<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The public-address announcer said what everybody at Amway Arena was thinking Sunday night. "Twelve minutes until the playoffs!" It ended up feeling like 12 months to the sellout crowd, but Orlando fans finally got their reward. The Magic clinched a spot in the NBA playoffs with an 88-86 win over Boston. With the Magic currently negotiating for a proposed $480 million new arena, the pressure was on for the team to at least earn a berth in the postseason. "The semi-Promised Land," Kelly Whited said of the playoffs. He has been a season-ticket holder since they first went on sale in 1987. Like most at the arena, he was more than semi-chagrined as he watched Orlando almost blow the 19-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter. A loss like that to the lowly Celtics would have hurt but not been fatal to the team's playoff chances. But when Hedo Turkoglu blocked a Boston shot at the buzzer, the long ordeal was over. And that ordeal didn't just begin with 12 minutes left in Sunday night's game. "The playoff is a different level of excitement," Magic COO Alex Martins said. "For our fans, it's well-deserved for hanging in there with us the last few years." When Indiana lost Sunday afternoon, it meant all the Magic needed was one win in their final three games to clinch a spot in the playoffs. They will probably open the first round at Detroit next weekend, meaning the playoff drought would end where it began. The Pistons eliminated the Magic in the 2003 playoffs. How long ago was that? Magic center Dwight Howard was finishing his junior year at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy. Grant Hill had just undergone only his fourth ankle surgery. Sunday's halftime performer, Tommy Tutone, had performed "Jenny" only 14,852 times or so. Doc Rivers was coaching the Magic. Sunday, he was coaching the Celtics and was determined not to make it easy for his old team. "They deserve to go, they've had a hell of a season and they're playing great," Rivers told his team at halftime. "But don't just let them walk into the playoffs. Make them earn it." Boston managed that, scrambling back from a 78-59 deficit. That from a team that had won only 23 games and whose best player watched from the bench in a business suit. It was a microcosm of Orlando's season, as high hopes collided with poor play that had fans covering their eyes in horror. The final score may have been disappointing, much as the Magic's 38-42 record isn't as good as most predicted. But in the end, the PA announcer said what fans have been waiting a long time to hear. "Playoff tickets go on sale Tuesday morning." Making it to the semi-Promised Land never sounded so good.</div> Source
<div class="quote_poster">Swish Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I also got tickets for Game 3 with my friend. I'm pumped!</div> hopefully u didnt get raped on the tix like i did..on another note..im bringing a cowbell
