The Orlando Magic wins Game 4 in overtime earning them a second chance.
—This was it.
This was the last chance to make it, and the dream team was miles away from home in Boston.
As the City of Orlando gathered together Downtown to watch Game 4, you could see the desperation in the faces of those who still believed.
Magic Watch Parties are usually filled with people and games, but Monday’s downtown party at The Plaza Cinema Cafe was slow to start. The DJ was blasting the music, the Magic dancers were handing out prizes, but the crowd just wasn’t there. A few scattered blue jerseys walked around and curious bystanders glanced at the commotion. Where were the fans?
“We are going to win this game with our record, our defense and our rebound alright?”
These words delivered by Magic’s coach Stan Van Gundy at pregame seemed to give the crowd and the players the motivation needed to start the party. They were ready. It’s win or go home; or in this case, come home without the title.
Tip off gives the Magic possession of the ball and the first two points of the night. The Celtics, with an all round team, score three points on a jump shot by Allen.
—The blue team does not forgive.
One…two..three jump shots in a roll from behind the three point line and 9 points down on the scoreboard. A hustle between Barnes, Howard and Nelson has the superman where he’s most comfortable, dunking balls and scoring points in the paint. Magic lead 14-9.
The Celtics are not playing around…they work on their defense and start closing the lead by catching rebounds. Pierce and Allen take advantage of gaps in the Magic’s defense and score 4 points.
Second quarter the Magic lead 31-26. The Celtic’s pep talk delivered by coach Doc Rivers helped. They are blocking shots, but not enough to stop JJ Redick from scoring another two points and a foul, landing him a free throw to add to the mix.
A quick assist delivered by both Nelson and Howard leaves Lewis wide open and ready to shoot at the left wing. On the Boston side, things get aggressive and after Rondo scores his second foul in less than 2 minutes, he’s handed a time out by Doc Rivers.
It’s a game of free throws. With 26 seconds left on the second quarter both teams were 13/19 respectively. But while the Celtics have a better shooting percentage when it comes to free throws, the Magic still lead 53-47 by the end of the quarter.
The halftime show in Downtown Orlando went from slim to crowded in a matter of seconds. Free t-shirt launch, flags and a Tina Tuner look alike had the fans chanting “Go Magic” for most of the 16-minutes break before the third quarter.
The game suddenly was attractive even to those that have never paid attention. One by one the citizens of Orlando started sitting down and grabbing souvenirs. One by one they looked around and became comfortable enough to relax, buy a beer and become a Magic fan.
—We are not going home empty handed.
Third quarter things got a little fuzzy and made the Magic fans break into a sweat.
It was the Celtics turn to fight…well a different kind of fight. After a rough play in the paint at 9:22, Garnett is not happy when Howard’s elbow lands in his face. Barnes attempts to hold him back but after a lot of pushing and shoving a technical foul is called on Garnett. Carter shoots and the Magic is ahead 56-49.
—The Celtics are furious and inspired.
Allen steals the ball right from under Carter’s nose and makes a run for it. With an easy basket opportunity he scores two points. Another two fouls on Garnett and the Celtics score 6 straight points in the next minute.
It’s a battle of three points. Redick v Pierce. Magic v Celtics. Green v Blue. Two on each side brings the score to 66-65. Too close for comfort for the Magic that have led the whole game so far. The Magic has the last shot but misses and the Celtics close the quarter ahead. The first time they lead in the game with one point advantage, 68-67.
Fourth quarter starts and the fans in downtown Orlando forget their chairs and stand up. The Magic take the lead back with a rebound from Howard. It’s a battle in Boston. The seconds tick by slowly and both teams are bringing their A game. Outstanding defense and offense.
As the crowd in Boston screams defense, the fans in Orlando scoot closer to the big screen and cringe when Howard misses two free throws and “big baby” Davis on the rebound knocks down three points for the Celtics for the tie. 74-74.
A hustle with 5 minutes left leaves the two teams inside the paint jumping like frogs looking for the ball. Magic make a run for it but misses. Garnett takes possession and shoots, misses. The ball is back on the Magic side and then back on the Celtics side.
Orlando is up 85-78 with 2:24 seconds left with the help of Nelson that scored three points behind the line and assisted Howard on two dunks and 7 points total.
Orlando can’t believe their team is back. Fans are taping each other in the back and glowing, but before the fact that Orlando might see another game at the Amway arena has time to sink in, the unthinkable happened…Boston scored eight of the next nine points to force overtime at 86-all.
—The first overtime of the 2010 Playoffs so far.
No scoring for the first 2:38 seconds have fans in Boston screaming and the fans in Orlando biting their nails…until it came…two jumpers down by Nelson and 6 points to add to the scoreboard for the Magic.
Allen is not done and after a poor defense strategy by Barnes he finds himself wide open and scores three more for the Celtics cutting the lead down to 92-89.
Two nice lay ups by Howard and the Magic have the lead 96-92 with the last shot of the game belonging to the Celtics. 3…2…1 and Downtown Orlando went wild. Nothing mattered anymore; the Magic was coming home victorious.
Now it’s time to hustle. The Magic need to win at home on Wednesday to stay alive and go back to Boston for another round. No NBA team has ever rebounded from a 3-0 deficit before and won the series.
“At some point, somebody is going to come from 3-0 down and win a series. The only thing I knew for sure was it would start by winning Game 4,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. “I figured that one out. You have to win Game 4. … This was a must-win.”
—-And they did just that.
Fernanda Barros for West Orlando News Online
