When the Celtics felt they were backed up against the wall, there was only one alternative for the veteran-filled team.

Total domination.

Boston led wire-to-wire, controlling the tempo in route to a 96-84 win at home over the Orlando Magic.

Pierce was consistently able to put the ball into the hoop, scoring 31 points, and also grabbing 13 rebounds and dishing 5 helpers.  Ray Allen hit two treys immediately after halftime, and added 20 points.  Boston got an extremely big lift by getting 13 first-half points from reserve Nate Robinson.

Dwight Howard was able to get his tonight, posting 28 points and 12 boards – but he got little help from his teammates.  Vince Carter put up17 points, but it took him 15 shots to do so.  Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis struggled to gain any rhythm, combining to shoot 8-25.

The Celtics cushioned their lead in the thrid quarter by crashing the glass (they were +10 on the boards) and knocking down more shots from beyond the arc (they were 10-22; Orlando was 6-22).

Pierce knows how to make his presence felt in pressure-packed games.

The key to Boston’s success in this series was their ability to single-cover Dwight Howard in the post, without him totally dominating the game.  Orlando is at its best when Howard is so physically overpowering that he instantly commands double-teams, opening up shots and driving lanes for his perimeter-oriented teammates.  Boston was able to throw two experienced defenders at Howard – in Rasheed Wallace and Kendrick Perkins – who were strong enough to absorb contact from Howard and hold their defensive position.  Thus, the Magic were unable to receive consistent contributions from snipers like J.J. Redick, Rashard Lewis and Mickael Pietrus.

The Celtics will move forward to their second NBA Finals series in three seasons behind some impressive defense.  They’ve handled two teams with game-changing superstars, and they’ve done it as a team that fully expected to accomplish what they did.

Doc Rivers had his team believing in themselves since the regular season.  He (and his team) convinced himself that the 82-game season was mostly about staying healthy.  And the organization concurred with that belief, ignoring any emphasis placed on their lower than expected win percentage (50-32, .610) and being fully focused on the playoffs.

And a funny thing happened – - the Celtics played as if their belief was the absolute truth.  Some picked Miami over them.  The majority picked Cleveland over them.  The vast majority picked Orlando over them.  Series by series, they’ve shown us what a little belief in yourself can do.

And finally, they’ve made us all believers as well.

T Lamont is the owner, administrator and author of all content for Ball or Nuthin\'. Feel free to contact T Lamont with a question or comment at ballornuthin@gmail.com.  All created Ball or Nuthin' content is the sole property of T Lamont. Read more from this author