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Bruised Celtics need a leg to stand in Game 6

Adrian Wojnarowski
Glen Davis fell into referee Joey Crawford after suffering a concussion when he was elbowed in the face by Dwight Howard

ORLANDO, Fla. – So there was the surreal scene of Big Baby Davis staggering concussed down the court, tilting harder and harder to his left, a boxer out on his feet, angling for an old man’s arms to spare him a collapse to the court. Referee Joey Crawford reached out, and the Boston Celtics' tough guy collapsed into his arms. The most powerful elbow in basketball had come down on Davis’ cheek, Dwight Howard(notes) delivering mayhem onto the Celtics.

For three games, the Magic allowed the Celtics to bully and badger them, flexing muscles and mouths and humiliating Orlando with the harmony of an emerging NBA Finals favorite. The Celtics came into this series with those big bodies and nasty dispositions, beating Howard around the basket, a battery out of his worst nightmare. Finally, Howard had nothing left but the most base choice: Hit them first and hit them harder.

So, there was Davis laying on the Amway Arena court, dizzy, delirious and destined for a doctor’s care in the dressing room. “He blacked out on the floor,” Doc Rivers said, and Big Baby wasn’t alone. All around him, these Celtics crumbled. They lost composure, lost bearings and let the Magic start to believe again.

The sure thing of a 3-0 series lead had lost traction, and a 113-92 loss in Game 5 on Wednesday thrust the pressure back onto the Celtics. No one ought to be surprised the Celtics couldn’t win for a third time at Amway Arena, but the biggest problem now is who’ll be on the floor for them in Game 6. Who’s still standing? Kendrick Perkins(notes) had two technical fouls and faces a possible suspension. Rasheed Wallace(notes) twisted his back. Baby declared, “I’ll be back,” but he has a concussion.

The tone and trajectory of the series have changed dramatically because Boston is battered, beleaguered and no longer playing peerless ball. In a month when the Boston Bruins lost a 3-0 series lead to the Philadelphia Flyers, in a city that lived the ecstasy of the Red Sox’s forever comeback from 3-0 on the Yankees, there promises to be genuine tension in the Garden. “We made it look easy early on and now it is becoming a fight,” the Celtics’ Kevin Garnett(notes) said.

Davis insisted in the locker room that the concussion won’t keep him out of Game 6, but he’ll have to undergo a battery of tests and get a doctor’s clearance. The NBA will review the two technical fouls on Perkins, and there’s a chance one or both could be overturned, sparing him a suspension.

Referee Eddie Rush looked like he was unaware – or had simply forgotten – that Perkins had been issued a technical earlier in the game. Only, it didn’t matter. Perkins had an automatic ejection and a bigger problem: His seventh technical of the playoffs. He’s reached the limit and earned himself a one-game suspension. Privately, Celtics officials were optimistic the league office would rescind one, but truth be told: Boston isn’t a team that’s done much to get the benefit of the doubt.

“We’ve put ourselves in that position,” Rivers said.

Mostly, the failure to close out that overtime loss in Game 4 haunts the Celtics. Howard is breaking free and becoming the dominant player in the series. It’s scary for Boston. He had an economical 21 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks. The 3-point line has opened up for the Magic, who made 13 of 25 in Game 5, and Jameer Nelson(notes) is forever finding Howard with lob dunks and smart passes into the post.

Nelson has elevated his stature with these two victories, but Howard has a chance to be the biggest winner in this series. The Celtics could be rendered helpless trying to stop him in Game 6, and Howard could push the Magic to the cusp of an unthinkable Game 7 back at Amway Arena on Sunday. Yes, Howard changed everything about this series, those elbows dictating terms of engagement, and suddenly the Celtics were no longer the aggressors. Howard is taking it to them, taking it hard. It was downright surreal to see Boston’s biggest bodies made to march off the court and to the locker room.

It started with Perkins' ejection, and that shot upside Davis' face as Howard made a swift move to the basket. As Davis toppled to the floor, a tooth shot out of his mouth. Davis looked like a broken-down fighter climbing to his feet, trying to run back until his vision grew more wobbly, his legs whirred and he found himself tumbling into the arms of Crawford. Down goes Davis, and down went the Celtics in Game 5.

“I hope he’s OK,” Howard would say later, and you almost got the idea that he’d love the chance to put Davis down again in Game 6. All around the Celtics, they privately said: Game 6 is our Game 7. They can’t let these Eastern Conference finals get back to Orlando, can’t push themselves to the cusp of a historic collapse. Suddenly, Dwight Howard has become bold, the Celtics are desperate and Friday night promises to be epic in the Garden. All hell’s going to break loose, all these Celtics trying to hold onto this series for dear life.