NBA Picks – Orlando vs Boston Game 5

The Eastern Conference Finals was extended to a fifth game on Monday night, as the Orlando Magic knocked off the Boston Celtics 96-92 in overtime to save their season for at least one more game. Tonight, BetOnline Sportsbook makes our NBA playoff picks on the fifth game of this best of seven series.

The Magic are trying to become the first team in NBA history to come from behind in a series 0-3 to win it, while Boston is trying to avoid becoming the second team in its own city this month to blow a seemingly insurmountable 3-0 series edge. The Boston Bruins held a 3-0 lead on the Philadelphia Flyers before dropping four straight games to get bounced out of the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs.

#4 Boston Celtics (61-36, 44-51-2 ATS) vs. #2 Orlando Magic (68-26, 54-38-2 ATS)

Game Date/Time: Wednesday, May 26th, 8:30 ET
Game Location: Amway Arena, Orlando, FL
TV/Radio Broadcast: ESPN, Sirius

NBA Playoff Odds
Boston Celtics +4
Orlando Magic -4
Game Total 186.5

F Paul Pierce was ready to bust out the brooms on the Magic prior to Game 4, and for our money, he did his share. "The Truth" scored 32 points and recorded a double-double with 11 boards on the night. However, his teammates really didn’t hold up their end of the bargain, particularly off of the bench.

HC Doc Rivers couldn’t count on his reserves for much in Game 4, as they only combined to score 12 points in the defeat. He knows that that must improve, particularly in a game that goes to overtime, for Boston to finally put Orlando down once and for all.

This series has been all about defense for the Celtics, and though it’s hard to say that the unit really let them down on Monday night, it’s clear that the ‘D’ wasn’t nearly as stifling as it had been in the first three games of this series.

Orlando shot 44.6 percent from the floor in Game 4, led by C Dwight Howard’s 13/19 shooting. He scored 32 points and ripped down 16 boards, five of which came on the offensive end of the court. Even though the Magic didn’t outrebound Boston, they did get 11 offensive boards on the night, which was one better than what the C’s managed.

The Magic are going to have to shoot the ball more efficiently from beyond the arc, as they went 10/28 in Game 4.

NBA Playoff Insider Tip: The road team and the underdog are now both 8-1 ATS in the L/8 clashes of these Eastern Conference titans.

Though we tend to believe that the Magic can win this game and push the series back to Boston once again, we have a hard time laying this many points in this outing. After all, Orlando hasn’t beaten the Celtics by at least five points since February of this year, and hasn’t done it at home since last May in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

We tend to believe that the Celtics have a better chance of winning this game outright than the Magic do to win it by at least five.

We’ll take the points in this crucial Game 5 for our NBA picks on Wednesday.

My NBA Playoff Prediction: Orlando by 2