Magic at Hawks
THE STORY: Tensions figure to be high when the Atlanta Hawks host the Orlando Magic in Sunday’s pivotal Game 4 of the highly competitive playoff series. Atlanta took a 2-1 lead with Friday’s 88-84 victory in a contest that featured the ejections of Orlando’s Jason Richardson and Atlanta’s Zaza Pachulia. The skirmish began after Pachulia fouled Dwight Howard late in the fourth quarter. As Richardson moved in close to Pachulia’s face, Pachulia responded with a head-butt and Richardson countered with a slap in the face. Both players have been suspended for Game 4. The most painful blow for Orlando was when Atlanta’s Jamal Crawford hit a 3-point bank shot to make it a two-possession contest with 5.7 seconds left. Crawford scored a game-high 23 points.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE MAGIC: Howard still isn’t getting enough help and had a rather pedestrian day – at least by his playoff standards – with 21 points and 15 rebounds in the Game 3 loss. Howard is averaging 33.3 points and 15.7 rebounds in the series. Orlando again struggled with its 3-point shooting, making just 8 of 28 attempts. The Magic shot 36.6 percent from beyond the arc in the regular season. Struggling guard Gilbert Arenas didn’t leave the bench after being a non-factor over the first two games. Veteran guard Quentin Richardson could be in line for extra minutes after scoring nine points on three 3-pointers in Game 3. He didn’t score in the first two games.
ABOUT THE HAWKS: Crawford has excelled in the series with three straight 20-point outings. The veteran sixth man has made 10 3-point baskets, including the dramatic one that clinched Friday’s victory. Crawford averaged 14.2 points in the regular season, his lowest average since the 2002-03 campaign. Joe Johnson scored 21 points in Game 3 and is averaging 20 points in the series. His play has been vastly improved from his performance against Orlando in last year’s playoffs, when he averaged just 12.8 points as the Magic swept the series. Center Jason Collins played just 17 minutes due to a back injury.
WHO'S HOT/WHO’S NOT: Crawford is averaging 23.7 points in the series with a high game of 25. Orlando’s Hedo Turkoglu is averaging just 8.3 points and shooting 25 percent (9 of 36) in the series.
KEY STATISTIC: Orlando guards Jameer Nelson (5 of 17), Jason Richardson (4 of 10) and J.J. Redick (3 of 8) shot a combined 34.3 percent in the Magic’s Game 3 loss.
LAST WORD: “I didn’t call ‘bank.’ The bank is closed right now. I just wanted to get to my sweet spot. I felt like it had a chance. We felt like this was the most important game of the series. The pressure is on them now.” – Crawford on his amazing 3-point basket that helped the Hawks defeat Orlando in Game 3.