ORLANDO, Fla. — Glen Davis attempted to pick himself up before falling again. He rose and, like a stunned boxer, staggered to midcourt before collapsing into the arms of the referee Joey Crawford.
The Boston Celtics were collectively beat and beaten. Boston needed not only to look up at the final score, a 113-92 loss to the Orlando Magic, to take stock of what occurred in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday. They also needed to take inventory of injuries and attrition: two concussions and two blackouts (Davis and Marquis Daniels) and one ejection (Kendrick Perkins).
All of it equates to a Game 6 in Boston on Friday as the Celtics saw their hold on the series loosened to 3-2. The impact of Perkins’s ejection, the result of two second-quarter technicals, could affect that game as well. Perkins has now been tagged with seven postseason technicals, which draws an automatic one-game suspension.
The Magic brought the fight to the Celtics both literally and figuratively, whether it came in the form of Dwight Howard’s flying dunks or elbows.
A few days ago, the prospects for a Lakers-Celtics finals rematch of two years ago seemed certain. The Celtics departed here last week with thoughts of sweeping Orlando. Now, they are hoping to not return for a Game 7 with their season on the line.
As the series shifts, so does its momentum. The quick turnaround favors Orlando’s younger players, and Boston may still be reeling from Wednesday’s physicality. Orlando holds both the mental and physical advantages as the Celtics’ frontcourt and Howard’s primary defenders dwindled in numbers throughout the evening.
“I still look at it like we’re climbing a huge mountain here,” Orlando Coach Stan Van Gundy said. “But we’re playing better.”
After three sloppy efforts of putting Boston atop that mountain, Orlando is playing better without a game to spare. The Magic now resembles the team that earned the conference’s second seed and the one that Rivers announced in Boston’s training camp would stand in their path to the finals and not the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“We’ll show up and be ready at our place,” Rivers said of Game 6. “That’s why we earned the right to have this game, and we’re going to try and take advantage of it.”
It was more Orlando that earned the right. Howard complained about aggressive play earlier in the series, but he has since joined the fray.
In a bizarre sequence, Howard’s elbow collided into Davis’s head with Orlando holding an 84-75 lead and the third quarter nearing its end.
“I didn’t know that was legal, but anyway, he did,” Rivers said. “But listen, he’s a physical guy. We know that, and he should be. Honestly, that’s his gift.”
Davis, who lost a tooth, went to the locker room when the quarter ended. The team physician, Brian McKeon, said he had a concussion.
“We’re just trying to win,” said Howard, who had 21 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. “Our intent is not to hurt anybody out there, but basketball is a physical game.”
The Magic’s lead never dipped below 8 points in the fourth quarter, and they led from the first quarter on. Daniels went into a series of moves inside against Orlando’s Marcin Gortat in the fourth quarter and crashed into Gortat’s chest, briefly blacking out with a concussion.
Both Rivers and Daniels will be evaluated Thursday.
With his frontcourt in disarray, Rivers inserted the seldom-used Shelden Williams, who had not played in the series, when Wallace, who also tweaked his back during the game, fouled out with less than five minutes remaining.
The daunting odds of winning the series has been discussed repeatedly, much to the annoyance of the Magic and the chagrin of Rivers. N.B.A. teams are 93-0 in series in which they lead by 3-0. It is foolproof as a mathematical equation until one team breaks free of the past.
The Magic used another simple mathematical formula Wednesday. Three points are worth more than 2. Jameer Nelson unleashed four 3-pointers, Matt Barnes made 3 and Mickael Pietrus and J. J. Redick delivered a pair of 3’s among Orlando’s total of 13 in 25 attempts. Orlando also outrebounded Boston, 43-26.
“At this point, we believe we can win the series,” said Nelson, who followed a stellar Game 4 with a game-high 24 points on Wednesday. “It can be done just one game at a time.”
The Celtics’ offense sputtered throughout the evening and never gained traction. Rajon Rondo, who struggled with muscle spasms in Game 4, scored 19 points and missed 6 of his 11 free throws. Paul Pierce scored 10 of his 18 points at the free-throw line.
Wallace ended with a team-high 21 points on 7-for-9 shooting.
“I want to say this the right way,” Van Gundy said. “I hate the guy. Same thing when I was in Miami — it’s like the guy never, ever, ever has a bad game against the team I coach.”
Rivers even juggled his rotation in search of a spark and played the little-utilized Daniels and Nate Robinson for stretches.
The Celtics’ unraveling started early as the Magic relocated its refined touch from beyond the 3-point arc. Six different Magic players combined for 9 3-pointers in the first half as Orlando surged to a 57-49 halftime lead.
Shortly before the half ended, the referee Eddie F. Rush compounded Boston’s troubles. He tagged Perkins with a foul as Perkins wrestled with Gortat for inside position. Perkins showed his dismay by jumping up and down, shouting, and walking away from Rush.
Rush quickly assessed Perkins with a technical for the outburst and another when the decision further agitated Perkins. The N.B.A. though will review the sequence, and there is a chance Perkins’s second technical may be rescinded with a decision expected by Thursday afternoon.
In all, referees handed out five technicals (three for Boston and two for Orlando).
Orlando rebounded from a day that had an ominous beginning.
Rashard Lewis, a non-factor with a total of 28 points in the first four games, revealed at Wednesday’s shootaround that he was playing through a viral infection in his stomach and felt drained early in games. He received intravenous fluid before Game 5 and responded with his best game of the series by scoring 14 points, including Orlando’s first 7 of the fourth quarter.
“Regular season, I probably would have sat out,” Lewis said. “Not to make no excuses, it is the playoffs.”
The N.B.A. also upgraded two Magic personal fouls to flagrant-1’s: Barnes shoving Kevin Garnett in the back, which caused Garnett to spill into Van Gundy in Game 3; and Howard’s pivot while rebounding that caught Garnett with an elbow in Game 4.
The Boston Celtics were collectively beat and beaten. Boston needed not only to look up at the final score, a 113-92 loss to the Orlando Magic, to take stock of what occurred in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday. They also needed to take inventory of injuries and attrition: two concussions and two blackouts (Davis and Marquis Daniels) and one ejection (Kendrick Perkins).
All of it equates to a Game 6 in Boston on Friday as the Celtics saw their hold on the series loosened to 3-2. The impact of Perkins’s ejection, the result of two second-quarter technicals, could affect that game as well. Perkins has now been tagged with seven postseason technicals, which draws an automatic one-game suspension.
The Magic brought the fight to the Celtics both literally and figuratively, whether it came in the form of Dwight Howard’s flying dunks or elbows.
A few days ago, the prospects for a Lakers-Celtics finals rematch of two years ago seemed certain. The Celtics departed here last week with thoughts of sweeping Orlando. Now, they are hoping to not return for a Game 7 with their season on the line.
As the series shifts, so does its momentum. The quick turnaround favors Orlando’s younger players, and Boston may still be reeling from Wednesday’s physicality. Orlando holds both the mental and physical advantages as the Celtics’ frontcourt and Howard’s primary defenders dwindled in numbers throughout the evening.
“I still look at it like we’re climbing a huge mountain here,” Orlando Coach Stan Van Gundy said. “But we’re playing better.”
After three sloppy efforts of putting Boston atop that mountain, Orlando is playing better without a game to spare. The Magic now resembles the team that earned the conference’s second seed and the one that Rivers announced in Boston’s training camp would stand in their path to the finals and not the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“We’ll show up and be ready at our place,” Rivers said of Game 6. “That’s why we earned the right to have this game, and we’re going to try and take advantage of it.”
It was more Orlando that earned the right. Howard complained about aggressive play earlier in the series, but he has since joined the fray.
In a bizarre sequence, Howard’s elbow collided into Davis’s head with Orlando holding an 84-75 lead and the third quarter nearing its end.
“I didn’t know that was legal, but anyway, he did,” Rivers said. “But listen, he’s a physical guy. We know that, and he should be. Honestly, that’s his gift.”
Davis, who lost a tooth, went to the locker room when the quarter ended. The team physician, Brian McKeon, said he had a concussion.
“We’re just trying to win,” said Howard, who had 21 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. “Our intent is not to hurt anybody out there, but basketball is a physical game.”
The Magic’s lead never dipped below 8 points in the fourth quarter, and they led from the first quarter on. Daniels went into a series of moves inside against Orlando’s Marcin Gortat in the fourth quarter and crashed into Gortat’s chest, briefly blacking out with a concussion.
Both Rivers and Daniels will be evaluated Thursday.
With his frontcourt in disarray, Rivers inserted the seldom-used Shelden Williams, who had not played in the series, when Wallace, who also tweaked his back during the game, fouled out with less than five minutes remaining.
The daunting odds of winning the series has been discussed repeatedly, much to the annoyance of the Magic and the chagrin of Rivers. N.B.A. teams are 93-0 in series in which they lead by 3-0. It is foolproof as a mathematical equation until one team breaks free of the past.
The Magic used another simple mathematical formula Wednesday. Three points are worth more than 2. Jameer Nelson unleashed four 3-pointers, Matt Barnes made 3 and Mickael Pietrus and J. J. Redick delivered a pair of 3’s among Orlando’s total of 13 in 25 attempts. Orlando also outrebounded Boston, 43-26.
“At this point, we believe we can win the series,” said Nelson, who followed a stellar Game 4 with a game-high 24 points on Wednesday. “It can be done just one game at a time.”
The Celtics’ offense sputtered throughout the evening and never gained traction. Rajon Rondo, who struggled with muscle spasms in Game 4, scored 19 points and missed 6 of his 11 free throws. Paul Pierce scored 10 of his 18 points at the free-throw line.
Wallace ended with a team-high 21 points on 7-for-9 shooting.
“I want to say this the right way,” Van Gundy said. “I hate the guy. Same thing when I was in Miami — it’s like the guy never, ever, ever has a bad game against the team I coach.”
Rivers even juggled his rotation in search of a spark and played the little-utilized Daniels and Nate Robinson for stretches.
The Celtics’ unraveling started early as the Magic relocated its refined touch from beyond the 3-point arc. Six different Magic players combined for 9 3-pointers in the first half as Orlando surged to a 57-49 halftime lead.
Shortly before the half ended, the referee Eddie F. Rush compounded Boston’s troubles. He tagged Perkins with a foul as Perkins wrestled with Gortat for inside position. Perkins showed his dismay by jumping up and down, shouting, and walking away from Rush.
Rush quickly assessed Perkins with a technical for the outburst and another when the decision further agitated Perkins. The N.B.A. though will review the sequence, and there is a chance Perkins’s second technical may be rescinded with a decision expected by Thursday afternoon.
In all, referees handed out five technicals (three for Boston and two for Orlando).
Orlando rebounded from a day that had an ominous beginning.
Rashard Lewis, a non-factor with a total of 28 points in the first four games, revealed at Wednesday’s shootaround that he was playing through a viral infection in his stomach and felt drained early in games. He received intravenous fluid before Game 5 and responded with his best game of the series by scoring 14 points, including Orlando’s first 7 of the fourth quarter.
“Regular season, I probably would have sat out,” Lewis said. “Not to make no excuses, it is the playoffs.”
The N.B.A. also upgraded two Magic personal fouls to flagrant-1’s: Barnes shoving Kevin Garnett in the back, which caused Garnett to spill into Van Gundy in Game 3; and Howard’s pivot while rebounding that caught Garnett with an elbow in Game 4.
