Magic Shipping Up To Boston

A 113-92 loss in Orlando left the Celtics headed back to the Garden for a crucial Game 6.

This was the first game in the series where I felt negative about the game all day – from the moment I woke up to tipoff. That didn’t change as the game began, with the Celtics playing even for most of the first quarter but obviously struggling. It only got worse in the second, as the Magic just kept gradually building on their lead, at one point ahead by fourteen before the Celtics got back into the game.

That was actually the good thing – up until about midway through the fourth, the Celtics stayed right in this thing. They kept the Magic lead in the neighborhood of ten points rather than fifteen or twenty until the end, giving us all a bit of hope that they could claw back into it.

That hope rapidly evaporated in the fourth quarter, when the Celtics basically laid down and started backing for the return trip to Boston. The first five minutes or so of the quarter went just fine, with the game staying around ten, as it had for most of the night. All the Celtics had to do was have a couple good defensive plays to make it a one or two possession game. They didn’t even need a real run, just some good defense – but they hadn’t been doing that for most of the night, so why start now?

Instead of digging in, the Celtics let the Magic go on a 27-4 run to end the game, turning a close ten-point game into a humiliating thirty-one point defeat. The loss wasn’t due so much to the brilliant performance by the Magic as the Celtics’ pathetic one. The defense let Orlando shoot over 50% from the field and downtown, while the offense was virtually nonexistent. Rasheed Wallace dominated offensively with 21 points, followed closely by Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce; after that it looked like nobody else bothered to come.

The game was marred by terrible officiating that saw Kendrick Perkins ejected after not one, but two ridiculous techs. One was later overturned, but that didn’t help the Celtics, who didn’t have him for all of the second half. Nor, of course, did the NBA punish referee Eddie Rush for his mistake. The commentators were noting that Rush may have forgotten Perk already had a tech, but that’s no excuse – the call should be the same regardless. It’s always a shame when officiating plays such a large role in a game; in this one its impact was undeniable, though it was hardly the main reason the Celtics lost.

Boston needs to keep up their aggression in the Garden tomorrow, coming out hot early and never letting up, as they did in Game 3. The last thing the Celtics need is an embarrassing Game 7 in Orlando. Saturday night is a must-win for the Celtics, who still have an opportunity to finish this series early – especially with the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns likely headed to seven games.