Mar 26, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics small forward Paul Pierce (right) drives to the hoop against New York Knicks small forward Steve Novak (16) during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Celtics are heading back home down 2-0 to the New York Knicks, but could have been up 2-0 if they close out 2nd half in both Game 1 and Game 2 in New York.

In Game 1 they were shooting more than 50% in the first half, but dropped off to under 30% in the 2nd half and only could muster up seven points off the bench.

The second game same story, but this time it wasn’t the bench that held them back it was poor defense in the 2nd half as well as their horrific offense in which they only scored 23 points in the 3rd and 4th quarter combined.

If your part of Celtic nation their is no need fret as I’ll list three reasons and explain in depth on how the Celtics can come back into this series and potentially win it in seven games.

The 1st reason is that the Knicks ran off the crowd in New York in the 2nd half of both game 1 and 2 and the Celtics came out flat in both. You can expect this same tactic to work for the Celtics in Boston right in front of the TD Garden faithful, in both games the Celtics ended the first half with the lead and coming out in the 2nd half at home is going to potentially to come out and not offensively and defensively fall flat. You can also expect the recent events of the Boston Bombings to play a huge factor in this team to put in max effort to win two at home.

The 2nd reason is Jeff Green, when Jeff Green is on his game and when he is attacking the basket it’s a long night for the opposing defense. Since the lost of Rondo, Jeff has played a larger role in this offense before the departure of Rondo, Green was averaging 9.6 PPG 3.2 RPG 0.9 APG in 26.9 MIN.  Since January 27th his averages have been 12.9 PPG 5.8 RPG 1.5 APG in 31.2 MIN.

Apr 23, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jeff Green (8) drives to the hoop past New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler (6) during the first quarter of game two of the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Green also causes match up problems when running the floor with Pierce as it forces the Knicks to use their PF to guard Green and this can cause problems as Green has deep game and can dribble around bigger players and get to the basket. At the end of the day it’s up too Green how far the Celtics go. If he plays to his full abilities the Celtics are going to go far in this years playoffs, if not well get ready for the off-season.

The final and 3rd reason is Kevin Garnett in order for the Celtics to be successful they need KG to not get in foul trouble early in the game. KG according to Doc Rivers was on pace to have great night and because of the horrendous calls from the referees he wasn’t able to put 1+1 together.

If all three reasons executed to perfection you can expect the Celtics not only win the next two games, but even expect some of emotion to carry over to NY and steal a win at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks defense isn’t as good as holding two hall of famers and a player in Jeff Green coming into his prime to 23 points in two quarters the Celtics are bound to bounce back if they follow my script.

Credit: Mike DiNovo-US PRESSWIRE

They fought hard for 3 quarters in Chicago, but in the end the undermanned Orlando Magic squad suffered their first loss of the season. Minus Jameer Nelson for the second straight game, the Magic lost to the Bulls 99-93. Orlando led by 1 after 3 quarters before Chicago caught fire (too soon?)  in the 4th, outscoring the Magic 31-23.

The Magic were led on the night by Arron Afflalo’s 28 points (28/5/5) and E’Twaun Moore’s career high 17 points.  Nik Vucevic and Glen Davis both put up 16 points and each grabbed 10 rebounds, but it was a completely different Big Baby than the Magic had seen in the first two nights.

Davis struggled with his shot all night and was often forcing his shots and dominating the ball, rather than having the ball flow to him through the offense. At one point BBD was 4-17 from the field and by my count, had at least 5 of his shots blocked near the rim. With Glen it is never a question of effort, but tonight he just didn’t have it together. The icing on the cake for his forgetful night came with the Magic trailing by just 4 points and 54 seconds left on the clock.  After receiving a pass at the top of the key, Davis chucked a 3-point shot with 14+ second left on the shot clock. The bee-lined brick was never close and Chicago secured the rebound and the win. Tonight, Big Baby did not turn it up.

“I think it reenforces how we have to play basketball. We can’t play one-on-one basketball.” -Jacque Vaughn #Magic

— Orlando Magic Daily (@OMagicDaily) November 7, 2012

Chicago was led by Luol Deng’s 23 points and former Gator star Joakim Noah’s 20 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocks.

The Magic are back in action tomorrow night in Minnesota with game time set for 8PM EST. The 82-0 dream is dead.

***Brian Serra is the founder of Magic Basketball Online. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook!***