Orlando dethrones defending champs

~ The Magic won their Game 7 at Boston, while the Los Angeles Lakers won their Game 7 at home.

BOSTON -- Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu helped dethrone the defending champion Boston Celtics on Sunday night and gave Orlando a chance to bring a crown to the Magic Kingdom.

Howard had 12 points, 16 rebounds and five blocked shots, and Turkoglu had 25 points with 12 assists in Game 7 on Sunday night, leading Orlando into the Eastern Conference finals, 101-82.

Orlando trailed for just 36 seconds and built a lead it couldn't squander to earn the right to play LeBron James and the Cavaliers for a spot in the NBA finals. Game 1 is Wednesday in Cleveland.

"We believe. We believe we can go all the way," Howard said. "It's going to get harder."

Orlando Magic's Dwight Howard goes to block a shot by Boston Celtics' Stephon Marbury during the first half of Game 7 of an NBA Eastern Conference semifinal basketball series in Boston on Sunday, May 17, 2009. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Ray Allen scored 23 points for Boston, and Paul Pierce had 16 before they were taken out of the game for a courtesy cheer with 2:30 left and the Magic up 99-78. The other member of the new Big Three, Kevin Garnett, awaited them on the bench, where he watched the whole series in street clothes with a right knee strain.

Garnett's absence derailed the Celtics' title defense before it got started, forcing them to fight through a seven-overtime, seven-game series against Chicago in the first round and leaving them perpetually playing from behind in the second.

The Magic nearly blew a 28-point lead in Game 1, then did waste a 14-point lead in Game 5 to give the Celtics a 3-2 advantage in the best-of-seven series. Boston, which won the last of its unprecedented 17 NBA titles last year, had never lost a series after being ahead 3-2.

But Orlando came back from a 10-point deficit Thursday night to force Game 7.

And there was no panic this time. Just a lot of Magic.

The Orlando Magic's Dwight Howard goes for a dunk in front of the Boston Celtics' Paul Pierce during Orlando's 101-82 win Sunday in Game 7 of their NBA Eastern Conference semifinal series in Boston. (WINSLOW TOWNSON ~ Associated Press)

Orlando led by 14 in the second quarter before Boston cut it to 45-42 in the third period. Rondo's long 2-pointer at the buzzer to end the quarter made it a 66-61 game, but Orlando scored the first eight points of the fourth to open a double-digit lead.

Orlando led 81-64 with 8:04 left when Howard picked up his fifth foul and went to the bench. Boston cut the deficit to 90-78 on Allen's 3-pointer with 4:12 to play.

But Turkoglu sank a 3-pointer, then Kendrick Perkins was called for a charge and Turkoglu made a fadeaway jumper to extend the lead to 17 points. Turkoglu was 9 of 12 from the field, scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter alone.

Lakers 89, Rockets 70

LOS ANGELES -- Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and the Los Angeles Lakers silenced the doubters and the Houston Rockets, winning Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals.

With Gasol scoring 21 points and grabbing 18 rebounds, the Lakers looked like the conference's top-seeded team, not the inconsistent one that was pushed to the decisive final game by the undermanned Rockets.

The Lakers dominated the paint on both ends, forcing the Rockets into turnovers and bad shots, and owning the backboards. They had an 8-0 lead a few minutes in and widened it to 25 points on Gasol's jump hook shortly before halftime.

The Lakers, trying to reach the NBA finals for the second straight year, host the opener of the conference finals against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night.

Trevor Ariza scored 15 points while Bryant and Andrew Bynum 14 apiece. Bryant added five assists and seven rebounds.

Aaron Brooks scored 13 and Luis Scola 11 for Houston.