Magic Finishes Off Celtics and the Garden : NBA playoffs: Orlando holds on for 95-92 victory, setting up East semifinal against Chicago.

The Orlando Magic made Boston Garden a thing of the NBA’s past Friday night. Now some nagging questions about them are a thing of the past too.

They hadn’t won a playoff series. They couldn’t win on the road.

With a 95-92 victory over the Boston Celtics on Friday night, Orlando claimed its first playoff series in franchise history. And the Magic did it by winning two games at one of the toughest venues in pro sports.

“This building is the best building in the history of basketball,” Magic guard Anfernee Hardaway said. “This will go a long way, because we were the last team to win here.”

Now comes the meeting everyone wants to see: Bulls vs. Magic, Michael vs. Shaq. The Eastern Conference semifinal series begins Sunday at Orlando.

“We still have a long way to go,” said Horace Grant, who left the Bulls to join the Magic this season. “I never want to compare this team to a Chicago team, but we still have so much to learn.”

The Magic will be in the Eastern Conference semifinals not only because of Shaquille O’Neal, who had 25 points and 13 rebounds, but because of Grant’s steady play. Grant had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and his two free throws with 15.3 seconds left sealed the victory.

“I wanted to be in that position and lead the team,” he said.

The Magic held onto a slim lead most of the fourth quarter until Sherman Douglas made an off-balance three-point basket with the shot clock winding down and 2:37 to play, putting Boston ahead 91-90. Hardaway drove the lane and took a pass from O’Neal to move the Magic back into the lead.

With a chance to tie the game with 16.2 seconds left, Dominique Wilkins missed the second of two free throws.

“I’ve been in that position so many times,” said Wilkins, a 12-year veteran. “I’m just so disappointed in myself for missing that last free throw.”

After Wilkins’ miss, Dino Radja fouled Grant going for the rebound.

Douglas put up a three-point shot in the waning seconds, but it bounced off the rim. He finished with 21 points and Wilkins had 22 with 18 rebounds.

Even though their play was sometimes ragged in the second half, the Magic was proud of holding the Celtics, who had shot poorly in Game 3, to 43% shooting in Game 4.

“We played great defense at the end of the game,” O’Neal said. “It feels pretty good, but we have to get ready for Chicago.”

The Celtics tried to give the 67-year-old Garden, which is to be replaced by the new FleetCenter next season, a fitting finale.

After Boston cut the lead to 65-61 with 4:52 left in the third quarter, cold-shooting Orlando called timeout and the fans gave the Garden one last, long goodby with a deafening standing ovation.

“It was great to see the fans responding to what the players gave them,” Boston Coach Chris Ford said. “I couldn’t be prouder.”

In the end, the fans didn’t want to leave. A few hundred stormed the floor after the game, overwhelming a small group of police officers. They swarmed to center court, trying to kiss the leprechaun painted on the parquet before officers could clear the building.