With 7:14 remaining in Tuesday night’s third quarter, the Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard drove the baseline on the Atlanta Hawks.
In games past, this is where the Hawks always wanted Howard. From that position he was often as likely to turn the ball over or charge as make an assist or basket.
But not this time. Not with the NBA playoffs in their second round. Not with the Magic coming off eight days rest while the Hawks were playing their second game in about 54 hours.
Befitting his Superman nickname, Howard took two defenders with him and zipped a pass back through the lane to the rejuvenated Vince Carter, who threw down a left-handed slam to hike the Magic’s margin to 67-41.
Three minutes after that it was 74-44. By the close of the third quarter it was 85-44. The final score was 114-71.
No wonder incomparable TBS analyst Charles Barkley noted of this series at halftime, “If (Howard) doesn’t get in foul trouble, it’s going to be a beatdown.”
Despite the Magic easily winning three of four from the Hawks during the regular season, logic dictated this series would be tighter, if only because Howard’s erratic free-throw shooting — he was 13-for-35 in Orlando’s opening-series sweep of Charlotte — sometimes keeps opponents in the game.
And it might yet.
Recalling the Boston Celtics’ 1985 NBA Finals loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, former Celtics great Kevin McHale remembered the Celtics blowing out L.A. in similar fashion in game one of that series before ultimately losing to the Lakers.
And Atlanta did rally from a 3-2 hole in its opening-round series against Milwaukee to win the final two games in relatively easy fashion. So the Hawks clearly are capable of improvement.
But while the Bucks couldn’t frustrate the Hawks inside, Howard and the Magic can destroy them in there and often did Tuesday night.
Moreover, with expected Eastern Division winner Cleveland now daily sweating the physical condition of NBA regular-season MVP LeBron James’ right elbow, Orlando once more looks capable of reaching the NBA Finals for the second straight year.
Beyond that, with a healthy Jameer Nelson at point guard (he was out much of last year’s final), the Magic might even upset the Lakers this time around.
As for the Hawks, they once again find themselves in a similar position to where they stood in the mid-1980s, when Dominique Wilkins, Doc Rivers, Tree Rollins and Co. were almost always good enough to reach the second round but never quite talented enough to reach the finals or win it all.
And because the Hawks are too good at the moment to return to the lottery, they stand little chance at the moment of dramatically improving. You could even call them the Halfway Hawks — too good to be bad but bad enough to never be more than pretty good in a sport that requires greatness to claim titles.
So what happens next? Atlanta will win a game in this series only if, as Barkley says, Howard’s in foul trouble or misses 22 of 35 free throws in a single game. Otherwise, Atlanta could find itself swept and solid coach Mike Woodson on an unfair hot seat.
Otherwise, unless LeBron can find a miracle cure for what ails his shooting arm, look for the Magic to stop the Celtics for a second straight year but again lose to the Lakers.
Because whatever Howard’s nickname, the real Superman of the NBA still answers to Kobe Bryant.