Scanning the blogs and beats following the 76ers' 100-98 comeback win over the Magic in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals ...

Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel: "In honor of the Magic, their team colors and their bid for an NBA championship, Mayor Buddy Dyer proclaimed Friday to be 'Blue and White Ignite Day' throughout Orlando. On Sunday, Dyer should have taken the court after the Magic's devastating, debilitating 100-98 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of their playoff-opening series and declared it "Blue and White Indict Day.' This inexplicable, inexcusable loss was an indictment of the Magic's heart and will. To blow an 18-point second-half lead at home to an inferior opponent is indefensible. In fact, that resounding 'Pfffffttt' sound you heard coming from Amway Arena Sunday was the air being let out of the Magic's playoff balloon. I know, I know, it's only one game and it's no time for the Magic or their fans to panic. As Magic forward Rashard Lewis said afterward, 'This isn't the NCAA Tournament where you lose one game and you're eliminated.' [...] Still, you can't ignore the numbers. The fact is, the team that wins Game 1 ends up winning a seven-game series 79 percent of the time."

The 700 Level: "Wherever the series goes from here — and you're absolutely nuts if you don't stick around to see it for yourself at this point — this game illustrates why, in my opinion, making it to the post-season at all costs is so important. You never know when your team is going to go out and, when you least expect it, turn a game into an absolute classic — the kind of game that takes second-tier, relatively unknown young talents like Iguodala and turns them into the stars of tomorrow. Even if the team doesn't end up advancing, it's just not right to rob your team and fanbase of potential to make memories like that. Oh, and I've decided that at this point, after keying a fourth fourth-quarter game-winning resurgence for the Sixers, Donyell Marshall absolutely must have a nickname, or at the very least some sort of lame Chris Berman-ism."

Marcus Hayes, Philly Daily News: "They call him 'Big Homie,' after the degenerate clown, and 'Secret Weapon,' and a couple of other things, all in good fun. The young Sixers squad loves Donyell Marshall in general, his pleasant acceptance of their nicknames, his 15 years of wisdom, his willingness to share his knowledge, his upbeat nature despite having played a career-low 189 minutes this season. Last night, they loved his shooting stroke. Marshall's 11 points in the first 11 minutes of the fourth quarter helped the Sixers complete a comeback from an 18-point deficit to win ... He entered facing a 14-point hole. He hit three of four three-pointers. He made it happen."

Liberty Ballers: "The game started and ended with Andre Iguodala. He played a fantastic game — fantastic! The box score does not do him justice. Sure, 10-23 looks mediocre, but most of his misses were bunnies that he normally makes or draws the foul. What impressed me most about Iguodala was that he didn't settle for jumpers and he never got discouraged by the non-calls. He was the aggressor for the entire game, and it paid off. His passing and defense were also superb. Did I mention he hit the game-winner with the 6'10'' Turkoglu in his jersey? Besides the two missed free throws I thought Iguodala played a spotless basketball game. There's no other player I would have rather had leading my team."

Third Quarter Collapse: "... let me say that it's hard to imagine a worse start to the postseason for Orlando. If the Magic can't beat the 76ers when they have an 18-point lead, at home, on the first game of the postseason ... when exactly are they going to beat them? Understand that this game was in the bag for Orlando. A double-digit victory appeared to be at hand. But when Dwight Howard — who finished with a brilliant 31 points on 11-of-13 shooting, 16 boards, and 2 blocks — headed to the locker room to have his eye examined with 1:12 to play in the third, Philly scored on its next two possessions, not counting Iguodala's halfcourt heave at the buzzer. 38 seconds into the fourth quarter, Royal Ivey drilled a trey to bring Philadelphia to within 11. And that, right there, is when I knew the Magic were in trouble. They needed to put this game away, but without Howard in the game to anchor the offense, they could not put points on the board. They also missed his defense, and it showed in the final period, wherein the Sixers rarely took a contested shot and moved the ball with ease."

Talk Hoops: "The [Magic] simply didn't take the 76ers seriously at all. They let the Sixers build confidence by allowing them to take over early in the game. They thought they could throw their jocks on the court and win the game because of their reputation alone. They started playing like the 59-win team that secured the third seed in the second and third quarter. They built a big lead and thought it would hold or the Sixers would quit, and it came back to bite them."

The Association: "I've said this all year, Orlando doesn't have the go to guy necessary to make a deep run in the playoffs. C-Webb pretty much blew a gasket ripping on the Magic not riding Dwight Howard all game. But does Superman really want to be 'that guy' with the Magic or is he content with monster numbers, monster dunks and showmanship? NBA Champions all have the definitive alpha dog and an understood chain of command. The Celtics heart lies with KG but crunch-time went Pierce first and Sugar Ray second. The early 00's Lakers had Shaq for 3 1/2 quarters with Kobe as the closer ... what about Orlando?"

David Whitley, Orlando Sentinel: "You know a team doesn't get much respect when its playoff games are relegated to NBA TV, which apparently is huge in China. I don't know whether they got Sunday night's game in Beijing. If so, a billion Chinese could be also be wondering how the Magic blew it. The serious ones might point to Philadelphia's defense. It largely left Lee, Anthony Johnson and Orlando's guards alone. Let 'em penetrate, but keep an eye and hand on Lewis and Turkoglu, then hope that Howard doesn't completely explode in a double-double frenzy. The result: Orlando made 5 of 18 3-pointers. It remains to be seen whether a team can win in the playoffs when it relies so heavily on outside shooting. But we found out Sunday, it can sure lose in the playoffs when it shoots like that. Especially when money time comes, and two of its biggest money men go missing."

John Denton, Florida Today: "Marcin Gortat, Orlando's blossoming backup center, told a Polish newspaper this week that Van Gundy's constant ranting and raving along the sidelines isn't exactly productive for this team. Gortat even used the P-word, as in panic. Just know that's an especially touchy subject around the Magic's headquarters, especially after Shaquille O'Neal called Van Gundy 'a master of panic' and predicted that his team would come unglued in the playoffs because of the coach’s frenetic approach. Said Gortat, to sport.pl: 'The nature of our coach, he panics very often during games. He's got some behavior which is not good for us. With his gestures he makes us more nervous on the floor.'"

Related: The Internets are alive, 2009 NBA Playoffs