Boston Celtics vs. Orlando Magic (8:30 pm ET, ESPN)
Orlando Magic will try to catch up with Boston Celtics in Game 5 (8:30 pm ET, ESPN) on Wednesday at Amway Arena, Orlando, FL. The Celtics have a 50-32 home, 26-15 away record whereas Magic has 59-23 away, 34-7 home record.
The Celtics will definitely try to close out the Magic. After losing the first three games, only four times in the history of North American major pro sports leagues has a team won a playoff series.
If the Orlando Magic shift things back to Boston, they can have Game 5 and Game 7 on their home floor. That will definitely spice up the series and put a lot of pressure on Celtics. Overtime win in Game 4 for Orlando has shown that the team has the strength and the talent to redeem its NBA finals loss to the Lakers.
“We didn’t win the game just to win a game to say we were in this series, we want to make this a series and win this series. We all have to believe that. I told the guys before the game, ‘Put out all disbelief, anxiety and fear. We just got to keep playing.” said Orlando’s Dwight Howard.
Boston will still look for chances to eliminate Magic. The Celtics overcame a night when Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett were far from stellar. To advance to the NBA finals for a shot at their second championship in three years, the Celtics still have three more chances to win the series. Never have they played more than five games in a series in which they won the first three games.
“There’s no need to panic, we like the position we’re in. It’s just always a lesson in humility. As a team, as individuals, you never get too big for the situation. We’re in a great position, like I said. So we have to take care of the small things, and they’ll add up to what we ultimately want”, said Celtics guard Ray Allen.
Oddsmakers from various NBA betting websites have made the Magic -4 point spread favorites for Wednesday’s game against the Celtics +4. Current NBA Public Betting Information shows that 68% of more the 3,866 bets for this game have been placed on the Celtics +4.
