Orlando Pinstripe Post: Magic Win Another Instant Classic

Magic blog Orlando Pinstripe Post loved the stifling defense and timely aggressiveness from Vince Carter that helped the Orlando Magic hold off the L.A. Lakers, 96-94. The game was a pleasure for Orlando fans who wondere how their Magic could fare against the league’s top team.

This game might go down as another instant classic, as the Magic’s win over Cleveland two weeks ago proved to be even though it featured neither a come-from-behind win nor a back-and-forth situation, as the Magic led for the game’s final 41:08, and L.A. never tied the score. Instead, it was physical, contentious, heated, and well-played on both sides even in the face of some terrible officiating that hurt both teams in different ways. Barnes’ tete-a-tetes with Bryant were so engaging and energetic that the journeyman forward’s name began trending worldwide on Twitter. Barnes got in Bryant’s face after a play, later threw an elbow at him, got in his face again, and even feigned throwing the ball at Bryant’s face on an inbounds pass; Bryant didn’t flinch, incidentally. In any case, Bryant got his revenge on Barnes by hitting a series of tough shots over and around him, with Barnes’ replacement, Mickael Pietrus, an unfortunate recipient of collateral wrath.