Little Nate Robinson may be just 5 feet 7 inches, but he saved the city of Boston from a humiliating loss.
Nate Robinson scored 13 points in 8 first-half minutes as the Boston Celtics eliminated the Orlando Magic in the pivotal Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The former New York Knickerbocker energized the aging Celtics off the bench, scoring in bunches. Veterans, most notably Paul Pierce, followed suit, bombing the Orlando Magic, who failed to become the only team in NBA history to win a 7-game series after falling 3-0.
Instant offense is exactly what you’d expect from Nate Robinson. Like Jamal Crawford in Atlanta or Vinny Johnson of the Pistons years ago, Nate is there to do one thing: score. Tonight, on the biggest stage of his career, Nate delivered. The Celtics had all the pressure on them heading into Game 6. A comfortable 3-0 series lead had been swept away by aggressive Magic play. Dwight Howard seemed like a new man and the Celtics were having trouble containing the feisty Jameer Nelson. A loss tonight and all the momentum would be with Orlando, and the deciding game would be on his court.
The Celtics took no chances and came out aggressive. Early foul trouble on Jameer and Dwight, horrible 3-point shooting and a renewed commitment to defense by the Celtics gave the Magic very little hope of winning this game. Give the Celtics credit for regrouping and putting up a championship-caliber performance, even though Rondo still hasn’t found a rhythm with him since Game 3.
Now the Celtics will have to wait for the winner of the Phoenix-Los Angeles series. Whether it’s the vigorous Suns or the balanced Lakers, the Celtics will face a much bigger challenge than they received from the Magic. But for now, they can relax, get healthy, and look to the future. I don’t think Nate Robinson will mind taking his sweet time to immerse himself in this special moment.