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ORLANDO — The Toronto Raptors came to Florida looking to escape the frustrations of an NBA regular season that fell short of their expectations.
But rather than escape the past, they were haunted by it, as the same issues the Raptors struggled with for 82 games bedevilled them Sunday in a 114-100 loss to the Orlando Magic in the first game of their best-of-seven first-round playoff series.
The Raptors defended the three-point line poorly in the regular season, and the Magic exploited that.
The Raptors struggled to contain dribble penetration, and the Magic exploited that.
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The Raptors have been in the doldrums offensively for the past two months, and that was the case Sunday as well as they shot just 37.6 per cent from the floor.
And for those who believe coaching has been part of the problem, Raptors head man Sam Mitchell provided some ammunition there, too.
Unfortunately for Toronto, those issues and more all came together in a record-setting first quarter that essentially put the 12:30 p.m. game out of reach before most people had finished lunch, as the Magic blitzed the Raptors 43-23.
It was the most points the Raptors have given up in a single quarter in their brief playoff history.
The Magic made its first seven shots and were 16-for-20 overall in the quarter — the deluge exacerbated by some scorching three-point shooting as four Orlando players combined to shoot 9-for-11 from deep, tying an NBA playoff record for most three-pointers in a quarter.
The Raptors were stunned.
"We just wanted to stay in the game," said forward Chris Bosh, who saw the man he was defending, Rashard Lewis, knock down a couple of three-pointers. "They were making shots and shooting unbelievably."
Reasons for the Raptors' sluggish start were varied, but in some ways the two teams were simply playing to type, although an exaggerated version.
The Magic led the NBA in three-pointers made this season — 801, the second most in NBA history, while the Raptors gave up 619, the third most in the league this season.
Something had to give, and it was the Raptors' porous perimeter defence.
"We have to do a better job with our one-on-one defence," Bosh said. "They put us in a lot of driving-and-kick situations."
The Raptors threw a number of new looks at the Magic, none of which paid any dividends for Mitchell and seemed to open him to criticism from his star player.
One was starting Andrea Bargnani at small forward ahead of Jamario Moon, a move designed to take away the possibility of the Magic posting up versatile 6-foot-10 small forward Hedo Turkoglu. The move likely also was aimed at getting more three-point shooting on the floor.
It was ineffective on both counts as Turkoglu had four of his 21 points and four of his six assists in the Magic's opening surge. Bargnani's season-long shooting slump continued as he finished with just five points on 2-for-8 shooting in 28 minutes.
Bosh suggested that at least some of the Raptors' glazed looks and slow feet in the pivotal first quarter was the result of being required to integrate some new plays into their approach in the days leading up the game.
"At the beginning of the game, they hit threes, but we could have given ourselves a better chance by running the plays we always run, the things that were giving up success throughout the whole season," Bosh said. "If we do what got us here, we'll be fine.
Bosh said the new wrinkles might have confused point guards T.J. Ford and Jose Calderon. Something must have, because they were thoroughly outplayed by their Magic counterparts. Ford and Calderon combined to shoot just 4-for-20 for the afternoon, good for 14 points, though they did combine for 14 assists without a turnover.
Magic guards Jameer Nelson and Keyon Dooling had 34 points on 11-for-21 shooting, including four of seven from the three-point line.
Toronto did scramble to get back into the game as the Magic cooled and the Raptors began to hit some of their shots.
Two triples by Jason Kapono helped the Raptors cut the Orlando lead to five with a little more than 10 minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
But at that point, the Magic didn't need three-pointers any more as Dwight Howard, their agile and massive young centre, muscled his way for two dunks and a layup as part of a 10-0 run that put the game out of reach.
The Raptors did a respectable job on Howard, but the 22-year-old force of nature still scored 25 points and 22 rebounds, as well as five mostly spectacular blocked shots.
Bosh, his friend and all-star counterpart, didn't have as good an opener. The Magic used the smaller but quicker Lewis to deny Bosh the ball and then sent additional defenders at him when he did get it.
Bosh scored 21 points was just 4-for-11 from the field, though he was perfect, 13-for-13, from the free-throw line.
