Celtics eliminate the Magic in six, advance to the Finals

By Couper Moorhead, for NBA.com
Posted Saturday May 29, 2010 1:20AM

BOSTON (NBA.com exclusive) -- Right when it looked like the Boston Celtics were looking old, tired and a little beat up -- again -- they come out in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals and lay a 96-84 beating on the Orlando Magic.

Typical Celtics.

Six weeks ago, this team was counted out, trudging through the mucky muck of their own inconsistencies. Sure, there was a flash here, a dominant defensive stand there, but the body of evidence for title contention didn't add up to much more than most of the 16 playoff teams could boast.

The Celtics didn't care. They knew their own capacity, as Doc Rivers told anyone who would listen, even after losses to the New Jersey Nets and Washington Wizards how much he liked his team. And now they're headed back to the NBA Finals.

"The first thing we said when we got in the locker room is this is where we thought we would be," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "So, don't be surprised. This is what we talked about before the season started.

"I just believed that I saw what they did and what they had. And we kept saying as a staff, 'It's in us. We've got to try to get it back out of us.'"

Beyond all the who believed in who, the basketball wasn't all that different from what you've already seen. Boston played better team offense than they did in their two losses, while Orlando turned to hero mode. And for the sixth consecutive time, the team that won the first quarter took the game, as Boston 30-19 advantage in the period effectively sealed the outcome.

"It seemed like whoever was the most aggressive in the first quarter throughout the series won the games," Jameer Nelson said. "[It] kind of set the tone. Its tough, nobody wants it to end and they beat us."

The Magic made some, mostly mini, runs, but Boston always had an answer. The first window came at the onset of the second quarter, when Rajon Rondo was laying face down on the sidelines after taking a hard fall. This put Nate Robinson, who had played all of 44 minutes in the playoffs, front and center.

His response? A 13-point quarter that staved off Orlando's composed effort.

"Here's a guy that didn't play too much all series and gave us a lift," Tony Allen said. "He was ready for his opportunity and he took clean advantage of it."

The second window for Orlando came after halftime, when the team was only down 13. As the Celtics have still, despite their incredible performances, been prone to second-half lapses, Orlando's best shot was to shrink the deficit in a hurry before Boston could get it act together.

The lapse never came. Instead, Ray Allen hit consecutive three pointers in the first 2:03 of the third quarter, and the rest of the night was a game of keepaway.

In fact, most of the playoffs have been a game of keepaway for Boston. They weren't the defending Eastern Conference Champions, but they had a healthy starting five that had never lost a playoff series together. And they kept success away from one-star teams like the Miami Heat, young juggernauts like the Cleveland Cavaliers and now, the deepest, most athletic team in the Orlando Magic.

The only difference this time is that the loser's best player, Dwight Howard, isn't headed for free agency. His jersey isn't changing, it's his team that may need to change around him.

"Next year we've got to have guys that are willing to give everything they've got to get wins," Howard said. "In games like this or a Series like this, it's not about skill or talent, because it's the Eastern Conference Championship. Both teams are talented and skilled.It's about who wants it the most and who is willing to do it for a Series.

"[The Celtics] played like they wanted to win the championship the whole series," he added. "That's why they're in the position that they're in now."

They're also in this position, set to face the Phoenix Suns or Los Angeles Lakers, because they've gotten contributions up and down the roster -- from Robinson tonight, to Rasheed Wallace and Tony Allen's timely scoring and Kendrick Perkins' stonewall defense -- while containing opponents to one or two-man attacks.

"Somewhere along the line these guys that are role players that people don't really talk about come along and help us win games," Paul Pierce said. "They really get overlooked."

And somehow, it seems like this team could still be overlooked, because they're old, because they're banged up, because either of their possible Finals opponents will be flashier and more exciting. But they've now defeated two such teams, and that should matter. It's not the dominating storyline, but it's about Boston.

Whether they are doubted or not, it doesn't matter. They know.

"We never take these moments for granted," Pierce said. "Especially at this point in my career where it's winding down. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, to get back here is a great accomplishment, but even greater if we win another [title]."