Pierce and Robinson inspire Celtics

BOSTON // The Boston Celtics set themselves up for a shot at an 18th championship and a second NBA title in three years early on Friday morning after they clinched the Eastern Conference finals series with victory over the Orlando Magic. Paul Pierce had 31 points and 13 rebounds, and the little-used backup, Nate Robinson, boosted the Celtics with 13 second-quarter points, earning Boston a 96-84 victory and a 4-2 series win.

"We got back to moving the ball, playing good defence, not allowing them to shoot the three-point shot. That was the key," Pierce said. The Boston fans have been chanting "Beat LA!" since Game 3, when the Celtics cruised to a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals. Orlando won the next two games and threatened to become the first team in NBA history to come back from a 3-0 deficit in a play-off series.

"The starting five has never lost," Doc Rivers, the Boston coach said. "This starting five has never lost a series, ever. We believed that coming into the season, and we just kept believing." Orlando's Dwight Howard had 28 points and 12 rebounds as the defending East champions failed to get back to the finals. Vince Carter scored 17 points, and Jameer Nelson finished with 11 points and four assists as he was outplayed by Rajon Rondo, Boston's starting point guard, and Robinson, his backup.

Pierce heaped praise on the 25-year-old Robinson, saying: "You know, he really won this game for us because the game was in the mix to go either direction and he really gave us a spark ... That's really growing up, really growing into a man tonight." Orlando cut Boston's lead to 13 points at half time, but the Celtics scored 11 of the first 13 points in the third quarter and never led by fewer than 14 in the fourth until the final minute.

* AP