Game 6: Magic 83 Celtics 75
Led by Dwight Howard's 23 points, 22 rebounds (10 offensive) and 3 blocks, the Magic were able to overcome 36.6% field goal shooting and 54.8% free throw shooting to defeat Boston and force a Game 7 Sunday night in Boston.
The Magic never led in the first half, as they trailed 25-22 after one and 46-45 at the half. The Magic didn't score for the first five minutes of the third as the Celtics held their largest lead of the game at 55-45, but the Magic came back to cut the Celtics' lead to 62-61 at the end of three. The Magic scored 11 of the first 16 points in the fourth to lead 72-67, only to see Boston's Paul Pierce make three jumpers in a row to give the Celtics a 73-72 lead with just under five minutes remaining. The score was 75-75 with 3:46 remaining; the Magic proceeded to shut the Celtics out the rest of the way on their way to the 83-75 win.
Magic leading scorers
Dwight Howard: 23 points (9 of 16 field goals), 22 rebounds (10 offensive), 3 blocks
Rashard Lewis: 20 points (7 of 18 field goals), 6 rebounds, 2 steals
Rafer Alston: 11 points (4 of 9 field goals), 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks
Mickael Pietrus (bench): 11 points (4 of 8 field goals), 2 steals
Boston leading scorers
Rajan Rondo: 19 points (8 of 19 field goals), 16 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals, 5 turnovers
Paul Pierce: 17 points (6 of 14 field goals), 9 rebounds, 5 assists
Kendrick Perkins: 15 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks
Overall Game Statistics
FG%: BOS 41.6% (32 of 77) ORL 36.6% (30 of 82)
3 PT FG%: ORL 23.1% (6 of 26) BOS 16.7% (3 of 18)
FT%: BOS 61.5% (8 of 13) ORL 54.8% (17 of 31)
REB: BOS 48 (12 offensive) ORL 42 (16 offensive)
AST/TO: BOS 18/22 ORL 13/10
BENCH: ORL 20 BOS 13
Other game notes and stats:
-The Magic outscored Boston 17-8 from the free throw line, and had 31 free throw attempts to just 13 for the Celtics
-The Magic attempted 24 second half free throws, the Celtics just 6
-Howard and Lewis combined to shoot 16 of 34 from the field; the rest of the magic combined to shoot 14 of 48
-Hedo Turkoglu and J.J. Redick combined to shoot 3 of 20 from the field
-Turkoglu and Lewis combined to shoot 1 of 9 from three point range
-Other than Pietrus, the Magic bench combined to shoot 3 of 11
-Courtney Lee added six points off the bench in 22 minutes
-Allen and Pierce combined to shoot 0 for 10 from three point range
-The Celtics' "Big Three" of Pierce, Allen, and Rondo combined for 41 points
-The Magic starting frontline outscored the Celtics' starting frontline 50-38
-The Celtics committed 12 second half turnovers
-Boston made just 7 of their final 26 shot attempts
Game 7 will be Sunday night in Boston.
For the complete box score, click here
The Magic never led in the first half, as they trailed 25-22 after one and 46-45 at the half. The Magic didn't score for the first five minutes of the third as the Celtics held their largest lead of the game at 55-45, but the Magic came back to cut the Celtics' lead to 62-61 at the end of three. The Magic scored 11 of the first 16 points in the fourth to lead 72-67, only to see Boston's Paul Pierce make three jumpers in a row to give the Celtics a 73-72 lead with just under five minutes remaining. The score was 75-75 with 3:46 remaining; the Magic proceeded to shut the Celtics out the rest of the way on their way to the 83-75 win.
Magic leading scorers
Dwight Howard: 23 points (9 of 16 field goals), 22 rebounds (10 offensive), 3 blocks
Rashard Lewis: 20 points (7 of 18 field goals), 6 rebounds, 2 steals
Rafer Alston: 11 points (4 of 9 field goals), 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks
Mickael Pietrus (bench): 11 points (4 of 8 field goals), 2 steals
Boston leading scorers
Rajan Rondo: 19 points (8 of 19 field goals), 16 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals, 5 turnovers
Paul Pierce: 17 points (6 of 14 field goals), 9 rebounds, 5 assists
Kendrick Perkins: 15 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks
Overall Game Statistics
FG%: BOS 41.6% (32 of 77) ORL 36.6% (30 of 82)
3 PT FG%: ORL 23.1% (6 of 26) BOS 16.7% (3 of 18)
FT%: BOS 61.5% (8 of 13) ORL 54.8% (17 of 31)
REB: BOS 48 (12 offensive) ORL 42 (16 offensive)
AST/TO: BOS 18/22 ORL 13/10
BENCH: ORL 20 BOS 13
Other game notes and stats:
-The Magic outscored Boston 17-8 from the free throw line, and had 31 free throw attempts to just 13 for the Celtics
-The Magic attempted 24 second half free throws, the Celtics just 6
-Howard and Lewis combined to shoot 16 of 34 from the field; the rest of the magic combined to shoot 14 of 48
-Hedo Turkoglu and J.J. Redick combined to shoot 3 of 20 from the field
-Turkoglu and Lewis combined to shoot 1 of 9 from three point range
-Other than Pietrus, the Magic bench combined to shoot 3 of 11
-Courtney Lee added six points off the bench in 22 minutes
-Allen and Pierce combined to shoot 0 for 10 from three point range
-The Celtics' "Big Three" of Pierce, Allen, and Rondo combined for 41 points
-The Magic starting frontline outscored the Celtics' starting frontline 50-38
-The Celtics committed 12 second half turnovers
-Boston made just 7 of their final 26 shot attempts
Game 7 will be Sunday night in Boston.
For the complete box score, click here
posted by Mike from Illinois @ 1:12 AM
10 Comments:
At 2:36 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
Shutting out the Celtics the final 3:46 of the game... now that's the right way to close out a game for the Magic!
D12 led the way in Game 6... what a great game! 16 touches is more like it; of course, his 10 offensive rebounds really helped. His aggressiveness on both sides of the ball was a force to be reckoned with.
The Magic were able to survive 14 missed free throws, 36% free throw shooting, and 21% 3 point field goal shooting because Boston didn't exactly light it up either with their field goal shooting, three point shooting, or free throw shooting.
Turnovers were huge... the Celtics had more than twice as many as the Magic; rarely will the Celtics turn the ball over 20 times in a playoff game. The Magic protected the ball a lot better.
What can you say about Turk... what a horrible game until his huge three late that put the game away for the Magic for all intents and purposes.
I don't agree with SVG's decision to start Redick, who continues to struggle badly shooting (maybe he needs to watch his own instructional video), but at least Courtney Lee saw the majority of the playing time in the second half.
It's hard to believe Ray Allen continues to struggle shooting so much in this series... I just hope that means he won't go off in Game 7.
I'm glad the Magic had enough pride and determination not to get eliminated on their home floor!
At 2:53 AM,
Matt said…
What an ugly game for both teams. Magic won the game despite bad shooting by 3 starters - J.J. Hedo and Rafer - bad FT shooting and being out-rebounded. That proves that they are a better team, and against an older/worn-out BOS they should be able to win game 7 in Boston. I am on the fence with starting J.J. He shot badly in this game, but he has done a good job on defending Ray Allen. Additionally, when Courtney comes in he is shutting down Eddie House, and of course no more of his stupid theatrics.
In game 7, I expect MP and CL to be the wild cards in winning the game. I expect a Magic win since all the pressure is on BOS.
At 5:42 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
You are right, Matt, that Redick has done a pretty good job defensively on Ray Allen throughout the series, as Allen has struggled with his shot.
I know I've said before that I think it would be impossible for the Magic to win a Game 7 in Boston; one of the reasons being that Boston is 32-0 in their franchise history when ahead 3 games to 2 in a series.
Granted, much of that occurred in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, but that just shows the kind of history the Magic are going up against.
Well, this means the Magic have a chance to make history with a win, and I would love for them to prove me wrong and go out and beat Boston in Game 7!
At 8:51 AM,
Big Figure said…
Foul trouble for big baby was the difference in the game to be honest. Down the stretch when the celtics need a basket they had been going to pick and roll,but with big baby on the bench in foul trouble almost everything for them was a turnover or isolation. The magic won because they turned boston into what we had been down the stretch of games,un-disciplined. I hate the fact that the the magic won with boston playing so poorly,they will have plenty of confidence in game seven thinking that if they dont turn it over 20 times and execute down the stretch that they can still beat this team.
At 8:55 AM,
Big Figure said…
The magic on the other hand,its hard to pick them because you never know if theyll play hard for four quarters. Maybe a game seven is just what they need to exercise those demons,the more skilled team should always win the game if they play hard till the final whistle.
At 9:25 AM,
Matt said…
Mike:
Being a statistician myself, I know exactly why I don't trust statisticians. The conditions have to count for something; 1)the teams are different so the main variable is not the same; 2) The old Boston Gardens was tough to play at for being either too cold or too hot thus skewing the outcomes; 3) what about Magic winning one game there, and should have won another (game 4); and 4) all presuure is on Boston to win on their homecourt. So please throw historical statistics out of the window because they don't mean anything in a situation when a team is better, like Magic is.
At 12:26 PM,
WeRDevos said…
This series should be Magic 5-1 at this point. It was good to see them play hard at the end of the game -- finally.
They are fully capable of beating Boston on Sunday but I wouldn't bet a dime on it.
At 6:07 PM,
Mike from Illinois said…
Again, you're right, Matt, in the points that you bring up. I just brought that stat up that Boston is 32-0 all time when ahead 3 games to 2 in a series because that's a pretty amazing stat for a franchise to have.
SVG, in his post-game press conference, said that won't last forever... that Boston will lose a series sometime when they're ahead 3-2 whether it be in 10 years, 20 years or 50 years.
Or, how about Sunday when the Magic have the chance to make history and be the first team to defeat the Celtics in such a situation.
Yes, the Magic is the better and more talented team. Let's hope they play like it the whole Game 7.
At 4:50 PM,
Stacy..from Orlando said…
Bravo to Dwight for his offensive rebounds. I still think he needs to hold on to the ball better when he gets a touch and not spend so much time deciding which way to go and has to get closer if he insists on using the hook. Much luv though...Now, Pietrus needs to stay on the floor a lot more often. He has great energy and takes the ball to the hole when everyone else is missing the 3. Same with Lee. He works his butt off on the floor and once he gets some shots off, hit starts to hit. JJ needs to spend more time on the bench until he gets his shot back, maybe next season. I also wouldnt mind seeing AJ more. Great energy from him on the floor and he makes things happen.. I hope my boys can pull off a win in Boston tomorrow but my guess is that Boston (and Ray Allen) is/are actually going to show up on Sunday unlike game 6 in Orlando. And if we are leaving people on the floor the whole game that are missing everything (Turk/JJ) we wont see a win. We have to use our bench.
At 9:44 PM,
Mike from Illinois said…
Stacy, I agree with what you're saying about Pietrus. He has played well off the bench in this series, and that's very encouraging. As long as he doesn't fall in love with the three point shot too much, he should remain effective. I really like it when he's aggressive and drives to the basket; good things happen for the Magic when he does that.
I'm not happy with Redick shooting so poorly the last three games, but he has been doing a good job defensively on Allen. He's been chasing around Allen so much on defense that Redick admitted it's affecting his offense.
It seems that it might make sense to start Courtney Lee in place of J.J., but we'll have to trust in Coach Van Gundy that he makes the right decision there.
A.J. has had his moments off the bench, as you mentioned.
My fear also for Game 7 is that Ray Allen goes off for the Celtics because you figure he has to start hitting his shots sometime, but as long as the Magic play tough defense like they did in Game 6, they have a good chance of coming out with the win.
It will take a complete team effort from the Magic to come away with the win... the starters along with the bench, as I'm sure the Celtics will play better than they did in Game 6.
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