Magic 83, Celtics 78

Game Highlights

Photo of the Game

Rajon Rondo and Marquis Daniels sandwich Vince Carter as he goes up for a shot.
Elsa/NBAE/Getty

By Marc D'Amico
Celtics.com

Key Moment

Boston fought back from an early 16-point deficit and managed to tie the game at 78-78 with 2:54 remaining in the fourth quarter, but two key plays that took place in the following minutes helped seal the road win for Orlando.

With the game tied, Vince Carter, who hit clutch shot after clutch shot all night long for Orlando, drained a 12-foot turnaround jumper to put Orlando up by two points. Each team went scoreless for nearly two minutes before what may be the most important play of the game occurred. Paul Pierce was defending Rashard Lewis about 25 feet from the hoop near the top of the key when Lewis took a jab step. He and Pierce made contact, and it looked like both players were ready to continue the play, but Pierce was whistled for the foul. That was a critical moment because Boston had already been over the foul limit, so Lewis went to the line. He drained both shots, putting the Magic up by four, and the C's couldn't overcome that deficit.

Key Box Score Line

Both teams struggled tonight from the floor, and that inluded Vince Carter. But when Orlando dearly needed a bucket, he was there to bail them out. Carter finished with a game-high 26 points, and it's safe to say that the majority of them were at moments where Orlando was on the verge of blowing their huge lead. With Dwight Howard struggling offensively, it was Carter who carried the Magic tonight.

Box Score Nuggets

• Both teams finished with two players notching double-figure rebounds. Boston's Rasheed Wallace grabbed 13 and Kevin Garnett grabbed 11, while Orlando's Dwight Howard pulled in 15 and Rashard Lewis finished with 10.
• Vince Carter scored a game-high 26 points, but shot only 10-of-29 from the floor.
• The Celtics had one of their best nights of the season from the free throw line, making 16 of their 18 attempts.
• Rajon Rondo had an interesting box score, with six points, six assists and six rebounds.
• Neither team made more than 30 field goals in the game.
• Boston actually made more field goals (30) than Orlando (29), but shot a dreadful 2-of-19 from 3-point range, compared to Orlando's 10-of-22 from downtown.
• Orlando made only 15 of their 26 free throws.
• Boston scored 19 points in both the third and fourth quarters.
• The teams nearly flipped scores in the first and second quarters. Orlando scored 29 in the first to Boston's 13, then Boston scored 27 in the second to Orlando's 14.
• The Celtics scored more points in the paint, more second chance points and more fast break points, but still lost the game.
• Rasheed Wallace recorded a season-high in rebounds with 13, five of which came on the offensive end. Orlando had only seven offensive rebounds as a team.

Quote of the Night

Doc Rivers on his team's overall state: "I just think our team is playing awful, overall. It's not just the beginning of the games... I've been saying it for a week now. We're making up stuff on the floor on offense and defense. We're not executing. We're not trusting each other"