Celtics beat Magic to return to NBA finals

Nate Robinson gave Boston a huge boost off the bench and Paul Pierce stepped up his play in another close out game as the Celtics earned a chance to go for an unprecedented 18th NBA championship banner.

Pierce had 31 points and 13 rebounds, and little-used Robinson chipped in 13 in the second quarter as the Celtics defeated the Orlando Magic 96-84 to win their semi-final series 4-2 on Friday.

"I am just glad we finished at home because I did not want to go back to Orlando," Pierce said. "We got back to playing good defence."

The Celtics will go for their second NBA title in three years when the finals begins Thursday in either Los Angeles or Phoenix.

The Lakers lead the other semi-final series 3-2 and a victory over the Suns in game six on Saturday would set up a rematch of the 2008 finals.

The Celtics and Lakers met in 10 championship series between 1959-87.