Celtics crush Magic, lead 3-0

Associated Press

BOSTON

The Boston Celtics need one win to reach the NBA finals for the second time in three years.

And the defending Eastern Conference champions barely put up a fight.

Backup Glen “Big Baby” Davis scored 17 points and Rajon Rondo added 11 points and 12 assists on Saturday night to lead the Celtics to a 94-71 victory over the Orlando Magic and a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven East finals.

No NBA team has lost a playoff series after winning the first three games.

The Magic have to win Game 4 on Monday night to avoid a sweep and force the series back to Orlando.

They’ll need a better effort than in Game 3, when they fell behind early for the third straight game.

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phoenix

Los Angeles Lakers fans were chanting “Bring on Boston!” before Game 1 of the Western Conference finals was over, and they picked up the volume near the finish of Game 2.

There are, however, at least two games to be played in Phoenix before what so many see as a foregone conclusion, a third straight trip to the NBA finals for Kobe & Co.

“Hopefully we can carry the momentum over from the way we’ve been playing at home,” Lamar Odom said Saturday before the Lakers boarded their short flight to the desert for Game 3 tonight. “I don’t see why not.”

The Lakers seemed ready for a more difficult challenge.

“We understand how tough it’s going to be in Phoenix,” Pau Gasol said. “The pace and energy they’re going to bring is going to be hard to match, but we have to understand who we are and play to our capabilities.”