Howard and Magic Dominate Celtics To Win Game Five
The Orlando Magic accomplished two firsts in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Finals.
For the first time in the series, Orlando won the third quarter-- even if only by a point.
Second, Dwight Howard and his Magic teammates finally defended home court against the Boston Celtics.
The Orlando Magic dominated the Boston Celtics, winning Game Five 113-92. Orlando came out slow offensively to start the game, committing three consecutive turn overs.
It took Orlando over two minutes to get it's first basket on a three-point jumper from Vince Carter.
Dwight Howard negated any advantage the Celtics hoped to find in the early parts of the game. Clearly determined to go down fighting, ran the floor, Howard defended and rebounded until he could find his scoring touch.
When he did, Howard displayed tough inside play, scoring on the move, and challenging Boston center Kendrick Perkins to stop him.
Head coach Stan Van Gundy described Howard's night as “Incredible”. Howard's stat line supported that claim, 21 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks.
Howard found points early on rebounds and loose balls. His first point came on a thunderous dunk down the middle on an assist from Jameer Nelson.
As well as Howard played on defense, Nelson matched on the offensive end. Once again the dynamic duo of Mighty Mouse and Superman ran the pick-and-roll with deadly efficiency.
Nelson upstaged Celtic point guard Rajon Rondo for a second straight game. Nelson once again dictated pace to his team's advantage. Pushing the slower and less athletic Boston veterans on every possible opportunity.
Nelson shot a blazing sixty percent from the field, including 4 of 5 from three-point range. By the end of the night, Nelson accumulated 24 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds.
The entire Magic team found themselves in Game Five. Orlando's trademark ball movement and deadly three-point shooting returned. The Magic hit thirteen three-point shots, with six players hitting at least one three.
As a team, the Magic shot 52% from the field and the three-point arc.
J.J. Redick continued to fill-in well for Vince Carter. All series long, Redick continues to give the Magic quality minutes off the bench.
The most promising performance, particularly when looking at a Game Six in Boston, came from Orlando forward Rashard Lewis. The former All-Star hurt the Celtics for the first time in the series.
Lewis went 6 for 11 from the field, including a three-pointer, for a total of 14 points.
More importantly, Lewis took control in the early fourth quarter. With Howard getting a break on the bench, Nelson found Lewis in the post.
Paul Pierce had no answer, as Lewis drove the ball at will on some drives. Other times he pulled up hitting short 8-10 foot jumpers.
The series took on the nasty knock-down-drag-out grudge match style predicted prior to it's start.
Three Celtic players left the court with injuries. The worst being Glen Davis, who suffered a concussion after being hit in the head by an inadvertent elbow by Howard.
Poor officiating also marred the game.
Two very questionable technical fouls caused Perkins to leave the game. The instant replays showed no evidence of behavior warranting the technical fouls.
Perkins technical fouls will most likely be reversed, once league officials review the game film.
If the appeal fails, Perkins' technical foul total would exceed seven. League policy states Perkins would not be allowed to play in Game Six.
Boston had no scorers with twenty points. Rondo led the team in scoring with 19 points.
Now the series moves back to Boston for Game Six. Orlando can expect Boston to come with their best game on Friday night.
Due to an early let down, the Magic still find themselves staving off elimination for the rest of the series. With a loss in Boston, the efforts of the past two games will become meaningless.
Boston now must deal with pressure for the first time in the series.
Playing a Game Seven against a re-surging and more youthful Orlando team, would not be the preferred path to the NBA Finals for the Celtics.
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