The Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers knew what faced them as they entered Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals.
Lose and their team would be imprisoned by the odds, 31 of the last 35 Game 5 playoff winners going on to victory, the loser facing a virtual playoff prison with the only escape being two straight wins to move on to the NBA Finals.
And that’s what faces the Pacers now after the Magic, led by Shaquille O’Neal’s 35 points and 13 rebounds, and 15 points and three three-pointers off the bench from Brian Shaw, held on to defeat the Pacers 108-106 and take a 3-2 lead in the series.
Game 6 is in Indianapolis Friday.
“That was the Shaw-Shaq redemption,” said Shaw, who helped hold the Magic together in the fourth quarter as the Pacers closed a 104-90 Magic lead with 4:19 left to 106-103 with five seconds left when Mark Jackson missed a potential tying three-pointer.
“I had a good look; it looked good, it felt good, it just didn’t drop,” said Jackson, who had 19 points and 11 rebounds to complement three Pacers with at least 20: Reggie Miller and Derrick McKey with 21 and Rik Smits with 20 in just 28 foul-plagued minutes.
So now the Magic move on to Indianapolis, where they’ve lost eight straight.
“During the season, Indiana handled us pretty well there,” noted Shaw. “In the last two in Market Square, we closed the gap a little. We’re getting closer and closer.”
“But when Shaq comes out and plays aggressive like that and makes Smits play defense,” added Shaw about Wednesday’s key, “it puts pressure on them to double-team and opens up the perimeter guys.”
That was crucial as the Magic remarkably shot better than 50 percent against the Pacers for the fifth straight game. Nick Anderson returned to being aggressive and added 19 points for the Magic.
But it was O’Neal who broke out for the Magic after early foul trouble in the games in Indianapolis.
“I was mad, very upset,” said O’Neal. “I was just looking to go out and dominate and play hard. I just wanted to stay aggressive and if they doubled, kick the ball out to guys like Nick and Brian and Dennis (Scott). If they’re hitting their shots, we should win.”
They weren’t in the first quarter as the Pacers, slowing the game by working a deliberate offense and getting 10 points each from McKey and Smits, took a 28-16 lead. But the Magic, playing nervous, closed within 32-26 after one when Shaw hit a three-pointer and a jumper.
“The end of the first quarter really hurt,” said Pacers coach Larry Brown. “We had a chance to really put a dent in them, but when they got it to six at the end of the quarter, they started to play at a high level.”
That included a 14-1 run extending into the beginning of the second quarter as Smits played just one minute in the quarter and the Magic outscored the Pacers 32-18 to take a 58-50 halftime lead.
“Rik certainly didn’t get to play a lot, and that hurt,” said Brown, who had complained about a lack of fouls on O’Neal in the first two games, after which the Magic complained about too many fouls on O’Neal in the next two games. “I guess you’re supposed to chirp in the newspaper. I just want Rik to get the same consideration as anyone else. And if you think he’s getting consideration, then I’m on a totally different planet.”
The Magic seemed to be on their own in the third quarter as they seemed to bust the game open behind consecutive Anderson three-pointers and four times took 15-point leads. And when Shaw threw in a three-pointer off the backboard on a lob pass aimed at O’Neal with six minutes left, it seemed the Magic’s 99-88 lead would be enough.
But the Pacers hit the Magic with a 10-0 run, and Orlando missed eight of 10 free throws, including four by O’Neal, giving the Pacers a chance for one more miracle finish in this wild series.
“I guess it’s going to go down to the wire,” said Miller. “Both teams keep throwing jabs and the other throws a counter jab. Now it’s a two-game series and they’ve got two chances to win one. We cannot lose. So that puts a lot of importance on Friday.”
