Howard propels Magic past Celtics for Game 6 win
Getting Dwight Howard the ball helped the Orlando Magic go from the brink of elimination to the brink of the Eastern Conference finals.
Howard posted 23 points and 22 rebounds to help lead the Magic to an 83-75 win over the Celtics in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on this day in 2009. The victory kept Orlando from being eliminated in the series and forced a decisive Game 7 in Boston — also won by the Magic.
“I just tried to be me,” Howard told the Associated Press after Game 6. “I just have to go out there and play and not worry about nothing.”
Howard was plenty worried a few days earlier. After the Magic wasted a 14-point lead and let Game 5 slip away, Howard called on coach Stan Van Gundy to give him the ball more. The All-Star center responded in Game 6 by scoring the team’s first eight points and wound up with his gamehigh 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting. He took 10 shots and scored 12 points in Game 5.
Rashard Lewis scored eight of his 20 points in the fourth quarter — when the Magic outscored the Celtics 22-13 — and sank two free throws with 49 seconds left to make it a three-possession game.
The Celtics built a 10-point lead at 55-45 about five minutes into the third quarter on a short jumper by Glen Davis. Behind 10 points from Howard, the Magic closed within a point by the end of the quarter.
After a Courtney Lee free throw tied the game at 64-64, neither team led by more than three points until late.
The Magic went ahead to stay, at 76-75, on a Howard free throw with 2:47 to play. Hedo Turkoglu’s 3-pointer with 1:23 left pushed Orlando’s lead to 81-75 — its largest of the game to that point.
After a turnover by the Celtics, Lewis converted two free throws on the Magic’s ensuing possession to make it an eight-point lead.
The Celtics went the final 3:46 without a point, and the series went back to Boston for one more game.