The Magic missed its last eight shots, five of them 3-pointers, and the Celtics scored 17 of the game's final 20 points to pull out a 92-88 victory. Howard ended up taking only 10 shots and scoring just 12 points, and he criticized Magic coach Stan Van Gundy afterward.

"It's tough to win," Howard said, "when all season long you play inside out, and you trust one of the people that got you off to a good season. I think I'm capable of scoring in the post. I just don't think 10 shots, I don't want to say it's all about offense, but you got a dominant player, let him be dominant."

During timeouts in the fourth quarter, Howard didn't demand that Van Gundy get him ball.

"I don't want to get into it with my coach and go back and forth with him," Howard said.

Neither the Magic nor the Celtics practiced yesterday. Kendrick Perkins rested his strained left shoulder, but Howard will likely try to take advantage of his injury tonight.

Howard also second-guessed Van Gundy's decision to reinsert starters Rashard Lewis and J.J. Redick for Tony Battie and Mickael Pietrus after the latter two helped build Orlando's 14-point lead early in the fourth quarter.

"The coaches have to recognize what's working on the floor and stick to it," Howard said. "Even if you don't have your starters in, the guys you put the most trust in. You got to have trust in everybody."

The Celtics have Howard and the Magic reeling after handing them back-to-back devastating defeats - rallying from 14 down in Game 5 after Glen Davis hit the winning jumper at the buzzer in Game 4.

"If that happened to this team right here," Boston's Brian Scalabrine said, "we would continue to fight. So I have to assume that they're going to continue to fight."

"They're not going to hang their heads," Rajon Rondo said. "They're going back home. They feel comfortable at home. They probably feel like we got lucky. They feel like they can get us down there, I'm sure, but we feel otherwise."

The Celtics are 32-0 in playoff series after taking a 3-2 lead. If a Game 7 is necessary, it will be played Sunday night at the Garden. The winner of this series advances to the Eastern Conference finals against top-seeded Cleveland, which swept Detroit and Atlanta in the first two rounds.

"We want to try to get the job done here on the road," Paul Pierce said, "and hey, Cleveland is sitting waiting, so if we can get that done and get a couple days of practice in, that will be fantastic."

Ray Allen hit the go-ahead 3-pointer late in Game 5, but he's shooting only 32.8 percent in the series.

"I tip my hat to them defensively," Allen said. "Guys are not leaving me. When there's penetration, they're just staying right there. I know in my defensive job, when there's penetration, I'm sucking in, and I'm getting back out. These guys don't do that, they just stay right in my lap. So those easy pop shots that I normally get, they're not there."

Perkins is playing with a sore shoulder, Kevin Garnett and Leon Powe are out with knee injuries, and the short-handed Celtics are tired after playing 12 tough playoff games, but they're still the defending champions. Davis said he's still riding memories of last season.

"Touching that trophy, riding in the parade," he said. "It's an unbelievable feeling. You don't know how much that motivates us as a team. To be back in this locker room popping champagne, wearing goggles because your eyes are burning because of the champagne, that's what motivates us. We still believe we can go out there, and we can win a championship. That's our pride, that's our push."

Don't be surprised if Eddie House lights it up off the Celtics bench tonight. It's his 31st birthday.

Celtics vs. Magic

Game 6, 7 p.m. tonight at Amway Arena, ESPN