“The difference a year makes,’’ Allen said, an Eastern Conference champions cap resting in front of him as he and Pierce celebrated the Celtics’ 96-84 series-clinching victory over the Magic in Game 6 at TD Garden.
The Celtics are returning to the NBA Finals, doing so not only by overthrowing the defending Eastern Conference champions but also getting revenge on the team that knocked them off their pedestal a year ago.
Before the season started, the Cleveland Cavaliers were anointed the favorite in the East, if not the league. But Celtics coach Doc Rivers constantly told his team that the Magic were the best team in the East, and if the Celtics were going to get back to the Finals, they would have to go through Orlando.
After tearing through the first three games, the Celtics faltered trying to close the series out.
It took them three attempts to slam the door, but ultimately, the Celtics paved the road to their second Finals in three seasons the same way they did the first time: through defense.
“They were tough,’’ Rivers said. “We came in this year thinking that this was the team that we were going to have to beat. Everyone else talked about other teams. We believed that this was the team we were going to have to beat.’’
The Celtics’ calling card since the Big Three was assembled in 2007 served as their golden ticket. The defense took away the 3-pointer that had helped the Magic climb back into the series, holding Orlando to 6 of 22 from beyond the arc.
The Celtics muzzled the Magic’s pit bull point guard Jameer Nelson (11 points on 5-of-14 shooting), who had run wild on the pick-and-roll, and they neutralized Dwight Howard (28 points, 12 rebounds), who had been a wrecking ball.
Paul Pierce scored a game-high 31 points, grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds, and dished out 5 assists, fueling the Celtics’ offense with Rajon Rondo bothered by an aching back.
