Celtics Blow Lead, Lose to Magic

Rashard Lewis’ subpar first half helped the Celtics get off to a great start.  But after the game was over, his first half was forgotten as the Orlando Magic came from behind to defeat the Boston Celtics, 96-94.

The Magic outscored the Celtics 35-22 in the final 12 minutes to move their record to 30-16.  Despite 14 missed free throws, Orlando stayed in the game by outrebounding Boston 47-32 – including 17 offensive boards.  

The Celtics led 51-40 at the half, and maintained a double-digit lead to begin the final quarter, consistently making shots as needed to keep the Magic at bay.  Ray Allen’s shot was on, shooting 8 of 12 from the field (4-8 on 3-point FGs).  The road team led by as many as 16 points. 

But as the 4th quarter started, so did the Magic’s aggresiveness.  Dwight Howard stepped his game up in the 4th quarter – putting up 11 of his 19 points.  Howard and Gortat played side-by-side throughout the game.  They combined to wreak havoc in the paint, combining for 7 blocked shots in the game.  Along with the big guys, Jason Williams hit a couple of pivotal three-pointers early in the quarter to bring Orlando back to momentarily take the lead from Boston.

Ray Allen's shooting wasn't enough to lead Boston to a win.

Boston stormed back on a transition three from the Truth (Paul Pierce) and a running one-hander by first time All-Star Rajon Rondo.

Down by 3 with 51 seconds to go, the Magic needed a big play – and J.J. Redick delivered a huge three-point shot to tie the game at 94.  Boston looked to break the tie, but Allen could not connect on a three.  After an Orlando timeout – on a play that had an ineffective start – Rashard Lewis found room on the baseline to get by Kevin Garnett for an uncontested layup with 1.3 seconds remaining, putting the Magic up by the winning margin.

The Celtics had one final attempt to tie or win – but a Rasheed Wallace triple was off the mark and the Magic escaped with the close victory.