|
CHINA> Sports
![]() |
|
Related
It's Magic: Orlando makes Kobe-LeBron disappear
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-05-31 13:24 ORLANDO, Fla. - Overlooked and begging for respect all season, the Orlando Magic can no longer be ignored. After 14 frustrating years, they've returned to the NBA finals. Dwight Howard dominated inside for 40 points, Rashard Lewis added 18 and the Magic, a team that can make 3-pointers drop from thin air, hit 12 in a 103-90 victory over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday night.
"Total domination," Lewis said. "He totally dominated the game. He carried us on his back tonight." The Magic will be making their first finals appearance since 1995, one year before Shaquille O'Neal bolted as a free agent for Los Angeles, leaving this Florida franchise in ruins. It's been a long, slow climb back, but Orlando has been rebuilt and will meet the Lakers on Thursday night at the Staples Center in Game 1. Disney World vs. Disneyland.
Oh, and memo to Nike executives: It's time to break out the Howard puppet. LeBron's can go in summer storage. For now, the only matchup between James and Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant will have to be limited to those cute TV commercials. The Magic made them irrelevant. With the city's most famous athlete, Tiger Woods, sitting courtside, Orlando made believers of all those who wondered if they were better than the Cavaliers, a team that won 66 games in the regular season, or the defending champion Boston Celtics. The Magic made both disappear in the postseason. James scored 25 in his worst game of the series, but the 24-year-old was magnificent for most of it, adding to a legacy still in its infancy. But the league MVP had to do most of it alone, as Mo Williams lost his shooting touch and Cleveland's bench was badly outplayed by Orlando's reserves. Delonte West added 22 and Williams 17 for Cleveland, which went 0-5 in Orlando. During the closing minutes, James was mocked by Orlando's crowd singing "M-V-P" as Howard shot free throws. And after Superman muscled underneath for a thunderous dunk with 2:21 left, the crowd moved into finals mode chanting, "Beat L.A.!" |
垫江县| 扶风县| 武冈市| 永平县| 丘北县| 肇庆市| 凤阳县| 灵丘县| 普安县| 瑞金市| 天津市| 铁岭市| 山丹县| 孟津县| 靖州| 夏津县| 苏州市| 贡嘎县| 邓州市| 密云县| 汕头市| 宿迁市| 纳雍县| 顺义区| 靖安县| 兰州市| 集安市| 乐陵市| 陆良县| 黔西| 德州市| 靖远县| 富裕县| 博爱县| 道孚县| 若羌县| 泰州市| 夏邑县| 湘潭县| 盐亭县| 个旧市|