After Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Boston was in control and most every analyst and sportwriter expected a sweep. Then, Orlando won Game 4 in overtime and routed Boston 113-92 in Game 5 at Amway Arena.

Now, those same writers who proclaimed Orlando’s season dead and halfway buried are writing about the resurrection of the Magic. Some Orlando Sentinel writers–George Diaz and Mike Bianchi– have gone so far as to predict the greatest comeback in NBA playoff history and  a Finals berth for Orlando.

George Diaz wrote:

This time, the accountants have added up all the misery of NBA teams trying to crawl out of an 0-3 hole in a 7-game series, and they say the Orlando Magic have no prayer. The other 93 teams that came before them all failed.

But as coach Stan Van Gundy keeps reminding everyone, somebody has to be first.

It will be his team.

It will be his team because the Celtics are suddenly old, beaten and battered. Even though Kendrick Perkins will play tonight after having one of his technical fouls rescinded, he is no longer the smooth veteran frustrating big man Dwight Howard.

I don’t have a promise with optimism for the home team, but declaring the Celtics “suddenly old” after just two losses and one poor game (Game 5)? Diaz certainly wasn’t calling the Celtics “old” after they took a 3-0 series lead. It’s funny, when the Celtics are winning they are called a “veteran team” but when they start losing they are “suddenly old.” What hypocrisy.

But at least Diaz didn’t go so far as to stupidly compare the Boston Celtics to the Boston Bruins, who collapsed with a 3-0 series lead against the Philadelphia Flyers.

His colleague Mike Bianchi, however, thought the comparison was a good one:

Teams can absolutely feed on the synergy and psyche of another team in town. Especially when that other team — the Bruins in this case — own and play in the same arena you play in.
The seats in Boston’s TD Garden are painted Bruins gold and black, not Celtics green and white. The ushers and concessionaires in the arena are employed by the Bruins. And up in the rafters, the Bruins banners hang side by side with the Celtics banners.

I’m sorry Bianchi–and all the other idiots comparing the Celtics to the Bruins– but one sport has NOTHING to do with the other.

The Boston Bruins were an overachieving team who rode a hot goalie and good team play as far as the wave would take them. The Boston Celtics are former champions who almost beat Orlando Magic last year without Kevin Garnett–and if you happened to forget–still hold a 3-2 series lead with Game 6 being played in the TD Garden in BOSTON.

So for everyone out there, relax with the hyperbole and disaster warnings about the Boston Celtics. Home court advantage tonight is a big edge. The Celtics are still in the driver’s seat.

Boston took another small step toward disaster with a bizarre 113-92 loss that featured five technical fouls, two concussions, and Rasheed Wallace as the Celtics’ leading scorer.

Here’s how it happened:

The first quarter was one Dr. James Naismith would be proud of;  the ball was moving, the players’ energy was palpable, and if you closed your eyes, you could hear the squeaking of shoes–the sound of basketball played the right way.

Ray Allen opened up the game’s scoring with a three-pointer, which would soon be followed by three more threes–one from Paul Pierce and one each from Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis. Lewis who has battled the flu, finally produced, scoring 14 points and grabbing 7 rebounds in just 24 minutes.

The Orlando Magic felt right at home in Amway Arena–sinking nine first half threes and  shooting 13–25 on threes for the game. Meanwhile, Clarke Kent (Dwight Howard) had two thunder dunks in the first quarter, then immediately emerged from the phone booth as Superman.

In the second quarter, Orlando continued to play with high intensity and execute well, while Boston looked tired, old, and sluggish. Boston continuously walked the ball up the court into stagnant offensive sets, but, on the other end, Orlando was pushing the pace, moving with and without the ball and attacking gaps in the Celtics defense. Howard, who had 5 blocks in the first half, made sure any gaps in the Magic defense were quickly clogged by his incredibly long arms.

Halfway through the second quarter a three-point barrage–led by two J.J. Redick threes–extended the Magic lead to double-digits. Despite playing poorly on both ends, Boston somehow found a way to keep the game close until halftime, when the score was 57-49, Magic.

But it was the last two minutes of the half, not the three-point barrage, that had the biggest impact on the outcome of the game.

With 2:15 left in the half, Kendrick Perkins and Marcin Gortat were called for offsetting technical fouls. Perkins was trying to help Paul Pierce off the floor after a hard foul, when his hand slipped off Pierce’s and his elbow inadvertently bumped into Gortat. Gortat, thinking Perkins had just elbowed him, quickly poked the ball out of hands before the referees stunned everyone–fans, players, announcers– by calling double-technicals.

Then, with just 36.1 seconds left in the first half, Perkins received his second technical foul, earning him an early trip to the locker room. Perkins’ second technical foul came after he was called for a bogus reach-in foul on Dwight Howard. Perkins looked incredulously at the referee before turning his back and venting his frustrations to no one in particular.

Unfortunately, the ref kept a close eye on Perkins and when he jumped up animatedly, he was whistled for his second technical. With the two technical fouls, Perkins now has seven for the post-season, which will earn him a one-game suspension if the technicals are upheld. Each technical or flagrant foul is reviewed by the league office, and it seems likely that one–if not both– of Perkins’ technical fouls will be rescinded.

In spite of Perkins’ ejection, Boston played Orlando to a stand-still in the third quarter behind the strong play of reserves Rasheed Wallace and Glen Davis. Wallace finished the game with 21 points, while Davis finished it with a concussion and a missing tooth. Davis and Wallace manned the defensive interior, while guard Rajon Rondo handled the offense, scoring 10 third-quarter points.

At the end of the third-quarter, however, as little-used backup Nate Robinson blocked Howard’s shot, Davis took an elbow to the face from Howard and suffered a concussion. Davis was down on the ground for a few seconds, then tried to rise to his feet. Davis’ legs wobbled like a dizzy drunk and he caromed off balance before being held up first by referee Joe Crawford and then–when that became too much for Crawford– by Wallace.

Without either Davis or Perkins–the two primary Dwight Howard defenders–Boston quietly fell apart in the fourth quarter. A desperation  small-ball lineup of Rondo, Robinson, Wallace, Pierce, and Ray Allen did nothing to change Boston’s fortune as the game turned sour with about 9 minutes left in the fourth.

Reserve forward Marquis Daniels also received a concussion when he drove into a double-team, and bumped his head into the oncoming chest of Gortat.

Rajon Rondo finished with 19 points and 6 assists, but was not probing the defense in his typical, breathtaking fashion. Paul Pierce finished with 18 points, 16 of them coming in the first half.

Jameer Nelson led Orlando with 24 points, followed by Howard, who finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks. J.J. Redick had another productive game with 14 points off the bench, and two key three-pointers in the second quarter surge.

Orlando out-rebounded Boston 43 to 26, including  10 offensive rebounds.

Boston now leads Orlando just 3-2, with Game 6 coming up Friday on ESPN at 8:30 ET.

Rashard Lewis said he wouldn’t play tonight’s game if it was regular season game, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. Lewis has been battling a stomach virus all series long and will likely receive IV fluids before Game 5.

Robbins writes:

But the illness also has taken a toll. Lewis revealed today that he missed the Magic’s shootaround prior to Game 2 because he had to go to a doctor and receive an IV. He also acknowledged that the virus affected him in Game 3.

Lewis said, “I feel like my body shut down on me in Game 3 out there in Boston and [was] a little bit better in Game 4 just because of the fact that I was able to get some IVs right before the game.”

When asked if he would’ve played in the regular season with the illness, Lewis responded, “In the regular season, I probably would’ve sat out. But not to make no excuses, it is the playoffs, and you’ve got to just go out there and give it 100 percent. It’s the playoffs, so I’ve got to get out there and drag myself out there at some point.”

Lewis’ illness seems plausible considering how poorly he has played in the series. At the same time, Lewis seems to be using the flu as an excuse for his poor play. Lewis is a former All-Star who is currently under contract for $126 million. At this stage of the playoffs, almost everybody is banged up. Michael Jordan certainly never used the flu as an excuse. In the playoffs, players just have to suck it up and continue to play as hard they can, for as long as they can.

After playing through muscle spasm in Monday night’s overtime loss to the Orlando Magic, Rajon Rondo assured everybody he’d be ready to play his best tonight.

According to Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston, Rondo told reporters after practice:

“I’m feeling better, I’m fine,” Rondo said at the Celtics’ shootaround Wednesday morning at Amway Arena. “Nothing to worry about, I’ll be playing.”

Good news for Celtics town. The Boston Celtics will need Rajon Rondo at 100% if they want to slow down the pick-and-roll offense the Magic used so effectively in Game 4. Rondo left for the locker room with 1:16 left in the first half to treat his muscle spasms, and did not play well in the second half, finishing the game with just 9 points and 8 assists.

Nelson led the Magic past the Celtics with 23 points, 9 assists in Game 4. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

“They are the Eastern Conference Champions until somebody beats them,” Doc Rivers said at halftime on ESPN.

And– for one more day at least–after a 96-92 OT win–the Magic are still the Eastern Conference Champions.

Jameer Nelson spearheaded the effort with 23 points, and– more importantly– 9 assists. Nelson controlled the pace of the came, continuously finding Howard for lobs and bounce passes off the pick-and-roll and Redick for threes.

Nelson’s back-to-back threes in overtime secured the victory for Orlando.

Paul Pierce had a vintage game–attacking the rim from all angles– but it was not enough for Boston. Pierce shot ten first half free throws– scoring 19 points. Pierce finished with 32 points and 11 rebounds for the game.

Rondo went into the locker room with 1:16 left in the first half with what turned out to be muscle spasms. Rondo played noticeably worse in the second half and finished with just 9 points on 3-10 shooting and 8 assists.

J.J. Redick provided a spark off the bench again with 10 straight points Magic points midway through the fourth quarter– and at one point was the only Magic player to score over an 11 minute span.

Vince Carter scored just 3 points on 1-9 shooting. Dwight Howard scored 32 points and ripped down 16 rebounds.

After Kevin Garnett and Howard got into a minor scuffle early in the third quarter, Celtics crowd and the team’s energy noticeably increased. Howard elbowed Garnett, who responded by pushing Howard, which quickly earned Garnett a technical foul.

Ray Allen, who made 5-7 threes, hit one big three with 1:41 left in regulation, two more in overtime.

Besides Ray Allen though, Boston was 0-11 from behind the arc. Pierce missed back-to-back threes with about a minute left in overtime which effectively ended the Celtic’s chances.

We’re going to win this game with our effort, our defense, our intensity,” Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said, before the game for ESPN, while miked up in the locker room.

The reigning Eastern Conference champions did just that to hold off elimination.

Superman got knocked down. Can he beat the 10-count tonight?

After losing Game 3 by 23 points, and putting themselves in an 0-3 hole that no NBA team has overcome, Orlando appears to be a drowning team.  Boston has come at Orlando in unrelenting waves of vocal defense, fluid offense, and total concentration.

Rajon Rondo’s now famous diving steal/ layup has become a microcosm of the series: Boston is outhustling and outworking a surprisigly blase Orlando Magic team.

This series has reminded me a lot of a boxing match. In Game 1, Boston punched the Magic in the collective mouth, sending them sprawling to the canvas. Orlando was not ready for Boston’s physicality, especially Dwight Howard who struggled with Kendrick Perkins’ physical defense and Rasheed Wallace’s judo-chops.

In Game 2, Orlando came back, cuts healed, energy restored, ready to avenge their round 1 knockdown. Boston and Orlando exchanged punches all game long, but, at the end of the game,  Vince Carter missed two crucial free throws with Orlando down three and Kevin Garnett and Rondo proved to be too much .

After losing the second round–the second game– on points, Orlando came out for Game 3 and promptly took a 27-12 beating in the first quarter. All of the sudden, the cuts reopened, the Magic’s legs collectively wobbled and Rajon Rondo knocked Orlando down once again with what has become the highlight of the playoffs.

The Orlando Magic still haven’t gotten up off the mat. So what do I expect to happen in Game 4? I think Orlando will throw in the towel. Nothing the Magic have said or done since getting knocked down by Rondo suggests a miraculous comeback. The Magic appear to be a dead team– ready for golf, fishing, and the off season.

Notebook:

Rajon Rondo has turned his cell phone off for the entire playoffs so that he can focus 100% on basketball…Brian Scalabrine praises Tom Thibodeau and says he’d be a great fit in Chicago…Paul Pierce thinks the Orlando Magic miss Hedo Turkoglu…Dwight Howard told a reporter for the Orlando Sentinel that “there is no need for us to be down”