NBA: Series is old hat for Celtics' Wallace

ORLANDO, Fla. - The Flyers cap Celtics forward Rasheed Wallace has been wearing to support his hometown team might not be something Boston fans want to see.

Especially now.

More than a week after the Bruins blew an 0-3 series lead to the Flyers, the Celtics are getting an unwanted trip back to Orlando. They'll try to close out the Magic again Wednesday night or put a city that knows all too well about such comebacks halfway to their latest installment.

"It can be done," said Magic guard Jameer Nelson, a St. Joseph's alum who grew up outside Philly.

Only four times in the history of North American major pro sports leagues has a team won a playoff series after losing the first three games. Of course, that might not mean much to Boston fans.

It has happened three times in the NHL - most recently by the Flyers - and once in baseball, when the Boston Red Sox came back to beat the New York Yankees in the 2004 AL championship series.

It's just never been done in the NBA.

"At some point," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said, "somebody is going to come from 3-0 down and win a series."

Here's Orlando's chance to take another step toward history.

The Magic have Game 5 and - if necessary - Game 7 on their home floor, meaning if they can shift things back to Boston, a series that was seemingly over would suddenly have new life - and a ton of pressure on the Celtics.

Orlando's overtime win in Game 4 showed the grit of a team that had played all year wanting to redeem its NBA Finals loss to the Lakers. The debacle that put them in an 0-3 hole, getting blown out with little resistance, did not.

Howard expects the gritty team to show up on Wednesday, but really it's anybody's guess.

"We didn't win the game just to win a game to say we were in this series," Orlando's Dwight Howard said. "We want to make this a series and win this series. We all have to believe that. I told the guys before the game, 'Put out all disbelief, anxiety, and fear. We just got to keep playing.' "