The Orlando Magic had their backs up against the wall in an 0-3 series deficit.  They were leading in Game 4 in Boston, 85-78 with 2:20 left in the game.

Could they hold on?

Paul Pierce crossed J.J. Redick and trucked through the lane for a right-handed hammer.

Ray Allen worked Redick (again) around a screen for a three-point look that he knocked down.

After Jameer Nelson split a pair of free throws, Pierce drove into the paint and drew a conventional three-point play – and he swished the free throw to tie the game at 86 with a little over a minute to go.

A few possessions later, the Celtics and Magic were headed to the first overtime in the 2010 playoffs.

In overtime, Nelson opened the scoring with a couple of triples.  Boston battled back behind two threes from Allen (22 points, 5 three’s).  But it was Dwight Howard who scored on some key putbacks in the extra session to give Orlando a 96-92 win (and their first win of the series, 3-1 Boston).

Game 5 will be in Orlando on Wednesday night.

The Magic competed with more toughness tonight, and never let the Celtics get away from them at any point in the game.  Stan Van Gundy ran almost all of his offense through the Nelson-Howard pick-and-roll, and it was effective in more ways than one.

First, it put the ball in the hands of their best playmaker.  Nelson was aggressive all night, scoring 23 points and 9 assists.  The St. Joseph’s alum was able to penetrate and score, as well as penetrate and dish.

Secondly, the pick-and-roll offense kept Orlando big man Dwight Howard (32 points, 16

Dwight Howard was successful in his quest to dominate the paint on Monday night.

rebounds, 4 blocks) on the move.  Howard does not have refined skills from a back-to-the-basket standpoint, so it was imperative that the coaching staff found another way to try and make him effective.  With his amazing athleticism and quick explosion, catching him on the fly made it more difficult for Boston to stop him.

But even with the improved effort, the Celtics were presented with a chance to win at the end of regulation.  Pierce (32 points, 11 rebounds) had the rock near the top of the key, but was unable to make a decisive move and ended up losing the ball as the clock ran out – sending the contest into overtime.

Another difference in this game was the absence of a tempo-controlling performance from Boston point guard Rajon Rondo.  He put up 9 points and 8 assists, but his imprint was not on this game at all.  Rondo was not attacking, and was thoroughly outplayed by Nelson.  Instead of allowing Rondo to orchestrate the offense, the Celtics used Pierce in too many isolation situations.

Although Boston has dominated the series, the Magic will return home feeling confident that they can win Game 5.  Their adjustments worked and they got virtually no contribution from former perennial All-Star Vince Carter.  Carter had only 3 points (1-9 FG), 2 rebounds and 2 assists in 31 minutes of action.  Although Orlando obviously wants more out of him, they have to be encouraged that they were able to play well enough to win despite Carter’s lackluster performance.

If Orlando can keep the aggression, and continue to move the ball on offense, they could push Boston to a Game 6. 

But if the intensity isn’t there, at least the Orlando Magic won’t have to go very far to take a good vacation.