BOSTON, (Reuters) – The Boston Celtics tightened their grip on the Eastern Conference finals with a crushing 94-71 win over the Orlando Magic on Saturday.
The Celtics lead the best-of-seven series 3-0 and could wrap up a trip to the NBA finals as soon as today on home court.
“They’re playing hard, they’re playing together, they’re playing like a team that wants to win a championship,” Orlando center Dwight Howard told reporters.
Fielding a starting lineup of battle-tested veterans, the Celtics are hoping to reproduce the form that helped them to a 17th NBA title in 2008.
Celtics coach Doc Rivers, however, downplayed comparisons.
“We haven’t scratched what we did in ‘08,” Rivers told reporters.
Six Celtics reached double figures in the team’s sixth consecutive playoff win. Forward Glen Davis top-scored with 17 points off the bench, while forward Paul Pierce added 15 points and guard Ray Allen 14.
“It’s unselfish basketball,” said Rivers.
“We keep talking about letting the ball find the open guy. You don’t have to find it yourself.”
A STEP LATE
The Celtics’ trademark smothering defense kept Orlando from developing a scoring rhythm. The Magic had a series-low 37 percent field goal percentage.
“We know we’re a defensive team and that’s what we thrive off,” said Pierce. “We were able to turn them over and gather some momentum from our crowd.”
A downcast Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said his team were “a step late on every play.”
“They got off to an early lead and I don’t think we stayed with the fight very well,” Van Gundy said. “We just sort of went sideways with our effort mentally.”
Boston opened with a 7-0 run and built a 15-point lead by the end of the first quarter. That advantage ballooned to a 28-point blowout by the end of the third.
The Celtics’ Rajon Rondo electrified the raucous home crowd mid-way through the second quarter, diving to the floor to scoop up a loose ball, righting himself and converting a lay-up.
“It was probably one of the toughest plays defensively I’ve seen in my career,” said Boston’s Ray Allen.
Jameer Nelson and Vince Carter each had 15 points for Orlando, who were out-rebounded 43 to 36 by Boston.