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From Orlando Sentinel

Road win brings Orlando Magic one step closer to series win

Orlando Magic need 1 more win to advance to 2nd round of NBA Playoffs

Brian Schmitz | Sentinel Staff Writer
11:08 PM EDT, April 26, 2008

TORONTO - They can truly exorcise the past -- so long, Shaq -- and embrace the future -- hello, Dunkin' Dwight -- all at once now.

The Orlando Magic can end a 12-year stretch of playoff series failures on Monday at Amway Arena and begin a new path in earnest toward contention.

Or they can do it the hard way, going back through customs.

After defeating the Toronto Raptors 106-94 on Saturday at Air Canada Centre to seize a commanding 3-1 playoff series lead, Dwight Howard and the Magic need one more victory to advance to the second round for the first time since the 1995-96 season.

That season, in his last act, Shaquille O'Neal led the Magic to an Eastern Conference semifinals victory against the Atlanta Hawks before jilting the franchise and moving to Hollywood.

The Magic can close out the Raptors in Game 5 at home after displaying a seasonlong trademark in Game 4: The Big Bounce Back.

They again showed their resiliency, especially on the road, shaking off their 108-94 debacle against the Raptors on Thursday night.

"Our team has had some toughness," Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy said. "We fought all night. There was never any real letdown in terms of our fight or competitiveness. There were stretches where we played extremely poorly. But our energy, effort and toughness never waned. I'm proud of that."

Point guard Jameer Nelson captured the essence of the comeback nature. Maligned after his Raptors counterparts outplayed him in Game 3, the career underdog provided a lift in the telltale fourth quarter, playing with a balky back.

Nelson, 5 feet 10, scored eight of his 10 consecutive points after the Raptors seized an 83-80 lead with about seven minutes remaining, his second 3-pointer in the stretch fueling a 26-11 closing run.

Rashard Lewis, the $118 million man who turned in his best game since his controversial arrival, added two big jumpers each time the Raptors drew close, and his 3-ball put it away at 100-92.

It was often the way the Magic had won road games this season, making big plays during fourth-quarter surges.

They had not lost consecutive games out of town since mid-January, and the coup de grace in this recovery to keep the streak intact Saturday was Hedo Turkoglu's late, mind-boggling 3-pointer. Mind-boggling because Turkoglu was about as discombobulated as possible, committing seven turnovers before draining the shot to bump Orlando's lead to five with about two minutes left.

"We've been put in real tough situations a lot this year, and we've overcome them. One thing we keep saying is keep our composure and go back at them," Nelson said. "Now, we just have to win one more game."

Van Gundy had taken Nelson out in the third quarter for not playing aggressively, saying, bluntly, "You're just out there."

That's the Magic for you, getting off the canvas when they need to, when Howard can't dunk and block everything in sight. He did set a club playoff record with eight blocks and finished with 19 points and 16 rebounds.

Lewis steadied the Magic through Turkoglu's off-day, delivering 27 points on 10-of-19 shooting and added a postseason career-high of 13 rebounds.

Nelson, who collapsed with back spasms after Game 3, had 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting.

Unlike in Thursday's loss, the Magic didn't overplay the Raptors' pick-and-roll. They finally hit 3-pointers (11-of-29) and moved the ball. Turnovers (18, for 18 Toronto points) still haunt.

The Magic now can exorcise some ghosts and advance to the first round for the first time in a dozen years. A loss would force them to return to Toronto for a Game 6 on Thursday.

"We wanted to win very bad," Lewis said. "We didn't want to go home with the series tied 2-2. It was very important, but at the same time, it's not over."

See related articles, C-1 & 8.

Brian Schmitz can be reached at bschmitz@orlandosentinel.com.

Copyright © 2008, Orlando Sentinel

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