The Orlando Magic (30–16) stole a 96–94 win on Thursday at home against the Boston Celtics (29–14), after having trailed by 10 or more points for most of the game.
Rashard Lewis carried the Magic with 23 points and eight rebounds, including the game-winning basket with just seconds to go on the clock.
Dwight Howard scored 19 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, and had four shot blocks. Howard was limited in playing time though because of foul trouble early on.
It was a sloppy performance overall for both teams, with three technical fouls in the first quarter alone and the Celtics racking up 30 personal fouls, with the Magic getting 19.
The Celtics owned the game from the start, leading by as much as 16. Prolific outside shooting always pulled Boston back up by a comfortable margin when Orlando went on a run.
The Magic’s foul shots (26–40), poor offensive rebounding, and Celtics turnovers were what kept Orlando alive down the stretch.
The game was largely uneventful until the fourth quarter, when the Magic pulled it back to within six off back-to-back 3-pointers from Jason Williams.
Orlando then rallied to finally tie the score at 84 with just less than five minutes to play after some skillful jump-hooks from Howard.
Within the final minute of the game, Orlando’s J.J. Redick hit a clutch 3-pointer to tie the score at 94, and Lewis’s driving layup in the final seconds sealed the win.
Ray Allen led the Celtics with 20 points, including four 3-pointers in over 41 minutes of playing time.
With the win, Orlando is now only a half game back of Boston in the conference standings.
Rashard Lewis carried the Magic with 23 points and eight rebounds, including the game-winning basket with just seconds to go on the clock.
Dwight Howard scored 19 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, and had four shot blocks. Howard was limited in playing time though because of foul trouble early on.
It was a sloppy performance overall for both teams, with three technical fouls in the first quarter alone and the Celtics racking up 30 personal fouls, with the Magic getting 19.
The Celtics owned the game from the start, leading by as much as 16. Prolific outside shooting always pulled Boston back up by a comfortable margin when Orlando went on a run.
The Magic’s foul shots (26–40), poor offensive rebounding, and Celtics turnovers were what kept Orlando alive down the stretch.
The game was largely uneventful until the fourth quarter, when the Magic pulled it back to within six off back-to-back 3-pointers from Jason Williams.
Orlando then rallied to finally tie the score at 84 with just less than five minutes to play after some skillful jump-hooks from Howard.
Within the final minute of the game, Orlando’s J.J. Redick hit a clutch 3-pointer to tie the score at 94, and Lewis’s driving layup in the final seconds sealed the win.
Ray Allen led the Celtics with 20 points, including four 3-pointers in over 41 minutes of playing time.
With the win, Orlando is now only a half game back of Boston in the conference standings.
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