Hapshoops32's Dynasty Blog
"Who's got next?" Happel, teammates celebrate after eliminating Cleveland
Cleveland, OH (AP) - The Magic leave no doubt in anyone's mind that they were the better time, blowing out Cleveland 99-66 and sweeping the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series. Orlando got off to a hot start and made sure this game was never very close. The Magic went on a 22-6 run over the final 9 minutes of the first half to take a 22 point lead into the break. From there, Orlando basically coasted, and in fact managed to stretch out the lead. The Cavaliers just couldn't get anything going, offensively. The Cavs shot just 31% from the floor. Orlando also nearly doubled up Cleveland on the boards, 61-33, and the Magic bench came through in a big way, outscoring the Cavaliers 35-6. It was complete domination from both sides of the court.
As usual, Happel was a force down low, here grabbing the rebound and dunking it
Orlando Forward Brian Happel had a monster game in the series clincher, scoring 30 points and grabbing 21 rebounds. He also picked up 2 blocks and 3 assists. While Happel was certainly happy to be moving on to the next round, he and his teammates are still keeping things in perspective, "We've gotta enjoy this as much as we can, then get ready for the next round. Winning this one was great, but the ultimate prize is still in our sights."
It was another block party in Cleveland, Happel swatting Mo Williams away
A championship seems to be a very real possibility at this point for this Orlando squad, especially after such a dominating performance. Dwight Howard was able to score 16 points and grab 14 boards. Jameer Nelson was also big off the bench, adding 10 points, and Mack Bledsoe had the game of his life to date, scoring 12 points in just 15 minutes. Orlando shot the ball much better in this one than they had for much of the series, hitting on 49% of their field goals. Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy talked about the importance of shooting the right shots, "We were much smarter about the shots we were taking tonight, and you saw that reflected in our shooting percentage. Layups, dunks and wide open jumpers are going to give you a much better chance to succeed. It's not as much about quantity as it is quality."
Happel was clutch all game, here hitting a shot to beat the shot clock in the first half
Cleveland had a much better season than most expected. They are now 2 years removed from The Decision, and the Cavs are already back and competing in the playoffs. But, tonight's game, and this series, show that Cleveland still has plenty of work to do before ending its championship drought. As for Orlando, they're the first team to move on to the next round. The Magic will get a chance to rest up while they wait for the winner of the Atlanta/Boston series, which the Hawks lead three games to one.
| Apr 22, 2012 - ORL at CLE | |||||
| TEAM | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |
| Orlando Magic (4-0) | 24 | 26 | 19 | 30 | 99 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers (0-4) | 17 | 11 | 17 | 21 | 66 |
| Orlando Magic | ||||||||||
| STARTERS | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS |
| Gilbert Arenas | 26 | 1-5 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| John Salmons | 29 | 1-3 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Brian Happel | 43 | 13-21 | 1-2 | 3-3 | 21 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 30 |
| Brandon Bass | 29 | 6-18 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 |
| Dwight Howard | 31 | 8-13 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 16 |
| BENCH | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS |
| Jameer Nelson | 25 | 4-8 | 2-5 | 0-0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 10 |
| Marcin Gortat | 20 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Mack Bledsoe | 15 | 5-8 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| DeJuan Blair | 13 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Ryan Anderson | 6 | 1-3 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Quentin Richardson | 5 | 1-3 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Chris Duhon | 4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TEAM TOTALS | 44-89 | 6-16 | 5-7 | 61 | 18 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 99 | |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | ||||||||||
| STARTERS | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS |
| M. Williams | 38 | 8-16 | 3-5 | 3-4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 22 |
| V. Carter | 39 | 4-27 | 2-11 | 0-0 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| T. Harper | 39 | 6-14 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 |
| J.J. Hickson | 40 | 7-9 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14 |
| K. Perkins | 33 | 1-8 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| BENCH | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS |
| R. Sessions | 26 | 0-5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Green | 10 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Fox | 7 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| K. Hobbs | 6 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| R. Hollins | 5 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| G. Vasquez | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Gibson | 1 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TEAM TOTALS | 28-88 | 6-20 | 4-6 | 33 | 13 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 66 | |
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