WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES!

As we all sit patiently & responsibly at home to prevent the spread of Coronavirus there are many things we are all going to be missing. For me one of those is sport & particularly watching Magic basketball. We all await hearing what the future of this 2019-20 NBA season is but safety & wellbeing must be the first & over riding concern in any decision.

The Hiatus

The Orlando Magic last played 4 weeks ago on March 10th winning on the road 120-115 against the Memphis Grizzlies, overcoming a 17 point deficit along the way. The Magic should have been in New York tomorrow night to play the Knicks on what would have been game day 78 of 82. At the point the season was suspended the Magic had a 30-35 record & sat 8th in the Eastern Conference. We were locked in a tight battle with the Nets for the 7th seed, both teams having won a 3 consecutive games.

Victory In Boston

Looking back 12 months to this date, April 7th & the Magic were headed to Boston to take on the Celtics in game 81 of the season. By the final buzzer the Magic had clinched a playoff berth & the Southeast Division title. The game was tight from the start, having 18 lead changes & 11 score ties before with 4:09 left in the 3rd quarter the Magic took a lead that we would hold the rest of the way.

Doggedly, Boston fought us to the end but we closed the game on a 10-2 run & took the W by 116-108. Terrence Ross led us with 26 points, hitting 14 in the 4th quarter. Nikola Vucevic contributed 25 points (going 12 of 22 shooting), whilst grabbing 12 rebounds & making 2 blocks in the victory. Kyrie Irving led the Celtics with 23 points, along with 5 rebounds & 6 assists. With the win Orlando improved to 41-40 & swept the Celtics on the season 3-0.

Clinched!

That game saw our return to the playoffs after a 6 season absence. I remember watching & the excitement I felt, not just for the performance or the win but knowing that the next morning I was going to be arranging flights to Orlando so we could be there for games 3 & 4.

At this time & or at some point in the future (if the season somehow resumes) I’d love to be posting “CLINCHED” & “BLUE & WHITE IGNITE” again.