House Party! Magic rout 76ers in final regular-season game at Amway

Rashard Rebounds

11:42 PM EDT, March 17, 2010

Rashard Lewis knew Wednesday would be a good night just 16 seconds into the Orlando Magic's game against the San Antonio Spurs.

He spotted up on the baseline, received a pass from Vince Carter and drained an 18-foot jump shot for the game's first points.

The basket sparked what followed.

Lewis would go on to score 20 points as the Magic trounced the Spurs 110-84 at Amway Arena.

His open look on Orlando's first possession was no accident. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy called a play specifically for Lewis to get the starting power forward into the flow of the game right away. Lewis came off of two screens for the open jumper.

"Especially when you make your first shot. Then you feel like you're going to make every shot you put up that night," said Lewis, who made seven of his 10 shot attempts.

Lewis received some additional help. Point guard Jameer Nelson told Lewis before the game that he wanted to use some pick-and-roll plays to give Lewis extra space to shoot.

"[There was] a lot more aggressiveness from him," Nelson said afterward. "He wasn't thinking as much. You could tell. He just was playing his game. A lot of people talk about this and that, and Rashard is who he is. He's going to shoot the ball. He's going to score the ball at the end of the game. He's going to have 16 to 20 points."

The Magic now hope Lewis will continue to be a force offensively.

Lewis entered Wednesday in one of his least productive stretches of the season. He had scored less than 10 points in four of Orlando's previous six games. Lewis said adding that he was happy to take fewer shots as long as the team was winning.

Van Gundy had said he was confident that Lewis would snap out of his funk, but Van Gundy also expressed concern that Lewis wasn't preparing as well as he had in past years.

Following a recent practice, Van Gundy told reporters, "I think the key for Rashard is to make sure that he's really putting everything into it and preparing himself the way he has for previous years in terms of taking care of his body and then his approach going into games. Other than that, his skills have not deteriorated or anything else, so he should be fine as long as he prepares himself the right way."

All along, Lewis said he had confidence he'd end his slump.

"I come out and play the same way," Lewis said. "I just didn't make very many shots for the past two games."

George Diaz – Orlando Sentinel COMMENTARY

9:03 PM EST, March 7, 2010

Matt Barnes woke up Sunday morning to play with his 16-month-old twin boys, exhilarated by the ga-ga, goo-goo world of fatherhood.

He went to work Sunday afternoon, exhilarated by the flying elbows, the spittle in the face, the body shots, the cursing, and the fury.

The two images are easy to reconcile.

Barnes, the family guy, punches the clock with more frenetic energy than anyone on the Orlando Magic roster. He also became my favorite Magic player Sunday, when hard-workin' Orlando squeezed out a 96-94 victory against the Los Angeles Lakers at Amway Arena.

In a prelude to Oscars night, Barnes took on the most formidable of all Hollywood divas — Kobe Bryant — and punched him on the red carpet. At least it felt that way.

He guarded the best player in the league — No. 2 at the very least — and pushed and prodded and poked with the kind of intensity that can get you arrested in some parts of this country.

"He had his wrestling game on today," Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom said. "All he needed was a cape, tights."

Dwight Howard, a k a Superman, is the good guy with the great game. Barnes is cast as a Legion of Doom guy. Super Villain or Super Hero, depends on your rooting interests.

"You hate me if I'm against you, but you love me if I am with you because I got my teammates' back," Barnes said, "I respect everyone but I fear nobody."

That includes Bryant. They mixed it up with a little bit of playground spice. They drew double technicals after one spirited exchange in the third quarter. There were other forget-me-not bouquets in the afternoon: Barnes almost whacking Bryant in the face on an out-of-bounds play. A couple of elbow shots by Bryant. An inches-from-a-head-butt retort by Barnes.

That was just a prelude to the big finish: Barnes hitting a huge 3-pointer in Kobe's face with 1:10 to go, and then a final must-have stop on Kobe's 20-foot jumper that would have sent the game into overtime. Kobe told Barnes he was going to hit the shot, reflecting the last bit of drama in what was great theater for 48 minutes.

Bravo!

"It was a blast," Barnes said, assessing the entire afternoon.

And it was, as they say, "playoff basketball."

Magic coach Stan Van Gundy didn't want to hear any of that, insisting this was "one of 82 [games]," but that's like saying that Brooklyn Decker is just another pretty face, despite the Sports Illustrated cover.

The Lakers were the guys partying on the Magic floor last June after winning the NBA title. Barnes wasn't with the Magic back then, but one of the reasons he is here now is to bring a certain chippiness to this team.

Barnes even types hard. He got a little too graphic on his Twitter page last week, and the corporate suits asked him to tone down the language.

He did. After playing with sons Isaiah and Carter on Sunday, Barnes wrote: "Its gonna b a good day I can feel it."

After the game, he had a little more to say: "Haters I wanna thank all u please keep it cumin. U lucky I can't cuss no more but I still luv u guys. I told u 2day was gonna b a good day."

Barnes needn't offer any apologies for his language. He plays and talks grown-up basketball. Anybody who can't take it should cover their ears and stay away.