The Magic advanced to their second consecutive conference semifinals with a surprising 114-89 rout at the Wachovia Center in Game Six on Thursday night.
I thought Orlando would need a very focused and energized effort to pick up the win. And even then it would be a close game.
That prediction could not be more wrong as the Magic blitzed the 76ers from the beginning. They took a 30-15 lead after one quarter thanks to some nice hustle plays from Marcin Gortat and a great scoring effort from Rashard Lewis.
Lewis finished with 29 points and seven rebounds. Gortat had 11 points and 15 rebounds in Dwight Howard's place. The big news was how Rafer Alston and JJ Redick stepped up. Alston scored 21 points and dished out 10 assists and Redick added 15 points.
This was by far the Magic's most complete offensive effort. They shot better than 50 percent and hit 12 3-pointers in scoring more than 100 points for the first time all series.
Orlando worked hard without Howard and even played decent defense. Andre Miller scored 24 points and Andre Iguodala had 20 points but the team shot only 40 percent.
The Magic took care of business Thursday night. They finally played like the team that won 59 games this season.
The offense has definitely took the turn for the better in the last two games this series. It will be interesting to see how things carry over during the break before the second round.
Orlando pulled through in this series and got the job done. That is the bottom line.
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