By the end of Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday at Amway Arena, the Orlando Magic had disposed of four opposing players en route to a 113-92 win over the Boston Celtics.

Kendrick Perkins was tossed from the game after picking up two technical fouls. Glen Davis and Marquis Daniels each were ushered off the court with concussions. And lastly, Rasheed Wallace fouled out with less than five minutes to go.

The Celtics hold a 3-2 series lead, which picks back up Friday night in Boston at 8:30 p.m.

In Orlando, there’s a renewed feeling that the momentum has shifted back in favor of the No. 2 team in the Eastern Conference.

“I don’t know if you can say you have momentum when you’re down 3-2 going into their place,” said Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy. “That’s hard to say. I still look at it like we’re climbing a huge mountain right here.”

At least they’ve made it look easier over the past two games than they had in the opening three games of the series. The difference for the Magic as of late has been the way they’ve dictated the pace of the game while moving the ball around the floor.

“We’ve played at a much, much higher energy level,” said Van Gundy “And clearly we’ve had a lot more guys play well.”

Along with team-leaders Jameer Nelson (24 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) and Dwight Howard (21 points, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks), there were two others that turned in double-digit scoring efforts on Wednesday.

All of a sudden they look a lot like the near-flawless Orlando Magic team from late in the regular season and during the first two rounds of the postseason. Have they found a way to reemerge from the ashes?

“We’ve always outworked and outhustled teams,” said Matt Barnes, who finished with nine points on three 3-pointers and seven rebounds. “When we play with energy and effort we’re a hard team to beat.”

Maybe all that was needed was for them to be reminded of that.

There was clearly a renewed enthusiasm in Game 5 that came by way of winning on the road in Game 4. And the fact that the Magic rebounded the basketball so well Wednesday night helped their cause this time around.

“The biggest thing in the game for us – bigger than anything else tonight – we were great on the boards,” said Van Gundy. “Everybody will look at the three-point shooting and all of that, but probably the biggest thing is that we dominated the glass.”

The Magic shot 52-percent (13-for-25) from long-range, 52-percent from the field (36-for-69) and outrebounded the Celtics 43-26 in the win.

Rashard Lewis, who revealed this week that he’s been fighting an illness throughout the series, finished with 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting and seven rebounds. J.J. Redick, the clear-cut crowd favorite, has earned quality time on the court and seemed to add even more fuel to the Magic’s burning desire to pull out another do-or-die game. He finished with 14 points on just 3-for-6 shooting from the field.

“J.J.’s just a guy I have great trust in because I know how hard he’s going to go at it, I know how hard he’s worked, and I know he’s never going to be afraid of anything,” said Van Gundy.

That attitude has clearly made its way around the locker room over the past few days.

What we were reminded of as Orlando controlled the pace of this game was that when the ball is passed around, the open shots are going down, and the boards are being crashed, that the Magic are a dangerous team to mess with.

“They stole the game in Boston and tonight they just played better than us,” said Celtics coach Doc Rivers afterwards. “The team that’s been the most physical has won the games.”

Which means if the Magic can find a way to play with the same heart and intensity they have for much of the season, then they like their chances to return home for an elimination game on Sunday night.

“The pressures all on them,” said Barnes. “We know we’re going to be in a war on Friday against Boston and we’ll be ready. They’re in trouble if they let us come back here for Game 7.”

– (Contact Orlando Sports Central at JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com) –