Box score

Third Quarter Collapse

Our backs are officially against the wall. Game six could be the last we see of the Sixers until the November. Can they shock the world one (two) more times?

Tonight's game sucked, no doubt about it. The fact of the matter is, the Magic are a better basketball team. They have better shooters. They have more depth. They execute better. Does that mean the Sixers are out of the series? No, absolutely not.

First let's talk about the giant elephant in the room, Dwight Howard's pending suspension -- will he or won't he? Dwight threw a Chuck Liddell-like elbow in the direction of Sammy D's dome in the first quarter. Chris Webber, Kenny Smith and Sir Charles are all on record saying he should and he will be suspended. My gut says D12 will be watching game six from the bench. Will I be surprised if I'm wrong? No, this is a star's league and it wasn't as malicious as it could have been. However; this comes straight from the NBA rule-book.

l. A player, coach or trainer must be ejected for: 
(1) A punching foul 
(2) A fighting foul 
(3) An elbow foul which makes contact above shoulder level 

If Dwight is indeed suspended, game six becomes a very, very winnable game for the Sixers, but I'll save the analysis for another day.

There are a few more things we can take from tonight's game. Number one, Andre Iguodala is amazing. The only thing I can complain about is his awful free throw shooting. Other than that he's been brilliant. One of Iguodala's biggest criticisms coming in to the series was his inability to "flip the switch" and put the team on his shoulders. Problem solved. In the Sixers ever-problematic third quarter, Iguodala felt the game slipping away and took over. He continuously put his head down, drove to the basket and got to the line. He also hit a big three to cut the lead to eight and grabbed a man's rebound over two Magic players. Andre needs to do two things this summer, shoot nine million free throws and get some rest. The dude has to be tired from all the minutes he's racking up (47 tonight).

On the other side of the spectrum, Lou Williams officially sucks. He's the worst perimeter on the team. He's the worst team defender on the team. He hurts the offense more than he helps. And I'd even go as far to say that I'd rather see Bill Green on the floor than Lou Williams. I cannot tell you how pissed off I was with Lou-Will tonight. Missed shots I can live with. The palming violation I can live with. Those things happen. What I cannot live with is him allowing J.J. Redick wide open threes, allowing 900-year old Anthony Johnson to blow by him or weak double-teams on Dwight Howard. Does he seriously thing that his 6-foot, 180 pound frame is going to affect Dwight Howard by just standing next to him with his hands up? You either double hard or don't double at all. 

The only other guy worth mentioning is Thaddeus Young, and not because he played well. I've been super disappointed with how quiet Thaddeus has been this series. For the final month of the season, Thaddeus was dominant on offense. He was oozing with confidence. This series? Not so much. He's hesitant. His offense isn't there. His defense is average at best. And his inexperience has really shown. Maybe his ankle's a little worse than he's been leading on? Regardless of what it is, I'm not worried about "Baby Legs" one bit. He has a good head on his shoulders. He has all the tools to become a great player. And he has an awesome work ethic. Expect the big "third year jump" from him next season.

The same cannot be said for Lou Williams sorry butt. Sorry, I had to get one more cheap shot in there.

Down 3-2, we're about to see what this Sixers team is made of. Game six is on Thursday, and I'll wait and see what happens with Dwight Howard before making any hasty predictions. We're not done just let.

Box score

Third Quarter Collapse

Tonight marks the ninth time the Sixers have lost in the final seconds this season. That's right, nine times! You would think after nine times I'd be used to the pain and devastation that comes with game-winners -- I'm not. The Sixers stormed back to tie the game with 14 seconds left. After the Sixers knotted the game at 81 the Magic ran an isolation for Hedo Turkoglu at the top of the key. Turk -- originally guarded by Andre Iguodala -- used a screen to force Thaddeus Young to switch and drilled a three-pointer in Thad's eye with 1.1 to go. It's unfair to criticize Thad's defense on the last play, but it has to be noted that he gave a 6'10'' NBA sharpshooter way too much room to get the shot off.

Besides the Turkoglu three, the Magic tied the series because of four things.

1. Good defense in the second half.
2. Awful offensive showings from the Sixers "big 3" (16-48).
3. Dwight Howard.
4. First half officiating.

Box score

This Quarter Collapse

Two wins, two game-winners. What more could you ask for? Thad's wasn't as dramatic as Iguodala's, but amazing nonetheless. 

The Sixers failed to dominate the game like I wanted, but there are no style points in the playoffs -- just wins and losses. They looked amazing for the first 30 minutes, but eventually blew a 17-point lead and needed a "baby legs" baby layup to win the game. How Thaddeus got his shot off over an outstretched Dwight Howard, I'll never know.

Honestly, whatever happens from here on out, we should be proud to call ourselves Sixers fans. The whole world thought we'd be lucky to win one game. We've won two. This is a 59-win team we're talking about. Through three games, the Sixers have given the Magic much more than anyone expected. Not only have our two wins been impressive, but they've been game-winners. In a year where Sixers fans have been devastated by game-winner after game-winner, the tables have finally turned, and it couldn't have happened at a better time.

We're up 2-1, yet "experts" continue to call us lucky. Good for them. What are they going to say if we win two more games? The more doubters, the better the wins feel, so keep 'em coming.

Sixers best performer: Andre Iguodala -- you can't say enough about this guy. He hit big shot after big shot tonight. His jumper was smooth. He forced the issue and got to the line when the offense stalled. He sensed when his team needed him and flipped the proverbial switch. He's officially arrived folks. I love Andre Iguodala.

Sixers worst performer: Bill Green would win this award every night if we let him, but I'm going with Lou Williams. Lou missed three huge free throws and he blew a huge defensive assignment on Rashard Lewis. We need Lou to have more games like game one to win this series.

Every other Sixer played a solid game by my book and DiLeo did a decent job until the end where he played Bill Green. I'm not sure what his infatuation with playing Bill Green in the fourth is, but I don't like it.

Now I'm going to spend the rest of the day enjoying a 2-1 series lead and watching the NFL draft.

Until later...

P.S. Magic fans, you really have something special in Dwight Howard.

Can't believe it. We're up 2-1. The playoff beard lives on!

Party tonight!!! Recap tomorrow morning.

Enjoy fellas!

I have an uneasy feeling in my stomach. The 8 role players and head coach let me down tonight. The "big 3" showed up, and if the Sixers would've gotten a contribution from anyone else we'd have ourselves a 2-0 lead.  I've allowed the loss to linger for a few hours, but I still can't get over it.

Why did Andre Iguodala score only 1 point in the first half?

Why did Bill Green play 20+ minutes?

Why did DiLeo play Donny-Ice when we needed stops and sit him when we needed threes?

Why is Courtney Lee averaging 21 points this series?

Who in their right mind would allow Reggie Evans to guard Dwight Howard?

Why couldn't we get a defensive rebound?

Why don't we get to the free throw line anymore?

Why is Bill Green playing at all?

Sigh. Please don't be as disappointed as I am. We're still going back to Philadelphia with a split. We have home-court advantage. And this Magic team is very beatable. They proved it tonight be allowing the Sixers to hang around in a game they should have dominated.

Now I'm off to watch some Fresh Prince re-runs to ease the pain. Hopefully a couple hours of sleep and a long day at work will erase this from my memory.

I'll preview game 3 tomorrow night.

Until then...

Box Score

Third Quarter Collapse

Am I surprised the Magic evened the series tonight? No. Am I disappointed? Very. Both teams played poorly, but I feel like the Sixers could have easily won the game. 80 percent of their problems came from sheer carelessness or laziness. 16 turnovers -- careless. 14 offensive rebounds allowed -- lazy.

As poorly as Orlando played, the Sixers played worse. If they play an average basketball game, they come out on top. The Sixers might have blown a rare opportunity to grab ahold of this series tonight. The Magic aren't going to shoot 26 percent from downtown very often, which brings me to my next point.

I strongly believe the Magic's three-point shooting in the first game was stifled by good defense. Tonight however; the Sixers reverted back to their old ways, allowing a good amount of open shots, but the Magic didn't make them. Unfortunately the Sixers failed to capitalize.

Three players who cannot be blamed for tonight's loss are Andre Miller, Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young.

Stat of the night: Miller, Iggy and Thad scored 71 points. Everyone else scored 16.

There's not too much to say about the Sixers "big 3". They all came to play tonight (minus a couple turnovers), and I'll take games like these any night. 

I also had a couple problems with coach DiLeo. One, why did we go back to double-teaming? After having success without it, the Sixers not only doubled Dwight tonight, but Hedo, Rashard and Courtney Lee at times. Is this DiLeo's fault or over-aggressiveness by the players? Either way DiLeo needs to end it real fast.

The other problem I had with DiLeo was, he played Bill Green for 20 minutes. It's bad enough that we have to witness the "Garbage" Green for 20 minutes, but DiLeo was also running plays for him! You know the situation's bad when the opposing announcers are commenting on how awful your player is.

There's not much else to say. A series split is nice. I feel like we should have won tonight, but I'll get over it, and I hope the Sixers do as well. Game three is in Philadelphia on Friday night. Let's protect home court!

P.S. The officiating was atrocious for both teams tonight.

A full 24 hours have passed since the magic that was game one, and it's time to address some of the hot topics before delving into game two.

Andre Iguodala

I love me some Iggy! Like I said in my recap, even prior to his dagger over Turkoglu, Andre played a near perfect game. He has officially redeemed himself for his awful showing in last year's playoffs. Against the Pistons he shot a collective 33 percent for the series, and I think it's safe to say he will not repeat that performance.

There are two questions/concerns I have regarding Iguodala for the rest of the series.

1. Will he be consistent?

2. How will his game-winner affect him?

Will he be consistent? I don't see why not. Unlike last year, he won't have Tayshaun Prince glued to him for an entire series. I saw zero evidence that there is anyone on Orlando's roster who can hang with him off the dribble. He simply has to "bring it" every night and he'll be fine. I also think he benefited greatly from the three days off.

Will the game-winner go to his head? This one scares me a little. Iguodala has hit numerous monster shots this season, and you could argue that his buzzer-beater in LA was as big as any. It seems like a matter of time before Iguodala gets carried away with his new-found clutchness. History has shown that Iguodala is unfazed by previous game-winners, so hopefully this one is no different.

Ultimately I think Iguodala will continue to impress, and I can't wait to see what he does for an encore.

Did the Sixers win the game or did the Magic lose it?

This is one of the dumbest sports arguments of all-time. In any sporting event, ever, you can make a case either way. The simple answer is -- both.

However; here's my counter to everyone's argument that the Magic gave the game away.

Did the Rockets "give the game away" when they blew a fourth quarter lead to the Sixers in Houston?

Did the Blazers "give the game away" when they lost an overtime game to the Sixers in Portland?

Did the Lakers "give the game away" when they blew a fourth quarter lead to the Sixers in Los Angeles?

Look at these home records: 32-9, 33-8, 39-2, 34-7 and 36-5.

What do they all have in common? Those five teams (Magic, Rockets, Blazers, Cavs and Lakers) have all lost a home game to the Sixers. They are a collective 174-31 at home, yet 2-5 against the Sixers. Luck or skill? You make the call.

For me, the answer is a combination of three things: Donny-Ice, heart and Andre Iguodala. Please don't tell me the Magic gave this game away again.

Do the Sixers have a realistic chance in this series?

In short, yes. They must stick with the game-plan by allowing Dwight to average 30-15 and prevent the three-ball. Andre Iguodala must continue to play his butt off, and DiLeo needs to play Donny-Ice until his legs fall off.

There's no need to become complacent with a split. The Sixers need to go for the jugular Wednesday night. Returning to Philadelphia with a 2-0 series lead would all but bury the Magic.

I can't wait to see what happens next.

"YESSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH YESSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!"

I still cannot get over what happened yesterday. Our boy Andre Iguodala has been all over ESPN. He's finally receiving the national recognition he deserves. Since game 2 isn't until Wednesday, let's bask in the glory of this one a little longer.

Click through for reactions via CSNPhilly. The best interview comes from Andre Miller. I've never seen him so happy.

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