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Coming off a huge 116-114 overtime win in game four, Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic were able to extend their Eastern Conference Finals lead to 3-1. Therefore, the Cleveland Cavaliers are facing post-season elimination when they will host the Magic on Friday at 1:30 a.m. GMT.

 

 

Although Orlando was struggling throughout the first half in game four, they managed to bounce back despite being down by double digits in the third quarter. As the clock was winding down at the end of the fourth it was still anyone’s game with the lead was going back and forth. With four seconds remaining in regulation Rashard Lewis hit a clutch 3-pointer to give the Magic a two point lead. However, LeBron James showed nerves of steel on the next possession and hit two free throws to send the game to overtime. Despite playing with five fouls, Orlando’s All-Star Dwight Howard had a huge extra period scoring 10 of Orlando’s 16 overtime points to lead them to a 116-114 win. James had another 3-point shot to tie the series but missed the potential game-winning shot at the buzzer.  

 

 

Dwight Howard led the Magic with 27 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocked shots. Orlando’s three-point shooting was off the charts once again going 17-of-38 from beyond the arc for an impressive 45%. Rafer Alston hit 6 three pointers while Mickael Pietrus added another 5 from beyond the line. Likewise, Hedo Turkoglu continued his excellent post-season run with a 15 point, 8 assists and 7 rebounds performance. In contrast, LeBron James led the Cavaliers with an impressive 44 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists.

 

Without any doubts, the Cleveland Cavaliers have put themselves in a very difficult situation being down 1-3 in the Eastern Conference Finals. Even though they will have to win three games in a row to make it to the Finals, they are expected to take it one game at a time and try to avoid elimination in game five. Given their strength at home, most experts still consider them to be the favorite to win game five. However, they will have to improve their perimeter defense and prevent the Magic from winning the game from beyond the three point line.

 

You can watch game five of the NBA Eastern Conference finals right here on www.watchlivenba.com, the home of live NBA streaming. Enjoying a comfortable 3-1 Eastern Conference Finals lead, the Orlando Magic are hoping to advance to the NBA Finals on Friday in Cleveland.

 

Posted: 23rd May 2009

 

With a terrific road performance in game one the Orlando Magic were able to beat the Cavaliers 107-106 and take the Eastern Conference Finals series lead. On Saturday at 1:30 a.m. GMT the Cleveland Cavaliers will try to bounce back on their home-court to avoid going down 0-2.

 

 

During the first half everything pointed to another blow-out win at home for the Cavaliers who won 43 out of 45 home games this season prior to the series opener. Enjoying a comfortable 63-48 lead at halftime, Cleveland was hoping to close out the game in the third and move on to the next game. However, when the Magic came out of the locker room after the break, Stan van Gundy’s team looked completely different. More specifically, the ball movement as well as their team defense improved significantly as they slowly started cutting down the Cavs’ lead. With ten minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Magic managed to take their first lead of the game on a three-pointer by backup guard Anthony Johnson. The remainder of the game featured LeBron James battling versus Orlando with the lead going back and forth. Ultimately, Mo Williams and Delonte West both missed potentially game winning shots in the last ten seconds of regulation resulting in a one-point Magic road win.

 

Although LeBron James had a terrific night with 49 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds, Cleveland lacked the regular contribution of other role players. Orlando was led by Dwight Howard who had 30 points and 13 rebounds as well as Hedo Turkoglu who put up 15 points and dished out 14 assists.

 

Looking forward to game two, the Cavaliers will have to play much better defense to avoid another loss. Being the best defensive team in the league it hurt Cleveland dramatically when the Magic were shooting 55% from the floor as well as 45% from beyond the arc. Orlando can build on their great effort in the second half of game one, even though Dwight Howard has to do a better job of staying out of foul trouble to help his team down the stretch. Likewise, forcing James out of the paint into contested jumpshots would certainly be desirable for the Magic.

 

 

You can watch game two of the NBA Eastern Conference finals right here on www.watchlivenba.com, the home of live NBA streaming. Experiencing a tough home loss in game one, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are hoping for revenge in their second home game versus the Orlando Magic on Saturday.

 

Posted: 21st May 2009

 

There was much speculation about the relatively inexperienced Magic team prior to their series versus the Boston Celtics, but the discussion came to a sudden end on Monday night. Beating the defending champions on the road in a game seven certainly underlined the ambitions Stan van Gundy’s team has for this post-season. Thus, after three days off they will now head to Cleveland for the first game of the Eastern Conference finals on Thursday at 1:30 a.m. GMT.

 

 

In contrast, the Cleveland Cavaliers easily went through the first two rounds sweeping the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks. After over a week of rest, Lebron James and the Cavs are ready to take on the Orlando Magic. Without any doubts, Cleveland has been the most impressive team in the post-season so far. Not only did they not drop a single game in the playoffs but they also won seven of their eight games in double-digits. In fact, the Cavaliers team-defense has been so efficient that their opponents rarely got far beyond the 80-point mark.

 

Just like in most playoff series, the Eastern Conference finals between Orlando and Cleveland will probably come down to exploiting match-ups. More specifically, the primary key match-up for the Magic supposedly will be Dwight Howard versus Zydrunas Ilgauskas at the center position. Although Howard is much stronger, Ilgauskas still got the length to force him into contested shots. Moreover, Ilgauskas has the unique ability to shoot the ball from the outside at over 7-feet, possibly dragging Dwight Howard out of the lane.

 

Furthermore, it should be interesting to see how Rafer Alston will do against Mo Williams. Both point guards have a very similar style which certainly will fuel the motivation on both sides. In contrast, the Magic have better three point shooters than the Cavaliers but again it remains to be seen how much their percentage will drop due to Cleveland’s excellent perimeter defense.

 

However, regardless of the outcome of all of these match-ups there is one factor that single handedly could decide the series. LeBron ‘King’ James has shown over and over that there is no real defensive option to stop him. Averaging 32.9 points, 9.8 rebounds and 6.8 assists in the post-season James has simply been amazing. All the Magic can do is contest his jump shots and hope he misses more than he makes. Likewise, the audience can expect LeBron to drive to the paint frequently which might cause problems for the foul-prone Dwight Howard.

 

 

You can watch game one of the NBA Eastern Conference finals right here on www.watchlivenba.com, the home of live NBA streaming. Coming off a huge road win in game seven at TD Boston Garden versus the Celtics, the Magic will now have to face the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Thursday.

 

Tags: Orlando Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers, Eastern Conference, live NBA streaming, Cavaliers, LeBron James, Hedo Turkoglu, Boston Celtics, Rafer Alston