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Magic holds off Hawks' late charge

(China Daily)
Updated: 2011-04-21 07:54

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard (right) shoots against Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Powell during their NBA Eastern Conference first-round playoff game. [Photo/Agencies]

ORLANDO, Fla. - Following Orlando's humbling Game 1 loss to Atlanta, Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said that if his team cut down its turnovers and played better defense, he felt like everything would be fine in Game 2.

His team only fulfilled half of that equation on Tuesday night, but it was still enough to earn a victory.

Dwight Howard had 33 points and 19 rebounds, and Jameer Nelson added 13 points and eight rebounds to help the Magic hold off the Hawks 88-82.

The Magic evened the best-of-seven series, with Game 3 on Friday night in Atlanta.

Orlando used a 10-1 run to close the third quarter to take an 11-point lead into the fourth and fought off a late Atlanta charge down the stretch. The Magic struggled from the field, shooting just 34 percent and had 16 turnovers. But they defended well.

After allowing the Hawks to become the first opponent in 16 straight playoff games to score 100 points against it in Game 1, Orlando's defense tightened around Atlanta's shooters in Game 2. The Hawks shot 39 percent.

"It's not anything I did - our guys did it," Van Gundy said when asked about the adjustments he made after Game 1.

"You gotta get out and take the challenge. ... Every game sort of takes on a life of its own and you just gotta do whatever it takes to get the win on that night."

The Magic overcame a 10-point first-half deficit en route to the win. It was Orlando's largest comeback victory in the postseason since May 2009, when it overcame a 16-point deficit to beat Cleveland.

Jamal Crawford led Atlanta with 25 points and Josh Smith added 17, but they missed 15 shots between them and expended a lot more energy to get off attempts.

Associated Press