May

18

No Banner This Year; Magic Defeat Celtics 101-82 Head To Eastern Finals

Posted by Jeff Sack under NBA Game Recap, NBA PLAYOFFS 

The desire was as strong as a year ago; alas the same was not the case for the talent. The defending NBA Champions are heading home for the Summer after losing to the Orlando Magic Sunday night 101-82. It was the first time in the team’s history that the Celtics lost a seven game series after holding a 3-2 lead. Teams wearing the Boston green and white had previously gone 32-0 in that situation. However it was apparent early on in this game that the Celtics just did not have enough left in the tank to go any further.

The Orlando Magic will head to Cleveland as they take on the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals  starting Wednesday. Hedo Turkoglu led the way for the Magic with a double-double including a game high 25 points. Orlando shot 51.4% (36-70) from the floor for the game and a red hot 61.9% (13-20) from outside the arc. The Magic got it done down the other end of the floor holding Boston to an anemic 39.2% (29-74) for the night. Ray Allen was the high scorer for the “Green Team” as he knocked down 23 points.

There will be talk all Summer through out “Celtics Nation” of whether a squad with a healthy Kevin Garnett as well as reserve forward Leon Powe could have been the first Boston team to win back to back NBA Titles since the last edition of the Bill Russell Celtics did it back 40 years ago. That is conjecture; there is no way we will ever know.

What was for certain though was the day that Boston head coach Doc Rivers announced that the season was most likely over for the “Big Ticket” even the most optimistic Celtics supporter knew they would not make it out of the East this year. Taking nothing away from what Orlando accomplished; and the Magic suffered their own devastating loss when All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson was lost for the campaign due to injury. However without Kevin Garnett on the team even if they had advanced to the Conference Finals they were not a good enough team to get back to the “Big Dance“ the NBA Finals.

The Magic set the tone for this game in the opening period taking a 27-17 lead and the Celtics never regained their footing. Boston was able to get the deficit down to single digits in the second quarter however Orlando went into the locker room on top 45-38. The Celtics looked as if they were about to make a contest of it at the end of the third quarter as they trailed the Magic by just five points heading into the final quarter 66-61. Any hope that the fans at the “New Garden“ had though were quickly dashed as Orlando soon put the game out of reach.

Hedo Turkoglu recorded a double-double with 25 points, 12 assists, 5 rebounds and 1 block while Rashard Lewis put 19 points on the board, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 block. Mickael Pietrus came off the bench and had 17 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assists and 1 steal while Rafer Alston scored 15 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals. Dwight Howard had yet another double-double with 12 points, 16 boards, 5 blocks, 1 assist and 1 steal.

Ray Allen led the way for the Celtics with 23 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal while Paul Pierce knocked down 16 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds. Glen Davis who showed his mettle when put in a tough situation in the Post Season ended  the Playoffs with another good game 13 points, 4 rebounds and 1 steal while Rajon Rondo recorded a double-double scoring 10 points, dishing off 10 assists, 6 rebounds and 2 steals. Boston will now try to heal their bodies over the longer off-season than they had a year ago. Orlando’s challenge will only get harder as they will start the Eastern Conference Finals this Wednesday at the Q Arena in Cleveland. The Cavaliers have yet to lose a game in the Post Season as they have an 8-0 record.

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One Response to “No Banner This Year; Magic Defeat Celtics 101-82 Head To Eastern Finals”

  1. Dwight Howard is the Bomb Dot Com » No Banner This Year; Magic Defeat Celtics 101-82 Head To Eastern Finals on May 18th, 2009 2:07 am

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