It does not matter how it happened. The Magic just needed to get a win in Boston. Getting it in the first game of the Eastern Conference Semifinals was a bonus.
Orlando built up a 28-point third quarter lead with a dominating offensive and defensive performance and then saw its lead slowly chipped away. A Ray Allen 3-pointer with about two minutes left rimmed out, helping Orlando maintain a precarious four-point lead and hold on for the Game One victory.
As the TNT broadcast said, it was a game neither coach would be too happy about. But Stan Van Gundy has to be feeling better knowing his team now has control of home court and a 1-0 series lead.
Get ready for a dog fight of a series everyone.
This game reminded me a lot of Orlando's two previous meetings with Boston. In both those games, the Magic built up commanding first half leads and watched the Celtics close in on them. Boston really pushed Orlando at the end, but simply had too high of a hill to climb and probably not enough gas in the tank.
That is honestly what it looked like in the first half for Boston. The Celtics seemed very tired and reluctant to attack the basket -- especially after Dwight Howard blocked two shots early. They settled for jumpers and did not get to the basket. Even when they did attack, the Magic were there defensively and made some great rotations to cover the shooters.
On offense, it seemed like the break gave Orlando the legs it needed to go right at Boston and attack in every way possible. Howard admitted he was a bit rusty -- finishing with 16 points and 22 rebounds while shooting six of 12 -- but did a good job attacking in the paint.
More impressively, Van Gundy found a way to get Rashard Lewis involved in the offense in a big way. He had Lewis set up in the post a few times against Brian Scalabrine and attack Glenn Davis off the dribble. Lewis was a big reason the Magic built a comfortable lead in the first half. He led the team with 18 points and added seven rebounds.
The first half was an offensive clinic. Shots do not come easier than that and the Celtics failed to get to the free throw line in the first half.
As impressive as the first half was, Orlando seemed to lose its legs in the second half as Boston gained its stamina. Call it a product of the long layoff, but nearly blowing a 28-point lead is inexcusable.
How did Boston do it?
First, Rajon Rondo got to pretty much anywhere he wanted on the floor. He attacked the basket and starting dishing to open guys underneath or on the perimeter. Paul Pierce also came out more aggressively and looked to help the Celtics chip away at the lead.
That is the kind of focus, mental toughness and killer instinct Orlando is really missing -- especially without Jameer Nelson. The Magic have been real good the past two years at just gutting out wins -- inexplicably sometimes. They are like Seabiscuit almost, you have to rear them back to look into their opponents eyes before they sprint through the finish.
News flash, though: against the defending champions in the NBA Playoffs that strategy will ultimately doom your team.
The Magic just need to learn how to finish. The Celtics got to the line 26 times in the second half (I believe 18 in the third quarter alone) as the offense went cold.
Orlando stopped attacking the basket on its end, stopped hitting open jumper and also stopped getting the ball to Dwight Howard. Rondo put some good ball pressure defensively on Rafer Alston and Anthony Johnson and both struggled to initiate the offense. So much so that it was Hedo Turkoglu running the show late in the game.
Boston continued to attack and found holes in Orlando's defense as the team simply stopped moving their feet and gave up easy baskets or fouls.
I would not expect that kind of effort -- from either team really -- the rest of this series.
A lot was exposed in this game. But I think you can chalk some of the struggles on both sides to stamina issues. Boston was flat early, Orlando was flat late. They will meet somewhere in the middle for Game Two.
The bottom line: as frustrating as it is to see the Magic blow another second-half playoff lead, they picked up the victory and control home court. Orlando has a lot of growing up to do and cannot expect Boston to roll over and spot the team a huge lead like that.
The Magic have to get tougher mentally to take this series. The Celtics clearly already have that and showed championship confidence in etching away at that lead -- while also realizing they ultimately lost the game and moving on for Wednesday night.
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