The Orlando Magic are trying to take a step toward making NBA history Wednesday night. They are trying to become the first team to come back from a 3-0 series deficit.
The Magic beat the Celtics 96-92 in overtime Monday to stay alive in the series. They are trying to repeat the feat that the Philadelphia Flyers pulled off in their Conference Semifinal series against another team from Boston – the Bruins.
The Magic could capitalize on home court advantage Wednesday night and pull within one game of a series tie. They have been strong at home throughout the regular season, posting a 34-7 record at Amway Arena. They tied the Lakers, Hawks and Nuggets for the second-best home-record in the league. Only the Cavaliers were better at home, winning 35 games while losing only six.
However, the Celtics have been successful on the road all year. They posted a 26-15 record when travelling, which tied the Cavs for second place in road victories. Only the Mavericks won more games on the road with 27 wins and 14 losses.
Dwight Howard has had a surprisingly quiet series, but he came through in Game 4, scoring 32 points on 13-for-19 shooting. Vince Carter disappointed Monday and scored only three points on a 1-for-9 shooting night. J.J. Redick stepped up and scored 12 points. His 3-for5 shooting performance from beyond the arc proved crucial to the Magic’s success.
Paul Pierce continued to provide scoring for the Celtics in Game 4. He scored 32 points, but his poor three-point shooting was costly for Boston. He missed on all of his six attempts from beyond the three-point-line, and shot only 11-for-25 from the field. Ray Allen was the only Celtic to score from long range, hitting five of his six three point shots.
The Celtics have looked like the better team for most of the series, but they are a four point underdog heading into Wednesday’s game. Bodog has the Celtics +4 at -115 and the Magic -4 at -105. Bookmaker and 5Dimes run the four-point-spread at -110*.
Bodog doesn’t have a Moneyline or Over/Under listed*. Bookmaker offers the Celtics at +155 and the Magic at -175 on the Moneyline. 5Dimes has the Celtics at +165 and the Magic at -110*.
Bookmaker sees the over/under at 186 (-110), 5Dimes has it at 1861/2 (-110) *.
Even though the Magic were able to steal a game from the TD Garden Monday, I can’t see them making history and coming back to win the series. The Celtics have shown more urgency and have looked like they have wanted to win more all series long.
The Magic will need a stronger performance from Carter Wednesday, if they want to stay alive in the series. They also need the Dwight Howard from games two (30 points, 8 rebounds) and four (32 points, 16 rebounds) to show up.
Boston needs to remember that this was only one game and that they’ve been the better team all series long. If they can get a better performance from beyond the arc and if Pierce and Allen can keep scoring, they could close out the series at Amway Arena.
I could see the Magic taking advantage of home court and winning Game 5, but I don’t think they can come back and win this series. If the Magic take Game 5, I think the Celtics will close out the series at home.
* all odds as of May 25, 10pm PST
