Magic Closes Doors On Boston, Garden

The Orlando Magic made the 67-year-old Boston Garden a thing of the NBA’s past Friday night. Now some nagging questions about them are a thing of the past, too.

They hadn’t won a playoff series. They couldn’t win on the road.

With a 95-92 victory over the Boston Celtics, Orlando claimed its first playoff series in franchise history. And the Magic did it by winning two games at one of the toughest venues in pro sports.

“This building is the best building in the history of basketball,” Magic guard Anfernee Hardaway said. “This will go a long way, because we were the last team to win here.”

Now comes the meeting everyone wants to see: Bulls vs. Magic, Michael vs. Shaq. The Eastern Conference semifinal series begins Sunday at Orlando, with a 2:30 p.m. PDT tipoff.

“We still have a long way to go,” said Horace Grant, who left the Bulls to join the Magic this season. “I never want to compare this team to a Chicago team, but we still have so much to learn.”

The Magic will be in the Eastern Conference semifinals not because of Shaquille O’Neal, who had 25 points and 13 rebounds, but because of Grant’s steady play. Grant had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and his two free throws with 15.3 seconds left sealed Orlando’s victory.

“I wanted to be in that position and lead the team,” he said.

The Magic held onto a slim lead most of the fourth quarter until Sherman Douglas hit an off-balance 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down and 2:37 to play, putting Boston ahead 91-90. Hardaway drove the lane and took a pass from O’Neal to move the Magic back into the lead.

With a chance to tie the game with 16.2 seconds left, Dominique Wilkins missed the second of two free throws.

After Wilkins’ miss, Dino Radja fouled Grant going for the rebound.

In the end, the fans didn’t want to leave. A few hundred stormed the floor after the game, overwhelming a small group of police officers. They swarmed to center court, trying to kiss the leprechaun painted on the parquet floor.

ORLANDO (95)

Royal 2-3 0-0 4, Grant 9-15 5-6 23, O’Neal 9-15 7-13 25, Hardaway 4-11 2-6 10, Anderson 3-5 1-2 8, Rollins 0-0 0-0 0, Scott 6-11 0-0 14, Shaw 2-4 4-6 8, Turner 1-3 0-0 3, Bowie 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 36-70 19-33 95.

BOSTON (92)

Wilkins 7-17 6-8 22, Radja 7-16 3-6 17, Montross 1-2 0-0 2, Brown 6-14 3-3 18, Douglas 9-22 1-2 21, Ellison 1-1 0-0 2, McDaniel 2-4 2-2 6, Strong 2-5 0-0 4, Minor 0-1 0-0 0.Totals 35-82 15-21 92.

Orlando 24 30 19 22 - 95 Boston 19 27 26 20 - 92

3-Point goals-Orlando 4-9 (Scott 2-2, Anderson 1-1, Turner 1-2, Shaw 0-1, Hardaway 0-3), Boston 7-17 (Brown 3-8, Douglas 2-4, Wilkins 2-5). Fouled out-Brown. Rebounds-Orlando 45 (O’Neal 13), Boston 56 (Wilkins 18). Assists-Orlando 23 (Hardaway 13), Boston 19 (Douglas, Brown 5). Total fouls- Orlando 20, Boston 25. Technicals-Hardaway. Flagrant fouls- Radja. A-14,890 (14,890).

Rockets 123, Jazz 106

Houston Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler showed Utah there is still some clutch left in the “Clutch City” Houston Rockets.

For the third time in NBA playoff history, teammates scored 40 points as Drexler hit 41 and Olajuwon 40 to let the Rockets stave off first-round playoff elimination and tie the series 2-2.

The final game of the series will be played Sunday at Salt Lake City.

A boisterous sellout crowd waved “Clutch City 95” banners as the Rockets took charge early, with Olajuwon scoring a club-record 18 points in the first quarter.

Olajuwon used his full repertoire, hitting jumpers, turnarounds and a jump hook in the first half. Then Drexler, who had two points in the first quarter, took over, scoring 12 second-quarter points as the Rockets ran to a 67-51 halftime lead.

UTAH (106)

Benoit 8-12 1-3 20, Malone 7-17 17-21 31, Donaldson 0-0 2-2 2, Hornacek 5-10 0-0 11, Stockton 11-18 3-4 26, Watson 0-1 0-0 0, Carr 2-4 4-5 8, Chambers 2-3 0-0 4, Edwards 0-1 0-0 0, Crotty 0-1 0-0 0, Keefe 0-1 0-0 0, Russell 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 37-72 27-35 106.

HOUSTON (123)

Chilcutt 0-0 0-0 0, Horry 1-5 2-2 4, Olajuwon 14-22 12-15 40, Drexler 12-18 13-14 41, Smith 4-8 3-3 13, Elie 3-5 4-4 10, Herrera 1-1 0-0 2, Cassell 2-4 1-1 6, Brown 2-4 3-6 7, Jones 0-1 0-2 0, Tabak 0-0 0-0 0.Totals 39-68 38-47 123.

Utah 27 26 25 28 - 106 Houston 32 35 32 24 - 123

3-Point goals-Utah 5-12 (Benoit 3-6, Hornacek 1-1, Stockton 1-3, Russell 0-2), Houston 7-20 (Drexler 4-8, Smith 2-5, Cassell 1-2, Jones 0-1, Elie 0-2, Horry 0-2). Technical-Houston illegal defense. Fouled out-Carr. Rebounds-Utah 34 (Benoit 7), Houston 47 (Drexler 9). Assists-Utah 23 (Stockton 11), Houston 24 (Drexler, Smith 6). Total fouls-Utah 31, Houston 26. A-16,611 (16,611).