That said outing will take place in the 2009-10 season pretty much was assured early last night by the Celtics . Notwithstanding a couple of purely pyrite pushes in the third quarter, the Celts hoisted a white flag - not a championship banner - to end their year.

According to coach Doc Rivers, his guys looked focused and ready in the morning shootaround.

``And then,'' Rivers said after the 101-82 Game 7 loss at the Garden, ``we come out and lay an egg.''

The Celtics dispensed with any suspense fairly quickly. Let it be recorded that their last lead of the season was 2-0.

``Tonight it just really felt like we ran out of gas,'' captain Paul Pierce said.

Look, the Celtics weren't going to win a second consecutive title without Garnett anyway, so you are free to ask if it really matters when they chose to leave the party. But the manner in which they departed didn't seem quite appropriate.

Brian Scalabrine was asked if he was disappointed that his team came out so poorly in a game like this.

``You know, that is a great question and I would love to talk about it,'' Scalabrine said. ``But I don't think I should go there. But it's a (expletive) great question.''

The sellout throng certainly was up to the task, belting out the Dropkick Murphys ``I'm Shipping up to Boston'' before tipoff (as has become one of the city's truly cool customs). And the citizenry tried to rouse their club on several other occasions. But the Celtics weren't having it.

Apparently being in a Game 7 wasn't enough of a challenge for the Celts. Being 48 minutes away from the offseason wasn't enough motivation.

Certainly it's not what the coaches were suggesting, but the lads in sneakers decided to execute the rope-a-dope in the opening quarter. The Magic took advantage for 27 points and leads as great as 13 before settling for a 10-point edge at the end of the first frame. The visitors attempted six 3-pointers and hit five of them, firing away as if this part of their game was somehow a surprise to the opponent.

The Celtics added to their woe by committing five turnovers in the period. Dopey indeed. While the Los Angeles Lakers showed earlier in the day how to handle a Game 7 at home, taking a 15-point lead during layup lines, the Celts came out flat as a flounder.

How does this happen?

It would be inappropriate to ignore the abilities of the Magic, a club that can be incredibly tough to deal with when it has its game in gear. But did the Celtics have to pull over, grab the cables and offer Orlando a jump start?

``We looked tired, sluggish,'' Kendrick Perkins said. ``I know guys' hearts were there, but we just didn't really show up on the court tonight.''

The Celtics' last opportunity to save the night came at the start of the last quarter when they were down by a mere five points. But maybe they caught a touch of the Cleveland flu. Maybe they simply had nothing left. Orlando, on the other hand, had an 11-0 run to throw at the stock-still Celts.

With a trip to the conference finals on the line, the Bostonians decided to go gently into the good night. With 2:48 left in the game, Rafer Alston threw in a 3-pointer on Eddie House. The same Rafer Alston who'd slapped House in the head after the latter had done likewise to him late in Game 2. This time Alston turned to House and smiled.

At least the final indignity wasn't self-inflicted.

- sbulpett@bostonherald.com