by Andrew Andreychik

The Orlando Magic looked to stop Boston from entering their second NBA finals appearance in three years, and Dwight Howard and company did just that. Celtics fans piled into the TD Garden at Bean town to hopefully see the “Big Three” (Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen) power their way into the Finals in possibly a rematch with the hated Los Angeles Lakers.

“I’m pretty happy with their (Orlando) performance so far despite game three. Game one and game two were very competitive,” said senior Bill DiFilippo, an avid Magic fan.

Game four was a hard fought battle between the top two Eastern Conference teams. Two minutes were remaining in the final quarter, which was led by Orlando by seven, before the Celtics made a run to force overtime. In overtime, Magic guard Jameer Nelson hit two threes to give the Magic a two point lead. Boston’s last possession wasn’t a good one, as they were forced with their 15^th turnover of the game. The final score was 96-92 in favor of the Magic.

“The Magic beat Boston in Boston which is an impressive feat to accomplish.  Now the tough part will be to follow up on this performance in Orlando,” added DiFilippo.

Orlando avoided elimination with an impressive performance from center Dwight Howard, who finished with 32 points.

The Magic were in the same locker room as the Philadelphia Flyers when they avoided their elimination against the Bruins. Philadelphia was the third team to come back from a 3-0 series deficit, and now they have a spot in the Stanley Cup Finals. However, no NBA team has won four straight games after losing the first two in a playoff series. There may sound like no hope for the Magic, but after this victory, Orlando could maybe earn a trip to the Finals and into the history books.

“If the Magic can win four straight games and advance to the finals, I think they won’t be stopped by whatever opponent that faces him,” DiFilippo added.