Tables turning all around as Magic stun Celtics in thriller
There is a shift in the winds in this year’s NBA finals. While the Phoenix Suns have the Los Angeles Lakers bowed in front of them; the Boston Celtics weren’t able to pull off the magic against the Orlando team. The inevitable seems to be put away, at least for the time being as Orlando evaded a clean sweep in Game 4 against the Celtics. The Celtics will now have to put in a bigger effort to win their second title in 3 years.
It was a stunning game in the end. Jameer Nelson went into overdrive as he continued to drain three pointers in overtime, which helped a lot. Along with Dwight Howard who produced 32 points with 16 rebounds, the Magic’s went on to win a memorable game.
On Monday night, the Eastern Conference finals turned into a Michael Jackson thriller with the Orlando Magic’s winning with 96-92. They certainly have escaped the clean sweep of four games at a stretch. However, no team has ever made a comeback when they were three games down.
Howard on the contrary was very optimistic. He exuberantly told the media that his team was ready to leave for home, “Got to go back to Orlando. Hopefully everybody back there will be ready. Have to keep the faith.”
On the other side, Paul Pierce was the star for the Celtics. He produced 32 points along with 11 rebounds while Kevin Garnett chipped in with 14 points and 12 rebounds. The game went into extra-time which resulted in a flurry of three-pointers by the players. Ray Allen scored back-to-back three-pointers in the dying moments of the match in order to compete with Nelson. However, it was Pierce who disappointed the team in the end as he missed two in the final minutes of the game.
Nelson pulled off 23 points and 9 assists in the end, which allowed the Magic’s to defend their title in the East Conference. The Celtics certainly came in as the under-dogs. However, the way they played, Orlando changed the environment despite this defeat. Nevertheless, the Magic’s have shown why they are amongst the very best. The team played aggressively throughout the game, leading with 10 points in the second quarter. With nearly two-and-a-half minutes left on the clock, they were up by 85-78. Alas Celtics levelled the score at 86 in regulation time. The game powered into extra-time.
The game was intense when it resumed. Ironically, none of the teams were able to score in the first two-and-a-half minutes of the restart. But then, Nelson showed his expertise in pressure situations by scoring a three-pointer and then scoring another one within the next minute. Allen then rivalled up and closed his deal with a three-pointer after Howard’s dunk. Allen showed his wonderful skills, moments later when he changed the score to 94-92 by draining another three-pointer.
As the game moved ahead, Howard caught Nelson’s miss to make it 96-92.
Everybody is expecting the Lakers and Celtics to draw up in the final. The scales are tipping in the most expected way. However, there is at least one team, which is balancing the act. In the Western Conference finals, the Lakers are leading by two games to one over the Suns. Bottom of Form
The Magic’s are showing a steady progress. The game against the Lakers was their largest lead so far in the series. This time however, Orlando started with style and took it up to 31-26 in first quarter, 42-32 in second. However, the game was impaired to four points at half time.
Orlando led by 85-78, thanks to Howard. Later, Pierce ended the wait for dunks and passed a three-pointer, bringing the score to 85-83 with a minute-and-a-half reaming. Nelson and Pierce then scored from 2 throws while missed the third one at free throws on fouls to level it at 86-86.
With about a minute remaining, Nelson and Pierce missed the victory chance for their team and the game went into regulation time. The series has definitely taken a new turn with the Orlando Magic’s finally finding their courage. The current stream of things explains that the Celtics are planning to bring them down, harder and faster. While the Magic is expected to pursue; they won’t give up that easily.
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