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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.

ORLANDO -- The Orlando Magic ended 12 years of postseason misery Monday night with a 102-92 defeat of the Toronto Raptors for their first playoff series victory since 1996.
The Magic won the series 4-1, capturing three victories at Amway Arena and one in Toronto’s Air Canada Centre.

The Magic got huge big-game performances from franchise center Dwight Howard (21 points and 21 rebounds) and star forward Rashard Lewis (18 points and 13 rebounds), but it was huge 3-pointers from point guard Jameer Nelson (19 points) and Keith Bogans (11 points) that paved the way to the victory down the stretch.

The Magic led just 84-82 with 6 minutes remaining, but they then pulled away in similar fashion to Saturday’s Game 4 with a strong closing kick. Orlando used a clutch 13-2 spurt, nine of the points coming on 3-pointers from Bogans and Nelson, over the next four minutes to pull comfortably into the lead.

A sellout crowd of 17,519 inside Amway Arena exploded with noise and raw emotion with each fourth-quarter basket, propelling the Magic to one of the franchise’s biggest victories in years.

The Magic hadn’t won a playoff series since 1996 when they beat the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Orlando had lost its past seven straight series, stretching from the defeat against the Chicago Bulls in the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals to last spring’s first-round sweep against the Detroit Pistons.

Orlando will face the survivor from the Detroit-Philadelphia series, which is tied at 2-all. That second-round series would begin either this weekend or next week depending on how long the Pistons and Sixers play. The third-seeded Magic would have the homecourt advantage against the seventh-seeded 76ers, but would start on the road against the second-seeded Pistons. Orlando was 3-1 against Philadelphia this season, but split four games against Detroit.

Howard had his third game of the series with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds. He led the NBA with eight 20-20 games during the regular season.

Toronto star Chris Bosh scored just 16 points for the Raptors.

Orlando grabbed the lead and control of the game in the third period with some gritty defense on Bosh and a barrage of 3-pointers. Bogans gave the Magic a 65-62 lead on a 3 from the corner and when Nelson drilled a 3-pointer minutes later it jump-started a 9-2 quarter-closing rally.

Bosh, who had 39 points and 15 rebounds in Saturday’s Game 4 loss, seemed to come unglued late in the third period. He missed 10 of his first 14 shots and he was whistled for a technical foul when he argued after being hit by a Howard shoulder to the chest.
Unlike in Saturday’s second half when they pulled away from the Raptors with efficient execution, the Magic’s offense was mostly a disjointed mess in the first half. Orlando jumped to an eight-point lead in the first three minutes of the game, but crumbled a bit and often looked as if it was pressing under the weight of the circumstances.

The Magic turned the ball over nine times, missed 10 of 13 3-pointers and trailed 50-49 at the half. Howard had 10 points and 12 rebounds by halftime, but he got just six shot attempts with most of them coming off his five offensive rebounds.

A Toronto team that made only two 3-pointers in Game 4 hit four in Monday’s first quarter alone, helping it grab a 26-22 lead by the end of the first period.

Contact Denton at jd41898@aol.com.

ORLANDO, Fla., Nov. 10 (AP) -- Grant Hill isn't used to being the bad guy. He inherited the role Saturday against his former team.

The All-Star shrugged off relentless boos from his former fans for 14 points and eight rebounds as the Phoenix Suns beat the Orlando Magic 106-96 Saturday night. While the crowd focused on Hill, Leandro Barbosa scored a career-high 39 points and all five Suns starters cracked double figures to break the Magic's four-game winning streak.

"That's what fans are supposed to do -- they're supposed to boo opposing teams,'' Hill said. "When I used to watch ball back in the day, the 80s, Maurice Cheeks went into the Garden and he didn't get cheered, he got booed.

"We're trying to win a championship, and in order to do that we have to go on the road against other teams,'' Hill said. "You're going to get booed, you're going to get called all types of names -- you've got to be really strong.''

The Suns withstood a 33-point, 18-rebound effort by Dwight Howard, partly by keeping him at the foul line. Howard was 7-of-16 on free throws and missed four straight late in the third quarter as Orlando fell behind 23 points. Besides two attempts in the second quarter by Hedo Turkoglu and one late by Trevor Ariza, no Orlando player but Howard even tried a free throw.

Steve Nash had 19 points and 11 assists and Shawn Marion added 11 points and eight rebounds. Amare Stoudemire had 13 points and six rebounds in his second outing after missing three games with a sore knee.

The teams entered the game first and second in the NBA in 3-point attempts -- 27.7 a game for Phoenix and 25.7 for the Magic. Orlando went the whole first quarter without trying a 3, falling behind 34-27 before eventually shooting 8-for-19.

"I thought they did a pretty good job switching pick and rolls and stuff,'' Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "Their energy level was very high, and I thought they did a very good job of closing out and getting to our 3-point shooters.''

Barbosa started in place of Raja Bell, who didn't dress after spraining an ankle late in the fourth quarter Friday against Miami. He scored 16 in the first quarter and missed only two shots in the period -- one of them a 39-footer just before the buzzer that nearly went in.

"As quick as Nash is, he can't even match Barbosa's quickness,'' Van Gundy said. "Leandro Barbosa is the fastest man in the NBA.''

Barbosa made 15-of-26 shots, including 8-for-13 from 3-point range.

"Coach always tells me to keep shooting,'' he said. "He says if you are open to shoot it. Today I was feeling great -- maybe I am not struggling anymore. You have to be patient when you are struggling.''

Carlos Arroyo had 13 points and eight assists for Orlando, Keyon Dooling scored 10 and Turkoglu and Ariza each added 11. Rashard Lewis struggled from the field with 3-of-14 shooting and finished with seven.

"I think they stayed a little closer to me out on the wings when they were rotating on the double team on Dwight,'' Lewis said. "They made sure they paid a lot of attention to me. But at the same time I missed a lot of easy shots -- just couldn't get into a rhythm all night.''

Both teams were playing their fourth game in five days. Orlando was 2-2 after playing the night before, while the Suns were 0-2.

Notes: Tiger Woods, who lives in area, watched from courtside. Both teams shot 47 percent from the field, but Phoenix attempted nine more shots. ... Nash was 9-of-13, one night after scoring 11 points in a row against the Heat.
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NEW YORK, Nov. 9 (AP) -- For the Orlando Magic, it's right from a terrific trip to a tremendous test.

Dwight Howard had 22 points and 20 rebounds, Jameer Nelson added 24 points and 10 assists, and the Magic completed a perfect four-game road trip with a 112-102 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday night.

No time for celebrating, though. The Magic return home to face Phoenix on Saturday night.

"To go on a four-game trip, win them all, it's difficult to do,'' Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "It's a good accomplishment. It's hard to relax and enjoy it because you have a fairly decent team staring in your face tomorrow night at home that can make you look bad.''

Orlando also won at Washington, Minnesota and Toronto in the first 4-0 road start in franchise history. The Magic never before had four consecutive road wins without a home game in between.

"It's great,'' forward Hedo Turkoglu said. "It will be greater if we win tomorrow, too, and have a couple of days off.''

Turkoglu scored 12 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter for the Magic (5-1), off to their best start since also winning five of their first six in the 2002-03 season. Rashard Lewis also finished with 21.

"I think it's because our team is maturing,'' Howard said. "Everybody coming to practice we work hard, we get in the games, we try to work hard. We know when we're down we stay positive and try to make it up on the defensive end.''

Howard had his first 20-20 game of the season and seventh of his career while outplaying the Knicks' big-man tandem of Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry. Curry grabbed only three rebounds.

Randolph had 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Knicks, giving him double-doubles in all four games. Curry and Quentin Richardson each scored 19 points.

"Those guys just hit a lot of big shots in the fourth quarter and throughout the game,'' Randolph said. "Rashard hit a couple of 3s back-to-back, got fouled on one. The guy shot well from the field tonight. We didn't execute like we were supposed to. Dwight Howard is an All-Star in this league, a strong, physical player.''

The Knicks were trying to move two games over .500 for the first time since Jan. 1, 2005. Instead, they turned it over 20 times and fell to 2-2 after their two-game winning streak was snapped.

"We weren't patient enough to continue to pound the ball inside, get good shots and go to the foul line,'' Knicks coach Isiah Thomas said. "I thought that every time we got impatient, Orlando capitalized on our impatience.''

In a closely played game between teams who believe they've improved, there were 20 lead changes and 11 ties in the first three quarters. Neither club was ahead by more than seven, and Orlando brought a 77-73 lead to the final period.

Curry's three-point play 33 seconds into the quarter cut it to one, but Keyon Dooling answered with a three-point play and Turkoglu hit a 3-pointer for an 83-76 lead.

"We kept playing but we finally started making shots and started getting stops on the defensive end,'' Lewis said. "We were able to pick the lead up.''

Randolph twice brought the Knicks within four, but Turkoglu and Lewis had 3s and Turkoglu had another bucket during a 10-0 spurt that extended Orlando's advantage to 95-81 with 5:29 to go.

Howard grabbed 10 rebounds in the first quarter, which ended in a 28-all tie. The Knicks led 49-48 at halftime.

Notes: Patrick Ewing, the Knicks' career scoring leader, received a loud ovation during a third-quarter timeout. He is in his first season as a Magic assistant, working on Howard's development. "So far it's been great,'' Van Gundy said. "I think obviously in Patrick you're bringing in a guy with incredible credibility, because first of all the career he had and second of all the kind of person he is. Very humble guy, intelligent guy, who I think can really impart to Dwight what he needs to do to become a great player.'' ... Knicks G Jamal Crawford was given the NBA's Community Assist Award for October. Crawford unveiled the "Crawford Library'' at a public school in the Bronx. ... Van Gundy on the Knicks: "They got a lot of talent. Look, when you have a $90 million-plus payroll, you're going to have some guys that can play. Let's not act like it's a miracle. They've got one of the highest payrolls in the league and they're going to put a lot of talent on the floor.'' ... Knicks reserve Jerome James will have surgery on his right foot Monday and is out indefinitely.

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NEW YORK, Nov. 9 (AP) -- For the Orlando Magic, it's right from a terrific trip to a tremendous test.

Dwight Howard had 22 points and 20 rebounds, Jameer Nelson added 24 points and 10 assists, and the Magic completed a perfect four-game road trip with a 112-102 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday night.

No time for celebrating, though. The Magic return home to face Phoenix on Saturday night.

"To go on a four-game trip, win them all, it's difficult to do,'' Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "It's a good accomplishment. It's hard to relax and enjoy it because you have a fairly decent team staring in your face tomorrow night at home that can make you look bad.''

Orlando also won at Washington, Minnesota and Toronto in the first 4-0 road start in franchise history. The Magic never before had four consecutive road wins without a home game in between.

"It's great,'' forward Hedo Turkoglu said. "It will be greater if we win tomorrow, too, and have a couple of days off.''

Turkoglu scored 12 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter for the Magic (5-1), off to their best start since also winning five of their first six in the 2002-03 season. Rashard Lewis also finished with 21.

"I think it's because our team is maturing,'' Howard said. "Everybody coming to practice we work hard, we get in the games, we try to work hard. We know when we're down we stay positive and try to make it up on the defensive end.''

Howard had his first 20-20 game of the season and seventh of his career while outplaying the Knicks' big-man tandem of Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry. Curry grabbed only three rebounds.

Randolph had 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Knicks, giving him double-doubles in all four games. Curry and Quentin Richardson each scored 19 points.

"Those guys just hit a lot of big shots in the fourth quarter and throughout the game,'' Randolph said. "Rashard hit a couple of 3s back-to-back, got fouled on one. The guy shot well from the field tonight. We didn't execute like we were supposed to. Dwight Howard is an All-Star in this league, a strong, physical player.''

The Knicks were trying to move two games over .500 for the first time since Jan. 1, 2005. Instead, they turned it over 20 times and fell to 2-2 after their two-game winning streak was snapped.

"We weren't patient enough to continue to pound the ball inside, get good shots and go to the foul line,'' Knicks coach Isiah Thomas said. "I thought that every time we got impatient, Orlando capitalized on our impatience.''

In a closely played game between teams who believe they've improved, there were 20 lead changes and 11 ties in the first three quarters. Neither club was ahead by more than seven, and Orlando brought a 77-73 lead to the final period.

Curry's three-point play 33 seconds into the quarter cut it to one, but Keyon Dooling answered with a three-point play and Turkoglu hit a 3-pointer for an 83-76 lead.

"We kept playing but we finally started making shots and started getting stops on the defensive end,'' Lewis said. "We were able to pick the lead up.''

Randolph twice brought the Knicks within four, but Turkoglu and Lewis had 3s and Turkoglu had another bucket during a 10-0 spurt that extended Orlando's advantage to 95-81 with 5:29 to go.

Howard grabbed 10 rebounds in the first quarter, which ended in a 28-all tie. The Knicks led 49-48 at halftime.

Notes: Patrick Ewing, the Knicks' career scoring leader, received a loud ovation during a third-quarter timeout. He is in his first season as a Magic assistant, working on Howard's development. "So far it's been great,'' Van Gundy said. "I think obviously in Patrick you're bringing in a guy with incredible credibility, because first of all the career he had and second of all the kind of person he is. Very humble guy, intelligent guy, who I think can really impart to Dwight what he needs to do to become a great player.'' ... Knicks G Jamal Crawford was given the NBA's Community Assist Award for October. Crawford unveiled the "Crawford Library'' at a public school in the Bronx. ... Van Gundy on the Knicks: "They got a lot of talent. Look, when you have a $90 million-plus payroll, you're going to have some guys that can play. Let's not act like it's a miracle. They've got one of the highest payrolls in the league and they're going to put a lot of talent on the floor.'' ... Knicks reserve Jerome James will have surgery on his right foot Monday and is out indefinitely.
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TORONTO, Nov. 7 (AP) -- Thanks to a newfound focus on toughness and togetherness, the Orlando Magic are off to a perfect start away from home.

Hedo Turkoglu had 24 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, Rashard Lewis scored 24 points, and the Magic beat the Toronto Raptors 105-96 on Wednesday night to earn their third straight road victory.

Keith Bogans had 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Dwight Howard added 17 points and nine rebounds for Orlando, which won at Washington on Saturday and beat Minnesota on Tuesday.

"Any time you can get road wins is good,'' Orlando guard Jameer Nelson said. "You're always going to be able to protect your home court because you've got your fans around you. When you come up to a hostile environment like Toronto, New York or Minnesota, you've got to stick together. Everybody who's on that bench and everybody on the court has got to stick together.''

One night after he failed to make a field goal for just the second time in his NBA career, Toronto's Chris Bosh scored 26 points, going 6-for-15 from the floor and making all 14 of his free throw attempts. Bosh also had 10 rebounds.

Andrea Bargnani had 16 points for Toronto, while T.J. Ford had 12 points and eight assists. Toronto has lost three straight after winning its opening two games of the season.

"We have to do a better job of concentrating on getting to the bucket,'' Bosh said. "We're settling for a lot of jump shots and everybody on the team is falling victim to that.''

A 3-pointer by Bargnani with 3:56 left in the fourth quarter gave Toronto its first lead of the game at 92-91. Orlando responded with eight straight points, including back-to-back 3-pointers by Lewis and Nelson and a driving layup by Nelson to take a 99-92 edge with 2:23 remaining.

"Last year, when somebody made a big run at the end of the game, we kind of just folded over,'' Howard said. "In the last two games, teams have been making big pushes at the end of the game and we've held our ground. We didn't get mad or frustrated at each other. We went out there and tried to do the best job we can on defense.''

Nelson finished with 10 points and six assists for the Magic, who had all five starters reach double figures in scoring.

"I like the way our team is responding,'' Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "Of course, I'd like it better if we'd just win by 15, but I like the way our team is responding. That's the way you're going to have to play to win games on the road in this league. I'm very, very pleased with them right now.''

Orlando wraps up its road trip at New York on Friday.

"We've got one more test coming up Friday,'' Nelson said. "We have to take care of business.''

Howard said the Magic know they need to do better than the 15-26 road record they posted last season.

"In order for us to become a great team and get respect around the league, we've got to win these games on the road,'' Howard said. "We've been doing an awesome job so far of just concentrating. We trying to mature as a team and every game is a stepping stone for us.''

Turkoglu played 45 minutes, including the entire second half, despite a tender ankle. Van Gundy said it was hard to take him out because of foul trouble to Lewis and Howard.

"It was hurting before the game, but I always tell myself when I'm on the court it means I've got enough,'' Turkoglu said. "I didn't want think about it too much, let it get into my head. I just played through it. I know there's going to be a day off tomorrow. I'll get it treated and feel a bit better on Friday.''

Nelson returned to the starting lineup after sitting out Tuesday's game in Minnesota with a slight concussion, the result of an inadvertent elbow to the head during practice on Monday. He was cleared to play Wednesday night after riding an exercise bike during the morning shootaround, and said he felt no ill-effects.

"The doctors did a good job getting me ready to play and being cautious,'' Nelson said. "I appreciate those guys being cautious and just allowing me to get back to being healthy.''

Orlando led 52-47 at the half.

Notes: NBA executive VP of basketball operations Stu Jackson attended the game. ... Toronto activated forward Maceo Baston before the game and placed forward Jamario Moon on the inactive list.

MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 6 (AP) -- A pair of young beasts on the low block are coming into their own, and it's going to be awfully fun to watch these two go at each other for the next 10 years.

Give the latest, and best head-to-head to date, to Dwight Howard - barely.

In a matchup of two of the best young power forwards in the game, Howard edged his classmate Al Jefferson, scoring 28 points and grabbing 16 rebounds in Orlando's 111-103 victory over winless Minnesota on Tuesday night.

"Oh yeah, its fun,'' Howard said of playing against Jefferson, who had 25 points and 10 rebounds. "He's a great low post player. He works with the guy (Wolves coach Randy Wittman) who taught me almost everything I know.

"His game is getting better. Has gotten better since he got in the league. He's always been a great scorer, but he's more potent now than he was back in the day.''

Carlos Arroyo had 18 points and six assists in place of an injured Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis scored nine of his 27 points in the fourth quarter for the Magic to stave off the hard-charging Timberwolves.

Jefferson was quiet for the first three quarters, managing just 13 points and four rebounds, but he scored 12 points in the fourth to help the Timberwolves make things interesting.

The Wolves trailed 92-76 with 10:32 to play in the game before Jefferson took over, scoring eight points in a 14-0 run that cut Orlando's lead to 92-90.

But Lewis came right back, hitting three straight 3-pointers to push the lead back to 101-95 and Minnesota never got closer than four the rest of the way.

"Rashard Lewis hit some big shots,'' Jefferson said. "I knew he was a great player, but he really showed us that tonight.''

Marko Jaric had 10 points and 10 assists and Greg Buckner scored 18 points for the Timberwolves, who missed Rashad McCants' offensive skills down the stretch. McCants went out in the first quarter with a sprained ankle.

Jefferson and Howard have quite a history, and they went at each other hard all night.

"Me and Dwight Howard, we're great friends,'' Jefferson said. "But when we're on the court, we hate each other. He says to me in the game, 'Man stop doing all those ball fakes.'

"And I said, 'Well, stop jumping.' It's always fun to go against him. But when we're out there on the court we're battling.''

Howard dominated Jefferson for the first three quarters, scoring 26 points and grabbing 14 points to give the Magic a 14-point cushion.

But he managed just two points in the fourth, and got plenty of help from Lewis to keep his buddy Jefferson down.

Both were high school All-Americans from the South - Howard from Atlanta and Jefferson from Mississippi - who decided to skip college in 2004 and go straight for the pros. Howard was the No. 1 overall pick who signed a five-year, $80 million contract extension in July after being an All Star last year.

Jefferson was picked 15th by the Celtics and came to Minnesota in the Kevin Garnett trade at the end of July. He signed a five year, $65 million extension last week.

After signing that deal, Jefferson shocked the local media in attendance at the press conference when he said he didn't feel like he had proven himself to deserve the max contract just yet.

"I just felt like I had more work to do,'' Jefferson said again on Tuesday night. "Dwight Howard got max and I think he proved himself to get max because all three years he's been in the league, he's proved himself to be a max player. I just had a great year last year.''

Jefferson is 22 and Howard will turn 22 in December. They have played against each other in the NBA for four years now, but it's clear this rivalry is just beginning.

"It's all good fun out there,'' Jefferson said. "But we know it's a game and we all try to win.''

Notes: Nelson missed the game with a slight concussion and J.J. Redick was out with back spasms. ... Wolves C Theo Ratliff missed the game with the flu. ... Wittman served as an assistant for one year in Orlando and exchanged pleasantries with several players after coming out of the locker room for warmups at halftime. ... Vikings free safety Darren Sharper was at the game. In the "Don't quit your day job'' department: He shot 5-for-26 from 3-point range before the game.