That said outing will take place in the 2009-10 season pretty much was assured early on last night by the Celtics . They did make a couple of purely pyrite pushes in the third quarter, but they never could follow up with a key stop.

For a team that takes so much alleged pride in its defense, this was telling. As was Orlando's 13-for-20 performance from beyond the 3-point line in the 101-82 rout.

The Celtics dispensed with any suspense fairly quickly. Let it be recorded that the defending NBA champions' last lead of the season was 2-0.

Look, they weren't going to win the title without Garnett anyway, so you are free to ask if it really matters when they chose to leave the party. But the manner in which they departed didn't seem quite appropriate.

The sellout throng certainly was up to the task, belting out the Dropkick Murphy's ``I'm Shipping up to Boston'' before tipoff (as has become one of the city's truly cool customs). And the citizenry tried to rouse their club on several other occasions.

But the Celtics weren't having it.

Apparently being in a Game 7 wasn't enough of a challenge for the Celts. Being 48 minutes away from the offseason wasn't enough motivation.

Certainly it's not what the coaches were suggesting, but the lads in sneakers decided to execute the rope-a-dope in the opening quarter. The Magic took advantage for 27 points and leads as great as 13 before settling for a 10-point edge at the end of the frame. The visitors took six treys and hit five of them, firing away as if this part of their game was somehow a surprise to their opponent.

The Celtics added to their woe by committing five turnovers in the period. Dopey indeed.

While the Los Angeles Lakers showed earlier in the day how to handle a Game 7 at home, taking a 15-point lead during layup lines, the Celts came out flat as a flounder.

How does this happen?

It would be inappropriate to ignore the abilities of the Magic, a club that can be incredibly tough to deal with when it has its game in gear. But did the Celtics have to pull over, grab the cables and offer Orlando a jump start?

If not for Ray Allen's reunion with his jumper, this would have been over by halftime. Even with his nine-point burst in the second quarter, the C's still trailed by seven at the half.

The fact that among their 11 turnovers were a pair of 24-second clock violations speaks to the fact they still were somewhat at odds with themselves.

Their last opportunity to save the night came at the start of the last quarter when they were down by a mere five. But maybe they caught a touch of the Cleveland flu. Maybe they simply had nothing left.

Definitely they were gonzo just a few moments later. Mickael Pietrus hit a trey and the Magic had two traditional three-point plays in an 11-0 run that sealed the situation. The Celts went gently into the good night.

With 2:48 left in the game, Rafer Alston threw in a 3-pointer on Eddie House. The same Rafer Alston who'd slapped House in the head after the latter had done likewise to him late in Game 2. This time Alston turned to House and smiled.

At least the final indignity wasn't self-inflicted.

- sbulpett@bostonherald.com