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Big-time backcourt Allen, Cassell lead Bucks into conference semis
Updated: Wednesday May 02, 2001 8:18 AM
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- The Milwaukee Bucks won't give themselves much time to enjoy their first NBA playoff series victory in 12 years. Ray Allen scored 26 points and Sam Cassell had 14 of his 25 points in the third quarter as the Bucks defeated Orlando 112-104 Tuesday night to win their first-round series 3-1. "We have a day, maybe, to celebrate, but we're hoping to make this a beginning, not a celebration," Milwaukee head coach George Karl said. The Bucks, who hadn't won an NBA playoff series since 1989, advanced to face Charlotte in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Hornets swept favored Miami in the first round. The Magic were led by 25 points from Tracy McGrady, who set an NBA playoff record for a four-game series with 123 field-goal attempts. Rookie guard Mike Miller broke out of his shooting slump to score 22 points. Milwaukee, the league's second-highest scoring team in the regular season, entered Game 4 shooting only 41 percent from the field. But the Bucks scored 75 points in the second and third quarters behind 56.1 percent shooting (23-for-41) to take control. "We are not a fast, athletic, speed team, but we are a fast-shooting team, and that's how we like to play," Karl said. "It's been a lesson on my part, learning to accept some of the crazy shots we take, but that's what we do well."
Orlando head coach Doc Rivers said he knew his team was in trouble early when the Magic built a double-digit lead in the second quarter. "I really thought if we kept playing at that pace, it was going to come back and haunt us," said Rivers, who was in his first playoff series as a head coach. "When you play at that pace against a team like the Bucks, you are saying that we are going to try to outgun you -- and you can not outgun them." The Bucks took the lead for good in the third quarter behind Cassell's two 3-pointers, which started and ended a 10-2 run to open the second half, giving Milwaukee a 67-63 advantage. Cassell later had six consecutive points, beating Darrell Armstrong, as the Bucks went ahead 82-75 after the Magic rallied to take a two-point lead. Keeping the Magic from disaster during the Bucks' outburst was, as usual, McGrady, who averaged 33.8 points in the series. He had 13 points in the quarter, including five consecutive on a three-point play and a jumper to cut Orlando's deficit to 90-87 with 2:38 left. "He's a talented player, and we don't have a mechanism to disrupt him like maybe some of the other teams do," Karl said. But Milwaukee ended the period with a 7-0 run for a 97-87 advantage, and Orlando never got closer than seven points in the fourth quarter.
McGrady blamed fatigue for his fade down the stretch. He missed all four of his shots in the final quarter. "I came to the sideline after the first timeout and my legs were just gone, shot," McGrady said. "I felt like I was running in cement. I knew it was going to be a long night for me." Milwaukee, down 16 points in the second quarter, closed within four points at intermission with 8-0 and 9-2 runs. Tim Thomas had 10 of his 15 points in the period, and Allen added nine. Orlando broke out to its largest lead of the series early in the second quarter on Michael Doleac's dunk off a steal and coast-to-coast breakaway. That put the Magic ahead 40-24 with 10:46 before halftime. Orlando's backcourt depth, already hurt by the one-game suspension of Dee Brown, took another blow when reserve point guard Troy Hudson sprained his ankle in the second quarter and didn't return. Hudson had six points and two assists in eight minutes before leaving the game. Brown had to sit out the game as punishment for leaving the bench during a brief scuffle in Game 3 on Saturday night. Everything was falling for the Magic in the opening minutes as they hit 12 of their first 18 shots en route to a 29-18 lead with 3:09 left in the first period. "We were shell-shocked to start the game," Allen said. Miller, who entered the game averaging 8.7 points on 33.3 percent shooting, was 4-for-5 in the opening period and scored nine points.
Notes: The previous record for field goals attempted in a
four-game series was 116, set by Houston's Hakeem Olajuwon during
the 1995 NBA Finals against Orlando. ... Milwaukee's last playoff
series victory in 1989 came in four games against the Atlanta
Hawks. The Bucks then were swept by the Detroit Pistons, who went
on to capture the NBA title. ... Orlando's Bo Outlaw had eight
rebounds in the first quarter, but only four afterward. ... Darvin
Ham started at power forward for Milwaukee, with Scott Williams
moving to center. Mark Pope, who started the three previous games
at center, didn't play. ... Former NBA center Artis Gilmore and
lightweight world boxing champion Roy Jones Jr. were among the
sellout crowd of 17,248.
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