Rockets, Raptors, Wizards find new life

by Mike Kahn

Updated: April 26, 2008, 3:10 PM EST 552 comments

Take a long gaze at the Orlando Magic.

And just for good measure, toss in the Utah Jazz coming home 2-0 feeling too fine.

It was a rude awakening for all three teams Thursday night, as they set themselves up to fall into halved series over the weekend with crushing Game 3 losses. The Magic went to Toronto and never seriously threatened the Raptors during a 108-94 loss, while the Cavs suffered an even more significant indignity traveling to Washington for a 108-72 roasting at the hands of the Wizards. Meanwhile, the Jazz looked tied in knots all night, unable to withstand a limited Houston Rockets team in a 94-92 loss.

Hats off to Rockets guard Rafer Alston, sidelined with a strained hamstring since April 13. He hit a trio of 3-pointers to start the game, and removed pressure from struggling star Tracy McGrady. The result was Alston finishing with 20 points, and McGrady scoring seven of his team-high 27 points in a 68-second span during the final minutes as the Rockets took a seven-point lead. But a pair of 3-pointers from Kyle Korver and Mehmet Okur cut the margin to one, and McGrady's jumper with 20 seconds left missed badly.

But Jazz guard Deron Williams, superb all night and the scoring leader with 28, drove the lane and had his shot blocked by Carl Landry. Landry, who lost a tooth early in the game thanks to an errant elbow, had 11 rebounds and seven points. He was intentionally fouled after the block, sank a free throw with two-tenths of a second left and that was it. To put into perspective how bad the Jazz frontcourt was offensively, they were 4-of-17 from the field and 3-for-9 from the free throw line in the first half. Williams was 6-of-9 from the field before intermission and everybody else was 9-of-29. Those numbers, along with the great toughness of the Rockets front court, told the story of this game.

In Toronto, you have to give Raptors coach Sam Mitchell credit for changing up the game plan away from 7-footer Rasho Nesterovic trying to handle Orlando's monster center, Dwight Howard. Instead he inserted athletic rookie forward Jamario Moon into the starting lineup, slid perimeter 7-footer Andrea Bargnani to center to open up the floor, and the Raptors were off to the races, opening up a 23-point lead in the first half. Only on the first possession of the fourth quarter did the Magic cut the margin under double figures, and it was never close again.

Raptors point guard T.J. Ford bounced back from 2-for-17 in the first two games to lead the Raptors with 21 points, while backup point Jose Calderon added 18 and Moon's energy produced 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Midway through the second period, Howard was 6-of-9 from the field, while everybody else was 5-of-21. Howard, who became the first player since Nate Thurmond in 1969 to record back-to-back 20-20 games in the playoffs, did finish with 19 points and 12 rebounds, but the double-teams from the quicker lineup led by Moon forced him into six turnovers. And the 28 points from Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis' 18 provided much too little and were far too late to make a difference.

Things were even worse for the Cavaliers. The Wizards inserted injured point guard Gilbert Arenas into the starting lineup, and he provided an emotional boost to get things going for the Wizards, who had lost eight consecutive playoff games to the Cavs over the past three seasons. It jump-started them, but it wasn't until Arenas took his surgically repaired left knee (that is now bruised) to the bench for good late in the quarter — replaced by Antonio Daniels — that the Wizards exploded.

Daniels greatly enhanced the defense, and seven players had eight points or more. The Cavs had turned the ball over only 19 times in the first two games combined, but they handed the ball to the Wizards 15 times in the first half alone Thursday night — finishing the game with 23. LeBron James' 22 points and the 10 from reserve Devin Brown represented the only Cavs in double figures. They were 2-of-16 from 3-point range, shot .397 from the field and .522 from the free-throw line.

Point guards Delonte West and Daniel Gibson looked like lost little waifs among giants on the floor, making just 3-of-9 field goals with eight turnovers combined. And when they weren't turning the ball over themselves, they were putting the ball into situations where teammates were trapped into giving it up. Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who played so well in the first two games averaging 19 points and 10 rebounds, was just as bad with 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 turnovers.

To their credit, the frontcourt of All-Stars Caron Butler (17), Antawn Jamison (15) and Brendan Haywood (14) controlled the game, while DeShawn Stevenson (19, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range), Roger Mason (18) and Daniels (9 points and 6 assists) never let down. While they were plus-1 with Arenas in the game, they were plus-35 without him and it reinforced how much better their offense is when he's not dominating the ball so much.

Defensively they discovered how discombobulated the Cavs have been away from Cleveland since their big mid-season trade that brought Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak and West. While they are 13-4 at home, they now are 3-10 on the road. Not even a superstar like LeBron can save this team if nobody else is on board ... which was obvious on Thursday.

The Magic players weren't quite as lost at Toronto, but they were in the ballpark. To be sure, both teams were humbled. As for the Jazz, only time will tell if everyone will be tight as a drum — except Williams — as they were Thursday night.

Over the weekend, we'll find out if they actually have a clue about what went wrong.

Quotebook

What a difference Rafer Alston makes for the Rockets. (Jonathan Ferrey / Getty Images)

Rockets coach Rick Adelman on Tracy McGrady, who was scoreless in the fourth quarter until the final three minutes: "He made some good decisions. He did. He's the guy. He's the guy we need down the stretch, whether it's a pass or it's a shot."

The stud

Rockets guard Rafer Alston returned from two weeks off with a strained hamstring, hit 4-of-8 from 3-point range and scored 20 points with 5 assists and just 1 turnover in 35 minutes.

The dud

Magic guard Jameer Nelson, who averaged 21 points as they went up 2-0 in their series, had just 6 points on 2-of-8 shooting in their Game 3 loss.

Statbook

The Jazz now have lost five games at home all season out of 42, but two of those losses are to the Rockets. ... The Wizards became the first team in playoff history to lose by at least 30, then come back and win by at least 30 in the next game. ... The Magic have lost 7-of-8 in Toronto since Dwight Howard was drafted. ... The Raptors were outrebounded by an average of 7.5 in the first two games with their big lineup, but won the battle 42-34 with the smaller, quicker lineup Thursday night. ... Raptors hired gun Jason Kapono is 11-of-18 from 3-point range in the series, averaging 17.8 points off the bench. ... Shooting guard Maurice Evans averaged 11.5 points for the Magic in the first two games and was scoreless Thursday night. ... Hedo Turkoglu was 12-of-13 from the free throw line for the Magic, who were 20-of-27, while the Raptors were 12-of-14 as a team. ... Andray Blatche is an interesting young big man to watch for the Wizards, contributing 8 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks Thursday, following up 9 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks in Game 2. ... While James had 22 to lead the Cavs, the other four starters totaled 27 points on 10-of-26 shooting.

Friday's games

If the collapse by the Cavaliers and Magic in Game 3 on the road is any indication of how other teams are going to react to going up 2-0, then maybe we'll have something interesting going on here tonight.

The Detroit Pistons already had their comeuppance in a Game 1 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, while the San Antonio Spurs came from behind to beat the Phoenix Suns twice and the New Orleans Hornets just overwhelmed the Dallas Mavericks in the second half of Game 1 and all of Game 2.

Then again, as we found out Thursday night, the entire tenet of a series can be altered dramatically when the two teams change venues.

Pistons at Sixers, Game 3

Series: Tied 1-1.

The Game 1 loss took a lot of the arrogance out of the Pistons' heads, and they played much better in Game 2 — utilizing their superior experience and exceptional starting lineup, and that's precisely what they have to do in Game 3 and the rest of the series. As long as they keep their heads on straight, Philly won't win. But if coach Maurice Cheeks' young Sixers can successfully pressure the Pistons into turnovers and use their speed, they've got a chance to cause more damage. Andre Iguodala must be effective for the Sixers to have any chance — particularly after a 1-for-9, 4-point effort in Game 2.

Hornets at Mavs, Game 3

Series: Hornets lead 2-0.

Nobody believed in the Hornets going into this series, even with them finishing with the second seed and just one game behind the Lakers for the top spot in the West. But they must sustain their rapid-fire tempo behind All-Star point guard Chris Paul, and not be intimidated by the raucous crowd on the road. They've never won in the American Airlines Center in 11 tries, and have lost 13 in a row in Dallas overall dating back to January of 1998 for their last win there. On the flip side, the Mavericks have to figure out how to defend Paul, who has had absolute control of the two games averaging 33.5 points and 13.5 assists in the two games, plus get more offensive productivity out of Josh Howard (7-of-26) and virtually anybody else to help Dirk Nowitzki.

Spurs at Suns, Game 3

Series: Spurs lead 2-0.

The best game of the playoffs so far was the Spurs' double-overtime win in Game 1. But in a lot of ways, the Suns' inability to hold the lead and establish any semblance of perimeter defense then and in Game 2 is the difference in the series. Coach Mike D'Antoni must figure out a way for his Suns to defend Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili or this series is over. The deal that brought Shaquille O'Neal to the Suns has made a difference in defending Tim Duncan, and opened up plenty of room for Amare Stoudemire, but for some reason Stoudemire and Steve Nash shut down in Game 2. Defense and continuity from Nash and Stoudemire can get the Suns back into this series.