It's time for coach Stan Van Gundy to re-teach that lesson about how to be successful on the road.
The Magic are the only team in the league to win more games on the road (27) than at home (25) this season, hoping to rediscover the secret before Game 3 of their first-round playoff series against the Toronto Raptors on Saturday. The Magic, 2-1 in this series, were crushed in Toronto on Thursday after winning twice back in Orlando.
The Magic set a franchise record for road victories, eclipsing the 25 that they won during that 1995-96 season when they finished with 60 regular-season victories.
Because they hold the home-court advantage, the Magic can win this series without a road victory, but it sure would be easier if they could win Saturday in Toronto, giving them a chance to seal the series next week in Orlando.
The Magic already won their first playoff game since 2003 -- a Game 4 win over Detroit in the first round -- and now they are hoping to win their first playoff series since 1996.
RAPTORS 108, MAGIC 94: The Raptors turned the tables on the Magic Thursday, getting the fast start they had been missing, then riding it to a relatively easy victory to win Game 3 in their first-round playoff series.
The Magic still lead the best-of-seven series, 2-1, but the Raptors have discovered how they can win.
Point guard T.J. Ford led Toronto with 21 points and backup Jose Calderon added 18 to give them a huge lift from the backcourt, which had been dominated in the first two games.
The Magic were led by Hedo Turkoglu with 26 points, but he failed to hit a three-point shot. Dwight Howard had 19 points and 12 rebounds. Rashard Lewis also had 19 points.
The Raptors led by 13 points in the first quarter and by as many as 23 points late in the second period. The Magic were uncharacteristically poor from three-point range, where they made only six of 27 shots.
