Dan Duggan of the Boston Herald reports:
![]() |
This may come as a surprise to Celtics fans, but Matt Barnes wants your team to win the championship.
The Magic forward, who seemed to thrive on getting under the skin of the Celtics during the Eastern Conference finals, is expecting his rivals to continue their run in the NBA Finals.
“After they beat us, you definitely wish everybody good luck and you want them to win the championship because at least you got beat by the team who won it,” Barnes said after the C’s closed out the Magic with a 96-84 Game 6 win at the Garden last night. “They definitely got everything it takes and we wish them good luck.”
The physical nature of the series got plenty of attention, but after last night’s game there was a clear display of mutual respect between the teams.
“You know it’s a war while you’re out there, but I got friends on that team,” Barnes said. “But while we’re playing, we’re playing for our lives.”