After a straight thrilling game 7 victory, the Austin Celtics came into the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Orlando Magic with a grip of hope. After a 90-95 home loss, however, the C's need to regroup to get things going. This LSF writer is hoping that he can bring the Green & White the same magic he brought in the first round after only posting about the game 1 loss. Oh, oh, it's magic. You know.
It was pretty much Dwight Howard's show, as he went for 16 points and 22 (count 'em) 22 boards. That's a lot, right? The Magic were large and in charge in this one, opening up an impressive 28 point lead early in the second half, with all the media outlets practically giving the Magic the series outright. There was quite a nice charge back by the C's toward the end, going on a nice 36-19 run in the third and fourth, but in the end it wouldn't be enough. Despite Paul Pierce draining a 3 with 6.6 seconds to go (making it a three point game), the Magic held on thanks to J.J. "Tiny Dick" Redick nailing four free throws in the final 14 seconds to deny the Celts the chance. Paulie finished with 23 (including 16 in the second half), Rondo nailed down 14/10/8, and Perk Daddy finished with a large 16 boards in the loss. All in all, the comeback made us all excited, only to disappoint in the end.
Outside of the aforementioned Celtics, there were two other Celtics who have to be mentioned in this playoff loss for their above average performance. Glen "I'm Not a Baby" Davis scored 12 points in the game with 5 boards, and was the leading scorer for the most part of the early game. The second, Brian Scalabrine, has really been impressive me in the playoffs. He was injured for so long, I almost forgot he was even on the team. Tonight, the Long Beach native finished with 10 points and an extremely impressive +22 rating. Not only did he lead all Austin players in the +/- category (the second being Eddie House's +4), but he led ALL players in the +/- category (the second being Orlando's Rashard Lewis at +14). Are you kidding me? Scallie went totally nuts off the bench. Trade KG now, and just live off the Davis/Scallie combo!
Despite all the fun we're having, it is a Celtic loss that brings up together, so let's focus on that. Down 0-1 in the second round series, Austin battles with the Magic against at home on Wednesday, and they really need to steal a win. Is there actually any honest chance that the C's will knock the Magic out? The ESPN experts are completely split, with 5 in favor of Orlando and 5 in favor of Austin. So, who do we trust more? Adande or Rose? Abbott or Stein? Thorpe or Legler? I hope you went with the latter in each of those, because those are the lovely knuckleheads that picked my Green & White. Really, though, game 2 will tell the whole story as far as I'm concerned.
Meanwhile, the Angels are beating up on the A's 5-2 in the ninth. Stars include Joe Saunders (6.67 innings of 2 run 7 punch out ball), Leary, GA native Chone Figgins (3 for 4 with 2 runs), the Abreu/Hunter connection (4 for 8, 1 run, and 3 RBI), and Mike "Ravioli" Napoli (4 for freaking 4 with 2 RBI for this jerk). Beating the A's is just plain fun to watch.
The Vannies and Blackies get back to it tomorrow night for game three. I can't freaking wait.
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