Squad of Superheroes Sets Suns
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March 4, 2009
ORLANDO -- The Tuesday night battle between the Orlando Magic and Phoenix Suns was billed under a number of names.
The Soiree between Supermen.
The Men of Steel matchup.
The Magic Man against the Big Cactus.
Or more simply Dwight Howard vs. Shaquille O'Neal.
But although the two All-Star centers provided low-post play that more closely resembled continental plates colliding than NBA basketball, the decisive moments of Orlando’s 111-99 home victory over Phoenix were decided by the other members of the Magic’s Justice League.
Rashard Lewis, nicknamed Eagle Eye for his ability to see the basket from long range, erupted for 11 points in the fourth quarter, including a game-clinching trey with less than three minutes left.
“He was clutch all night and that was big for us,” newly acquired guard Rafer Alston said. “But down the stretch we saw them rotating on us and we were able to swing it to a guy – a big guy at that – to step out and hit the three. He’s capable.”
The All-Star forward also capitalized on the battle between two of the league’s biggest behemoths by grabbing a season-high 12 rebounds when the immovable objects canceled each other out.
“I knew that Dwight and Shaq were wrestling each other all night so somebody had to go grab them,” Lewis said about the loose balls flowing his way. “They couldn’t get them so I saw those two tangled up and I wanted to crash the boards a little bit more and take the load off of Dwight.”
The Magic also got help from Courtney Lee – aka Rook – who put his young legs on display and came up with three late hustle plays for the Magic that swung the momentum in their favor.
“I thought Courtney Lee made two great defensive plays – he got the steal on the pass to Shaq in the paint over the top, he got the blocked shot on (Leandro) Barbosa and then he had the tip-in at the other end; three huge plays for a young guy out there in a big game,” Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy said during his postgame press conference.
Yet it wasn’t just the starters that helped the Magic cast away the Suns.
With Howard in foul trouble throughout the first half, reserve center Marcin Gortat, nicknamed the Polish Hammer for his thunderous throwdowns, posted six of his eight points in the second quarter to help Orlando climb back from an eight-point deficit and knot the game up at the break.
“We were down a few points and we came in and played with some good energy,” role player Anthony Johnson said. “That is the note of a good team; having guys like (Marcin) come off the bench and picking up the starters when things aren’t going as well as they would like. We stepped in, did our part and got us the lead.”
But even though the lesser known members of the Orlando’s superhero squad deserve a great deal of credit for the victory, Howard certainly was an instrumental part of the Magic’s second-half success.
After falling into foul trouble early in the first half and looking hesitant on a number of possessions, Howard found his groove in the second session.
The Magic’s Superman put up 17 of his 21 points after the break to help Orlando pull away and exile the man who bears the same nickname.
“I thought once he got in, in the second half and got a chance to play a little bit, he got some rhythm and played very, very well,” Van Gundy said.
In the mind of his teammates he erased any doubts of who holds the title for the Superman of all centers.
“I got to be honest with you, when (Shaq) stepped onto the court, (I thought) this dude is huge,” Gortat said. “I just realized that I’ve got to go home and eat like five chickens and put a lot of weight on. It’s going to take a couple months, but seriously. There was the first contact and I’ve got to say, I’ve got a lot of respect for him, but he’s getting old. I can’t compare him to Dwight because Dwight is No. 1 right now.”
If there’s anyone in the league who bears the merits to judge such a competition, it would be Gortat. He played over 18 minutes against Shaq on Tuesday and battles Howard every day in practice.
“When I’m getting hit from Dwight I just feel, if I get hit on my left shoulder, I feel it in my right finger,” Gortat claimed. “You can’t really compare those two right now. Dwight is (superior) to Shaquille O’Neal right now. Even though Shaq is huge and big and dominated a lot, Dwight is right now No. 1.”
By the end of the night, Howard had worn down O’Neal to the point where he forced him to do something he claimed he would never do; start flopping.
“I was shocked, seriously shocked and very disappointed because he knows what it’s like,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said of O’Neal’s decision to drop to the floor. “Let’s stand up and play like men, and I think our guy did that tonight.”
While Howard certainly looked like a man on a mission Tuesday, so did the rest of the squad. As the Magic’s All-Star center pointed out after the game, “there’s a little superhero in all of us.”
