The Boston Celtics have been here before, and if the Amway Arena fans taunting Paul Pierce after Thursday's Game 6 loss needed any reminder, the all-star forward playfully rubbed his (championship) ring finger.
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And afterward, when Pierce was asked about the pressures of playing in an upcoming Game 7, he explained Boston's extreme confidence in such situations and carefully tried to plant a seed of doubt with the upstart Orlando Magic.
"They're not for everybody," Pierce said with a chuckle. "Some guys play their best under pressure and some guys don't. We're comfortable in Game 7s and we're not a team that gets the jitters. There are a lot of players in this league who never get to play in a Game 7 where you lose and you go home, so who knows what will happen."
With a series knotted at 3-all after the Magic's gritty 83-75 Game 6 victory, clearly there isn't much separating the Magic and Celtics. But when it comes to postseason experience, the gulf between the two franchises could not be broader.
In their 17-title history, the Celtics are a dazzling 25-5 in Game 7s all-time and an even better 17-3 on their famed parquet floor in Boston. And the Celtics are a staggering 32-0 in eventually winning series in which they went ahead 3-2.
Much of that history, of course, was accomplished with Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, John Havlichek and Larry Bird, who incidentally won't be suiting up come Sunday at 8 p.m. But more recently, the Celtics won two Game 7s last spring en route to the championship, and they eliminated the Chicago Bulls earlier this month in a Game 7 in Boston.
The Magic, meanwhile, are mostly rookies in this situation. Orlando has been here twice -- winning against Indiana in 1995 to reach the NBA Finals and losing in 2003 in Detroit to complete a 3-1 collapse -- and none of the current players on the roster were around for either.
Magic coach Stan Van Gundy knows his NBA history and knows that winning a Game 7 in Boston will be difficult. He also fancies himself as a baseball fan, and anytime it's mentioned that a certain team has never accomplished something, Van Gundy brings up the Red Sox improbable rally from 0-3 in 2003 against the New York Yankees.
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"History and the odds don't mean anything," said Van Gundy, ever the contrarian."As far as their record in Game 7s, I don't think it means anything. (Boston losing a 3-2 series lead) is going to happen sometime. This year . . . next year . . . 20 years from now. I don't think they're going through their entire history and not lose a series. So, we'll go be the first."
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The Magic are in this position because franchise center Dwight Howard demanded and got the ball plenty on Thursday, producing a rugged 23-point, 22-rebound, three-block effort. He is averaging 17.2 points and 17.3 rebounds against the Celtics. The pressure was on him after his rant against Van Gundy's play-calling following Game 5, and he came through in a big way in Game 6. Now, he knows Game 7 presents pressures of a totally different kind. And Howard is confident his Magic will rise up to meet those challenges.
"We've had some tough lessons in this series and the biggest one is that you have to play all 48 minutes if you want to beat Boston," said Howard. "Whoever goes out there and plays the hardest for 48 minutes will win. They have the experience, but for us it's all about effort and energy. I believe in my team and I believe that we're going up there to give it our all."History and the odds don't mean anything," said Van Gundy, ever the contrarian."As far as their record in Game 7s, I don't think it means anything. (Boston losing a 3-2 series lead) is going to happen sometime. This year . . . next year . . . 20 years from now. I don't think they're going through their entire history and not lose a series. So, we'll go be the first."The Magic are in this position because franchise center Dwight Howard demanded and got the ball plenty on Thursday, producing a rugged 23-point, 22-rebound, three-block effort. He is averaging 17.2 points and 17.3 rebounds against the Celtics. The pressure was on him after his rant against Van Gundy's play-calling following Game 5, and he came through in a big way in Game 6. Now, he knows Game 7 presents pressures of a totally different kind. And Howard is confident his Magic will rise up to meet those challenges.
"We've had some tough lessons in this series and the biggest one is that you have to play all 48 minutes if you want to beat Boston," said Howard. "Whoever goes out there and plays the hardest for 48 minutes will win. They have the experience, but for us it's all about effort and energy. I believe in my team and I believe that we're going up there to give it our all."
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And afterward, when Pierce was asked about the pressures of playing in an upcoming Game 7, he explained Boston's extreme confidence in such situations and carefully tried to plant a seed of doubt with the upstart Orlando Magic.
"They're not for everybody," Pierce said with a chuckle. "Some guys play their best under pressure and some guys don't. We're comfortable in Game 7s and we're not a team that gets the jitters. There are a lot of players in this league who never get to play in a Game 7 where you lose and you go home, so who knows what will happen."
With a series knotted at 3-all after the Magic's gritty 83-75 Game 6 victory, clearly there isn't much separating the Magic and Celtics. But when it comes to postseason experience, the gulf between the two franchises could not be broader.
In their 17-title history, the Celtics are a dazzling 25-5 in Game 7s all-time and an even better 17-3 on their famed parquet floor in Boston. And the Celtics are a staggering 32-0 in eventually winning series in which they went ahead 3-2.
Much of that history, of course, was accomplished with Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, John Havlichek and Larry Bird, who incidentally won't be suiting up come Sunday at 8 p.m. But more recently, the Celtics won two Game 7s last spring en route to the championship, and they eliminated the Chicago Bulls earlier this month in a Game 7 in Boston.
The Magic, meanwhile, are mostly rookies in this situation. Orlando has been here twice -- winning against Indiana in 1995 to reach the NBA Finals and losing in 2003 in Detroit to complete a 3-1 collapse -- and none of the current players on the roster were around for either.
Magic coach Stan Van Gundy knows his NBA history and knows that winning a Game 7 in Boston will be difficult. He also fancies himself as a baseball fan, and anytime it's mentioned that a certain team has never accomplished something, Van Gundy brings up the Red Sox improbable rally from 0-3 in 2003 against the New York Yankees.
-->(2 of 2)
"History and the odds don't mean anything," said Van Gundy, ever the contrarian."As far as their record in Game 7s, I don't think it means anything. (Boston losing a 3-2 series lead) is going to happen sometime. This year . . . next year . . . 20 years from now. I don't think they're going through their entire history and not lose a series. So, we'll go be the first."
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The Magic are in this position because franchise center Dwight Howard demanded and got the ball plenty on Thursday, producing a rugged 23-point, 22-rebound, three-block effort. He is averaging 17.2 points and 17.3 rebounds against the Celtics. The pressure was on him after his rant against Van Gundy's play-calling following Game 5, and he came through in a big way in Game 6. Now, he knows Game 7 presents pressures of a totally different kind. And Howard is confident his Magic will rise up to meet those challenges.
"We've had some tough lessons in this series and the biggest one is that you have to play all 48 minutes if you want to beat Boston," said Howard. "Whoever goes out there and plays the hardest for 48 minutes will win. They have the experience, but for us it's all about effort and energy. I believe in my team and I believe that we're going up there to give it our all."History and the odds don't mean anything," said Van Gundy, ever the contrarian."As far as their record in Game 7s, I don't think it means anything. (Boston losing a 3-2 series lead) is going to happen sometime. This year . . . next year . . . 20 years from now. I don't think they're going through their entire history and not lose a series. So, we'll go be the first."The Magic are in this position because franchise center Dwight Howard demanded and got the ball plenty on Thursday, producing a rugged 23-point, 22-rebound, three-block effort. He is averaging 17.2 points and 17.3 rebounds against the Celtics. The pressure was on him after his rant against Van Gundy's play-calling following Game 5, and he came through in a big way in Game 6. Now, he knows Game 7 presents pressures of a totally different kind. And Howard is confident his Magic will rise up to meet those challenges.
"We've had some tough lessons in this series and the biggest one is that you have to play all 48 minutes if you want to beat Boston," said Howard. "Whoever goes out there and plays the hardest for 48 minutes will win. They have the experience, but for us it's all about effort and energy. I believe in my team and I believe that we're going up there to give it our all."
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