Magic at Raptors
The Orlando Magic posted a stunning upset in the series opener behind an unlikely hero and now look to take a 2-0 lead when they visit the second-seeded Toronto Raptors on Tuesday. Veteran point guard D.J. Augustin drained the winning 3-pointer with 3.4 seconds left in Game 1 as seventh-seeded Orlando recorded a 104-101 win in the Eastern Conference first-round matchup.
The Magic can really make things interesting with a second straight upset and Game 1 star Augustin wasn't willing to accept a lot of plaudits. "Honestly, man, I’ve been in this league a long time," Augustin told reporters. "I’ve played great a lot of years and I’ve had some success, but none of that (adulation) matters to me no more until the team wins. Nothing matters in this league if you don’t win and it’s all about winning. Now that we’re winning, it feels amazing and winning is all I really care about." The Raptors were confused on the decisive play as neither small forward Kawhi Leonard nor center Marc Gasol made a move to contest Augustin's shot and the end result was a surprising setback. "It was a mistake made on that play," Gasol told reporters of the missed assignment. "We miscommunicated and he made a good shot."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT, FS Florida (Orlando), TSN (Toronto)
ABOUT THE MAGIC: The 31-year-old Augustin was 9-of-13 shooting - including 4-of-5 from 3-point range - while pouring in 25 points in the opener. Augustin topped that output just twice in the regular season - both times in the last week of December - but nonetheless he was ready, willing and able to take the crucial shot and could see it was on target. "Oh yeah, I knew it when I shot it," Augustin said after the victory. "When I saw it going toward the rim, I knew it and that’s why I started running back the way that I did. I’m just happy it went in - that’s all that matters."
ABOUT THE RAPTORS: Toronto is used to facing pivotal games as it dropped to 2-14 in Game 1s in its playoff history but Leonard isn't much interested in the franchise's patterns. "It's the playoffs, you're going to go up and down," Leonard told reporters afterward. "Towards the end of the game, they made their shots in the corner, and we missed some shots down the stretch." Leonard scored 25 points in his first playoff outing with the Raptors, while forward Pascal Siakam also stood out with 24 points and nine rebounds.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Raptors PG Kyle Lowry missed all seven of his shots - six from 3-point range - while going scoreless in the opener.
2. All-Star C Nikola Vucevic (3-of-14), PF Aaron Gordon (3-of-10) and reserve swingman Terrence Ross (2-of-11) all shot poorly for Orlando in Game 1.
3. Toronto SF OG Anunoby (emergency appendectomy) will miss the entire series.