BOSTON, May 17 -- It took six games, two fourth-quarter meltdowns, the star player publicly roasting the coach and a guarantee from a retired Hall of Fame center for the Orlando Magic to finally show what it had always believed: That it was a better team than the Boston Celtics. The Celtics served as the most difficult out, defending their championship nobly and putting aside their shortcomings in the absence of Kevin Garnett.
But as Game 7 played out -- as center Dwight Howard dunked and his teammates knocked down three-pointers -- the Magic's talent and depth finally catapulted it to a 101-82 victory at TD Banknorth Garden on Sunday and a trip to the Eastern Conference finals.
Orlando hasn't reached the Eastern Conference finals since 1996, when Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway were nearing a breakup and Howard was just 10 years old. Howard still considers himself an oversize kid and the day before the biggest game of his career, he joked that he was eating a bowl of Alphabet cereal, with the letters twice forming the word "dominate" on his spoon.
Howard wasn't dominant on both ends (12 points, 16 rebounds and five blocked shots), but he didn't have to be, with the Magic getting contributions from the 6-foot-10 forward tandem of Hedo Turkoglu (25 points) and Rashard Lewis (19 points), point guard Rafer Alston (15 points) and reserve Mickael Pietrus (17 points). He also provided the lighthearted tone afterward, when stated to Lewis in the locker room that "we're 2-0 after a player calls out the coach."
Howard had a postgame rant after a disappointing loss in Game 5 -- when the Magic blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead -- as he calmly ripped Coach Stan Van Gundy's scheme and demanded more touches. But while Howard's comments raised questions about Van Gundy's job security and could have easily caused the season to crumble, he responded with 23 points, 22 rebounds and 3 blocked shots to force one more game. Then, on Sunday, the Magic shot 62 percent from behind the three-point line (13 of 21) and also became the first team in 33 tries to defeat the Celtics in a best-of-seven series when trailing 3-2.
Afterward in the locker room, Van Gundy wrote "32-1" on the white erase board, but most of his players were too excited to notice.
"This is a huge win for our team and our organization," Van Gundy said. "I know they didn't have Kevin Garnett and the whole thing, but when you look at a team that's 32-0 when leading a series 3-2 and you come in and win by 19 points, that's a big win. I can't say I've ever had one that I've been happier about."
Now, the Magic will have a more difficult challenge in the next round against the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have been the most unstoppable force this postseason, riding LeBron James to sweeps against Detroit and Atlanta, with eight wins decided by double digits.
"Some parting gift," Celtics Coach Doc Rivers said.
From the moment they raised championship banner No. 17 and Paul Pierce shed tears of joy as he held the Larry O'Brien Trophy on opening night, the Celtics were expected to face the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals.
But as the season played out, the Celtics became victims of attrition as they lost Garnett and his backup Leon Powe and were forced to rely heavily on a patchwork roster surrounding all-stars Ray Allen (23 points) and Paul Pierce (19 points). Rivers admitted that the team was still holding out hope that Garnett could've possibly returned from his right knee with a deep playoff run, but now the all-star forward will have surgery. "I'm very proud of my team," Rivers said. "I told them, this is one of my favorite groups as far as how far they got. A lot of reasons for them to give up -- you know with the Garnett and the Leon thing -- and they never did."
The Celtics had played in three Game 7s the past two seasons, defeating Atlanta and Cleveland in the first two rounds last year, and taking out Chicago in a grueling first-round series that featured seven overtimes. While Boston had the edge in experience, the Magic players were confident knowing that they lost two games in which they led late -- Glen Davis made a buzzer-beating jumper in Game 4 and the team blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead in Game 5. Magic assistant coach Patrick Ewing even guaranteed a win on Friday on the John Thompson radio show. For once, Ewing was right.
"We won six out of seven games, if you ask me," reserve point guard Anthony Johnson said. "They made the game-winning shot. Then in the fourth, we up 10 and we just crumbled. Those are easily two wins. There is no reason this series should have even gone to a Game 7. But you've got to give them credit."
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