Celtics-Magic (Game 3)

6:00 PM: Game three is about to start. Worthless stat of the night: In seven game series that are tied 1-1, the team that wins game three wins the series 75% of the time. Random statement of the night: Orlando's starting PG tonight, Anthony Johnson, is one unattractive dude.

6:07 PM: Tonight's blog is dedicated to my old college buddy Jill down in Orlando. She had to give up tickets to the game to work tonight. Jill, this one is for you my friend. Here we go!

6:22 PM: Time out Orlando. 5:28 left in the first qtr. and the Magic lead 14-6. I expected the Magic to come out jacked up and they did. Boston needs to weather the storm and get themselves together. My boy Scalbrine is in now and is working the green headband!

6:31 PM: Time out on the floor. 1:27 in the second qtr. and the Magic lead is down to 4 at 18-14. Every single basket has come form inside the paint. The first team to get hot (at this point lukewarm might do it) will give themselves the best chance of winning.

6:38 PM: Rondo, the soon to be best point guard in the NBA, just hit a runner at the buzzer. Orlando leads 22-18. The Celtics withstood the initial charge and are settling into their game. Their best chance is to turn this into a half-court game. Orlando needs to get out and run.

6:41 PM: The in-between qtr. coaches interviews are really lame.

6:44 PM: Big Baby just missed his second lay-up in a row. Not a good sign.

6:46 PM: Somebody just made a jump shot! Eddie House just hit 2 back-to-back. Timeout Boston. 8:44 left in the first half and Orlando leads 26-22.

6:54 PM: Does anybody call travelling anymore? Gortat took the ball and ran with it, but Davis got called for a foul after the uncalled travel. Boston couldn't water if they fell out of a boat. Boston timeout. 32-22 Magic with 7:09 in the first half.

7:06 PM: Somebody needs to take Big Baby's shoes away from him and hide them so he can't play anymore. He just dropped the ball out-of bounds. Two missed lay-ups and a couple of turnovers and 3 fouls. In his defense the last foul was a flop by the Orlando player. Scal just got his fourth foul. Magic by 11. Timeout Orlando.

7:18 PM: Well I guess I was wrong about Boston withstanding the initial surge. Orlando leads at the half 53-41.

7:44 PM: And we're back. Orlando is currently up by 16. Boston just can't get any stops and on top of that, they can't score. Not a good trend. Timeout Boston with 8:26 left in the third. This could get ugly quick.

8:07 PM: Boston closed the 3rd qtr. on a 15-4 run. After being down by 20, they are only down 9. Orlando leads 78-69. Guess who is leading the charge? Eddie House of course. This guy has been on fire the last three games. However, I don't think Boston has enough left in the tank tonight to pull off the comeback tonight. I hope I am wrong since Boston needs to win at least one of the next two games in Orlando to regain home court advantage. I felt tonight was their best chance.

8:15 PM: It's time for the "Give the ball to Paul and get out of the way" portion of the game. Boston is still down by 8.

8:20 PM: Superman just got his fifth foul. Won't matter since Orlando leads by 11.

8:24 PM: Check that, Orlando is up by 16 with 7:15 left. This game is over. No one except Eddie House can get a basket for Boston. May as well start getting the starters some rest and put all the eggs in one basket on Sunday.

8:31 PM: I am sure if Jill can see this score, I am sure she is a happy camper. Orlando is up by 18. It is going to be a one game season on Sunday. If Boston wins game 4, they have 2 out of the last 3 games at home if the series goes 7. If not, they are done.

8:38 PM: Boston timeout. Orlando up 107-87 with 4+ minutes left. Garbage time is coming up!

8:51 PM: Orlando wins by a score of 117-96. Orlando leads the series 2-1.The Magic just would not be denied tonight. As good as Boston looked in game two, they looked that bad tonight. They had better hope the Game Two Celtics show up Sunday or they are toast.

Game 4 is Sunday at 7 on TNT. See you then.

Congrats to your team's win tonight Jill!