"We didn't run out of gas, I guess we just choked," guard Rajon Rondo said. "We turned the ball over and things did not go our way. We were not the more aggressive team. They fought back and stuck with it."
The Celtics led by 10 early in the second half. But the Magic went on a 21-9 run to take a 66-64 lead on Rashard Lewis's drive with 8:38 remaining. Paul Pierce rallied the Celt ics with 6 straight points over a 1:08 span for a 73-72 edge with 4:51 remaining.
But the Celtics' offense went stagnant and the Magic concluded the game with an 11-2 run over the final 4:02.
"The offense definitely struggled," Pierce said. "We still played good enough defense to win the game. I thought we turned the ball over way too much. We weren't aggressive, we needed to take the ball to the basket more. But, I thought defensively we played the way that we love to play."
The focal point of the game was Orlando center Dwight Howard (23 points, 22 rebounds), the Magic making a strong effort to involve him in their offense while the Celtics attacked him in an attempt to get him in foul trouble.
Howard criticized the tactics of coach Stan Van Gundy after the Celtics took a 92-88 victory in Game 5, expressing a desire to be the center of attention offensively. And Howard's low-post presence put pressure on the Celtics' inside defending, limiting the contributions of center Kendrick Perkins (15 points, 10 rebounds), who committed his fifth foul with 6:52 remaining, and Glen Davis, who played less than 25 minutes because of foul trouble.
The Celtics led by 9 points in the first half and stretched the advantage to 55-45 on a Davis fadeaway 4:58 into the second half. But the Celtics converted only once from the field in the final 6:26 of the third quarter.
"At one point in time I think they were ready to lay down," Perkins said. "But we just kept giving them hope. They got the fans back into it and got some energy, and that just can't happen on the road."
Orlando did not take the lead until 8:38 remained in the game.
