And now the Green have to respond or risk the fate of their hockey counterparts, those Bruins, who won the first three games against the Flyers and then dropped Game 4 in overtime and Game 5 by blowout. Hmmm.
If the Celtics are indeed the championship-caliber team they have told all who would listen, then they have to respond to last night’s damage. And it was perhaps the most damaging Celtics playoff game in several years.
It will take a great deal of strength and togetherness for the Celtics to recover from this stunning turn of events in less than 48 hours. A team so confident and sure of itself after its Game 3 win, was beaten by not only a motivated Magic squad but by its own emotions and aggression.
“Today was a tough day,’’ Kevin Garnett said. “Just a lot of different things going on. It’s not like something we haven’t seen before. We’ve been handed some different situations in our runs in the past. None of this is going to be easy.’’
Their confidence has been battered and the burning memory will be Glen “Big Baby’’ Davis attempting to run down court with no idea of his whereabouts and lunging into the arms of official Joe Crawford. Davis was effective in the series before he took a Dwight Howard third-quarter elbow to the mouth, losing two teeth; his status for Game 6 tomorrow at TD Garden is uncertain.
Moments later, Marquis Daniels left with a concussion after his head struck the shoulder of Orlando center Marcin Gortat. Daniels said he doesn’t remember anything about the play.
And finally, Kendrick Perkins picked up two shaky technical fouls, the final one after making his normal gyrations following a ticky-tac foul on Howard. It was his seventh technical and unless it’s rescinded, which the NBA will review today, he will be suspended for Game 6.
The Celtics have been virtually injury-free in the postseason, riding the wave of luck after a tumultuous regular season. But now they may need to call on Brian Scalabrine and Shelden Williams for key minutes.
Adversity has been a coherent theme for the Celtics this season and just when they were riding high, they have been beset a series of setbacks from which they may not recover. Not only do the Magic have all the momentum, they are the healthier and fresher team.
