Celtis Defy Odds Again, Take 3-2 Series Lead

Marc D'Amico
May 12, 2009
Celtics.com

It wasn't easy and it wasn't pretty. It was actually astonishing. But, in the end, the Boston Celtics did it again.

The defending champs have suddenly developed a tendency for winning games under extreme circumstances, and tonight was no exception. Boston overcame a 14-point fourth quarter deficit to win 92-88 over the Orlando Magic and inch one game closer to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The manner in which Boston has rattled off its two consecutive wins has baffled NBA fans and players alike.

In the words of Hedo Turkoglu: "It's just... it's hard to explain."

Big Baby scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to help the C's stage an epic comeback and take a 3-2 sreies lead.Brian Babineau/NBAE/Getty

For the second consecutive game, Glen Davis threw a dramatic blow to Orlando's title hopes. Big Baby followed up a buzzer-beating game-winner in Game 4 with 10 fourth quarter points in Game 5, including two free throws that sealed the victory with 4.6 ticks left on the clock.

It was an ending that sent Celtics fans into the night wondering, "How in the world did that happen?"

Turkoglu hit a running jumper to put the Magic up by 10 points with 5:55 remaining and had Orlando thinking about a Game 6 close-out. Fists were pumping and smiles were abundant at Orlando's end of the court.

Little did they know, the fun was just beginning.

Doc Rivers inserted Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins into the game with 4:55 remaining, leaving the C's with all five starters on the court. That three-pronged substitution was the turning point that sparked Boston's comeback.

"The tough call for me was then going back with the starters ," Doc Rivers said. "I thought it was going to be a game of execution down the stretch for us. And so that's why I did it."

With the starters on the floor, Boston reverted to their old ways, executing at both ends of the floor. Over the final 4:30 of the game, Boston outscored Orlando 17-3 and didn't allow a field goal the rest of the way.

"I really thought because our starters kind of know each other better, our defense was better down the stretch," said Rivers. "It was phenomenal."

Boston's defense was so dominant over the final 5:39 of the game that Orlando only managed to score three total points, all of which came from the free throw line on fouls the C's committed intentionally to prevent three-point attempts and preserve their lead.

"There was a point in time where we decided to lock down, we locked down and didn't give them the basket, and that's what created the positive offense for us," said Davis. "We did our assignments on defense, and that's how we won the game."

On offense, the C's weren't too shabby, either. Davis scored six points during the run, but the biggest momentum shot may have came from the hands of the struggling Ray Allen. Boston's sharpshooter came into the game making only nine of his last 26 shots from the floor and made only 3-of-11 tonight. The third was easily his biggest, a 25-foot three-pointer that gave the C's their first lead since the score was 8-6 in the first quarter.

The Celtics' comeback was staged in the second half of the fourth quarter, but the momentum switch began with Stephon Marbury's stellar play to begin the frame. Marbury came into the game with 11:22 remaining and provided instant offense, scoring 12 points and recording one assist in only 5:27 of play.

"It felt good because we needed it and the timing was right," Marbury said after the game. "It was right for me to go in and do what I did for us to win the basketball game. When I got into the game my mindset was to go [in] and try to create something where we [could] change the flow of the game."

His efforts didn't do much to cut into Orlando's lead, as they were having their way on offense as well, but it absolutely changed the energy Boston showed on the court.

The Celtics led by one point when Rondo was forced to take a three-pointer to beat the shot clock with 36.9 seconds remaining. His attempt seemed to come up with nothing but air and Perkins came down with the loose ball as the shot clock went off. After a brief meeting between officials, it was ruled that the ball grazed the rim and Boston was awarded possession.

"I didn't think that it [hit the rim] at the time," said Stan Van Gundy. "I thought it was way short. You guys can watch the film as well as I can."

That play turned out to be huge, giving the Celtics an opportunity to run even more time off the clock. After calling back-to-back timeouts, Boston inbounded the ball and Allen wound up taking a baseline jumper that missed long. But just as every bounce went over the final six minutes of the fourth, the rebound bounced the Celtics' way and Pierce grabbed the board. Turkoglu promptly fouled him in order to stop the clock.

The rest of the game turned into a free throw contest, with Davis' sealing the deal for good.

Big Baby finished as the game's leading scorer with 22 points and also had 11 rebounds. Paul Pierce had an outstanding overall game, scoring 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting while grabbing nine rebounds and dishing out eight assists.

Orlando played well offensively for the majority of the game, making key shot after key shot, but no one stepped up down the stretch to carry them to victory. Rashard Lewis finished with a team-high 19 points and Turkoglu scored 18. Despite Perkins playing with a sore left shoulder, he limited Dwight Howard to only 12 points and three free throw attempts. Howard did manage to grab 17 rebounds.

The Celtics have now pulled out back-to-back stunners against Orlando and put them on the brink of elimination. Losing two consecutive games can suck the life out of a team, but Van Gundy thinks his team will come out ready to play in Thursday night's Game 6.

"If we had to play right now it would be very difficult, but by Thursday we will be fine," he said.

Boston isn't going to sit back and let Orlando gain momentum back in this series as they look to close out the Magic in Game 6. Orlando's door is slowly closing, and the C's want to slam it shut Thursday night.