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Sports 1B Bowled over, but summer nears Thursday May 27, 2010 Fighting Back: Magic top Celtics 113-92 in Game 5 ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Not ready to go home just yet, the only place the Orlando Magic are headed is back to Boston. Halfway to history. Taking another step toward overcoming an improbable 3-0 series deficit, Dwight Howard had 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Magic to a 113-92 victory over the Celtics on Wednesday night in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals. A series that looked like a sweep a few days ago now has the Celtics taking a slim 3-2 lead into a pressure- packed Game 6 in Boston on Friday night. The Celtics are facing the possibility of playing it without Kendrick Perkins after their starting center picked up his seventh technical foul of the playoffs, a mandatory suspension unless it is overturned. A potential Game 7 would be in Orlando. No NBA team has won a series after losing the first three games. Courtesy photos Red Bluff Youth Bowlers were presented awards Wednesday, May 5, at Lariat Bowl. Their leagues bowled on Saturday mornings from September through April. Above: The Saturday Strikers, ages 8 and younger, are, front, Rustan Vaught, Ian Divine, Ashlyn Zumalt and Skylor Arnold, and back, Royce Vaught, Jayson Joseph, Calvin Divine, Lacey Zumalt and Elly Reyes. Not pictured is Danika Emge. Below: The Jumbled Juniors ages 9 and older are, front, Courtney Crisel and Mariah Hawkins, middle, Andrew Serrano, Adam Clark, Brittney Andersen, Amandajane Dumas, Amanda Glenn and Mykell Galban, and, back, Logan Reynolds, Michael Catona, Eric Johnson, Davis Palubeski, Nick Norman and James Miller. Not pictured is Austin Stroud. Summer youth programs are now forming. The Magic, seemingly lifeless after a blowout defeat in Game 3, suddenly have hope to be the first. They broke out of their series-long shooting slump, making 13-of-25 3-pointers. ‘‘We just all believe,’’ guard Jameer Nelson said. ‘‘We all believe. We know we can do it, one game at a time.’’ Nelson scored 24 points, and J.J. Redick had 14 to help the Magic to a frenetic pace that the Celtics couldn’t sus- tain. Howard added five blocks as Orlando built an early 14-point lead that was never seriously challenged. Rasheed Wallace had 21 points, and Ray Allen scored 19 for a Boston team that once seemed on its way to another NBA finals. Now? The Celtics are stunned and dazed. Howard’s elbow inadvertently came down on Glen Davis’ face near the basket in the third quarter, giving the Celtics forward a concussion. Davis tried to get up as play continued on the other end, wobbling his way to midcourt, almost falling flat as referee Joey Crawford kept him from tumbling to the hardwood. Davis did not return, and his status for Game 6 was not immediately announced. The rest of the Celtics continued to crumble, again unable to deliver the knockout blow. Give the Magic a puncher’s chance. Redick provided a big boost off the bench, making a pair of 3-pointers to highlight a 20-8 run that put Orlando ahead 51-37 in the second quarter. His swishes and crisp passing kept the Celtics scrambling, and it filled a major hole with starter Vince Carter continuing to struggle. Amid an amped-up Amway Arena, Wallace picked up his third foul during the spurt and taunted Orlando fans all the way to bench. Wallace shouted and screamed to the stands, pointing at his ring finger for the championship he already won with Detroit — a title that has long eluded Orlando. Things got even worse for the Celtics when Perkins A’s place OF Coco Crisp on DL Recall C Powell BALTIMORE (AP) — The Oakland Athletics placed out- fielder Coco Crisp on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday. Crisp signed with the A’s as a free agent in the offseason, but began the season on the disabled list because of a fractured pinky finger. He was activated on Friday and played in two games, going 2 for 6 as the leadoff hitter, before developing a strained muscle in his chest. ‘‘Every injury is a different situation. The good news with this one it isn’t a real long one, so he’ll be back,’’ manager Bob Geren said before the A’s faced the Baltimore Orioles. ‘‘He’s a very good player; he does a lot of things to help a team win. That’s obviously why we signed him.’’ With Crisp out of the lineup, the Athletics have alternated between Cliff Pennington and Rajai Davis at the top of the line- up. ‘‘The leadoff spot hasn’t been solidified since opening day,’’ Sharks proud, but unsatisfied going into summer SAN JOSE (AP) — As the San Jose Sharks packed their bags, exchanged farewells and headed into the offseason, the mood around the team was a stark differ- ence from a year ago. General manager Doug Wil- son talked then about needing to perform an ‘‘autopsy’’ after the Sharks lost in the first round to Anaheim after posting the best record in the league in the regular season. Wilson enters this offseason proud of the steps the team took before getting swept by Chicago in the Western Conference final. He hopes the orga- nization can build on that success next season. Now the focus turns to the offseason, where the biggest questions revolve around unrestricted free agents Patrick Marleau. Evgeni Nabokov and Rob Blake. Crisp did not play Sunday or Monday, so Wednesday’s move is retroactive to May 23. Oakland recalled catcher Lan- don Powell from Triple-A Sacra- mento to fill out the roster. Pow- ell hit .231 with two doubles and three RBIs in 13 games during his previous stints this season with the A’s. He also caught Dal- las Braden’s perfect game on May 9. was ejected after he picked up his second technical of the game and seventh of the postseason for arguing with offi- cials. Perkins and Marcin Gortat were whistled for double technicals a few minutes prior after they got tangled up. That means Perkins, one of the best defenders in the league on Howard, will be suspended for Game 6 unless the NBA rescinds the technical. The league reviews every technical. The Celtics are two games from infamy, and the pres- sure is mounting, too. Geren said. ‘‘We have given a few guys a try. There have been a few sparks there, but nothing consistent.’’ Only four times in the history of North American major pro sports leagues has a team won a playoff series after losing the first three games. Such comebacks are some- thing Boston fans know all too well. It has happened three times in the NHL — most recent- ly by the Philadelphia Flyers over the Boston Bruins ear- lier this month — and once in baseball, when the Boston Red Sox came back to beat the New York Yankees in the 2004 AL championship series. In 93 tries, it has just never been done in the NBA. Here’s the Magic’s chance at history. NOTES: Of the 93 teams that have fallen into an 0-3 hole, only three have even forced a Game 7. ... The NBA upgraded Howard’s elbow on Boston’s Kevin Garnett in Game 4 to a flagrant-one foul Wednesday. That’s Howard’s second flagrant of the playoffs; two more and he will be suspended one game. A’s beat snap road skid at 6 games BALTIMORE (AP) — During a season in which they’ve struggled to win on the road, the Oakland Athletics found relief against a team they’ve long dominated in a stadium where they usually experi- ence success. Trevor Cahill pitched six innings of two-hit ball, Adam Rosales homered and drove in four runs, and Oakland beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-1 Wednesday night to end a six-game road losing streak. Rajai Davis had three hits, stole a career-high three bases and scored twice for the Athletics, who came in with a major league-low five wins away from home. Oakland is 18-9 at home and 6-14 on the road. ‘‘It is just a little different because the numbers don’t add up. We haven’t played the same num- ber of games yet’’ at home and on the road, manager Bob Geren said. ‘‘We have the same effort, the same preparation, the same guys play- ing.’’ Despite losing Tuesday, Oakland can earn its second road series win with a victory Thursday night. The A’s have won 17 of their last 21 games at Camden Yards, are 14-3 in their last 17 games against Balti- more and are 69-30 against the Orioles since the start of the 1999 season. Cahill (3-2) allowed one run, walked three and struck out three. The only significant flaw in his per- formance was a solo homer by Garrett Atkins in the third inning after the A’s had taken a 5-0 lead. Jerry Blevins gave up one hit in two innings, striking out the side in the eighth. Brad Ziegler worked the ninth to complete the three-hitter. The A’s took control with a four- run first inning against rookie Brian Matusz (2-5). After Davis led off with a single and scored on a single by Kurt Suzuki, Rosales hit a three- run homer to left field. As is his custom, Rosales hustled around the bases instead of breaking into a home run trot. ‘‘I thought there was one pitch in the game that turned it around, and that’s the ball that Rosales hit,’’ Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. ‘‘The first inning, that’s the difference in the game. Heck, you stick Cahill with four runs in the first and he’s a ground- ball machine.’’ Rosales’ drive ended a seven-game homerless stretch by the Athletics, their longest in 27 years. ‘‘We haven’t been hitting the long ball too much, but he gave us one tonight and got us off to a good start,’’ Cahill said. Oakland made it 5-0 in the sec- ond when Davis singled, stole sec- ond and scored on a single by Daric Barton. Atkins’ homer was his first since signing with Baltimore as a free agent in December. The drive ended his homerless drought at 145 at- bats, one short of his career high. See A'S, page 2B