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Sportsbook.com Line/Total for the Hawks-Magic: Orlando -9 & 183.5 for Game 2 of the 2011 NBA Playoffs.
Saturday night Dwight Howard showed the basketball world how prolific an offensive force he can be when he is at the top of his game, as he scored 46 of his team’s 93 points, tying his career high. Monday Howard showed how much of a beast he still is defensively, as he was named NBA defensive player of the year for the third straight season. Accolades notwithstanding, if Howard’s teammates cannot show what type of supporting cast they can be come Tuesday night, the Magic could be looking down the barrel of an 0-2 hole if they’re not careful.
Atlanta defeated Orlando 103-93 in Game 1 of this series despite allowing Dwight Howard to score 46 points and Jameer Nelson to score 27—the key was that the Hawks shut down the rest of the Magic shooters, as no other Orlando player had more than six points. In fact, Atlanta’s Jamal Crawford came off the bench to score 23 points for the Hawks, and by himself outscored the rest of the Magic squad, 23-20. Howard and Nelson combined to shoot 26-for-41 (63%) from the field, the rest of the team shot 8-for-34 (24%). Atlanta, meanwhile was led by Joe Johnson’s 25 points.
Saturday marked a profound turnaround for an Atlanta team that lost its final six games of the regular season. Amidst the losing streak the Hawks began to resemble the team that got swept by Orlando in last year’s Eastern Conference semifinals by an average margin of more than 25 points.
"We understood that we played this team four times this year and we won three of them,” Johnson said. “We're a confident group. I think the last six games of the season people kind of looked down on us because we lost all six. But now we have a plan. It's coming to fruition and we just have to go out and play together."
A key part of the formula for success when Atlanta has defeated Orlando this year has been on the defensive end of the floor. In the three regular season wins over the Magic the Hawks suffocated Stan Van Gundy’s team, holding them to 41.6%, 35.2% and 37.8% shooting from the floor. Also in those victories, the Hawks held an overall +15 rebounding advantage in the three games, being out rebounded only once.
Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
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