Third Time's A Charm: Celtics 96, Magic 84
Paul Pierce led the Celtics with a double-double, registering 31 points and 13 rebounds, as Boston took Game 6: 96-84.
The Magic, who shot 52% from beyond the arc in Game 5, were held in check by Boston - shooting just 24% on 6/22 3-point shooting in tonight's contest. Orlando also fell into foul trouble with their key guys. Howard ended the game with 4, Nelson 5 and Redick 3.
Perkins was able to avoid picking up a technical, saying next to nothing to the refs. He will not be suspended for Game 1 of the Finals. Ray Allen finished with 20 points, Rondo with 14 points and 6 assists. Yet, Nate Robinson was the story of the game, surprisingly erupting with 13.
In the first quarter, the Celtics jumped out to a 11 point lead behind an impressive effort by Rajon Rondo - who looked like he was well on his way to another double double. Yet, before the quarter could come to a close, Rondo took a scary fall driving to the basket and was very slow to get up. He spent the majority of the second quarter, and some of the fourth, laying on the floor with ice packs around his hips.
No Rondo? No Problem. Luckily and surprisingly for the Celtics, Nate Robinson filled in quite nicely with Rondo watching from the floor. The game Doc promised he would have - he did. Robinson scored 13 points in the second quarter - helping the Celtics climb to a first half lead that stood as much as 21.
After dominating the first half, Boston entered the third quarter with the same fire and tenacity with which they started the game. To begin the 3rd, Ray Allen knocked down two back to back threes as the Celtics extended their lead to a game high, 24. In the fourth, Despite going through a scoreless stretch of 4 minutes, Boston held onto a lead that dipped as low as 14 and peaked as much as 24 - defeating Orlando 96-84.
In a losing effort, the Magic were led by Howard's 28 points, 12 rebounds and Vince Carter's 17. Trailing by 18 in the third, Dwight Howard arrogantly mocked the crowd after a "Howard Sucks" chant broke out following his hard foul on Pierce - which knocked off The Truth's headband.
The Celtics await the victor of the Suns-Lakers series, which L.A. leads 3-2. The Boston fans obviously are rooting for the Lakers as a "Beat L.A." chant broke out as the Celtics hovered around a 20 point lead in the fourth quarter.
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