the playoffs — to wash over your bodies today for some of you had to wonder if Monday’s moment would ever come what with the struggles the franchise has endured the past few years.

When Orlando won Game 5 102-92 Monday to dispatch pesky Toronto 4-1, it was Orlando’s first series victory of any kind since 1996. Since that time, the Magic had seen 108 players come and go and seven playoff series go down the drain without any semblance of success.

Van Gundy said his lasting memory from Monday night for him won’t be the clutch 3-pointers that Jameer Nelson and Keith Bogans made or the third 20-point, 20-rebound effort from dominating center Dwight Howard. Instead it will be the looks on the faces of Magic team executives, players and even some fans that Van Gundy said he will remember most.

“I was excited for our players, my staff and myself, but really it’s great for the people who have been here for this 12-year drought who have worked so hard every day to get the organization back on top,” Van Gundy said. “Seeing their smiles was a great feeling. And I felt great for our fans. They have waited a long time for that feeling again. There was great energy in the building.”

Van Gundy and his staff were back at work Tuesday, but he gave his Magic players two days off to rest and recover from a taxing first-round series. Hedo Turkoglu, who struggled with 41 percent shooting and missed 16 of 18 3-pointers, is hoping to rest a nagging calf muscle strain. Nelson still has an aching back after a bout of spasms last week in Toronto. And Rashard Lewis is still recovering from a grueling five-game grind covering Toronto all-star forward Chris Bosh.

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