The Boston Celtics (38-12) came from a 10-point deficit in the first quarter against the Orlando Magic (32-20) to win 91-80. The Celtics won the season series 2-1, with the Celtics winning the last two games on their home court.
However, the beginning of the game looked scary for the Celtics. Glen Davis took a charge in the first quarter, but slammed his head hard on the ground. Luckily, Davis was able to come back in the second quarter. The Celtics did lose one player to injury though: Marquis Daniels. Daniels had the ball in the first minutes of the second quarter where he ducked down to make a move on Gilbert Arenas and slammed his his head into Arenas’ chest. He then landed in a heap on the ground and hit his head on the ground. He was laying on his stomach for several minutes before he was taken away on a stretcher. There has been no update for Daniels at this point in time except that he has injured his neck.
Rajon Rondo led the charge for the Celtics. He scored 26 points on 9-15 shooting. He also dished out seven assists and was 7-9 from the free throw line. The “Big Three” also had to come up with big games to come out of this game with a victory. Paul Pierce had 18 points, but was only 411 from the field. He was also 10-12 from the free throw line. Ray Allen scored 11 points and was 2-4 from the three-point arc. Kevin Garnett had a near double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds. He was 5-8from the field. Kendrick Perkins collected a team-high 13 points, but scored no points.
Dwight Howard led the way with 28 points and 13 rebounds for the Magic. He was 10-20 from the field and 8-10 from the free throw line. Along with the double-double, he had three steals and a technical foul. He now has 14 on the season which is two away from a one-game suspension. This is the third straight game with zero blocks. Ryan Anderson came up big with 12 points of his own while shooting 5-10 from the field. He also collected seven rebounds Jason Richardson and Jameer Nelson each added 10 points, but were a combined 9-23 from the field. Earl Clark came off the bench with eight points and 4-9 shooting. The biggest disappointment has to be Gilbert Arenas who was 0-7 from the field with zero points scored.
The Celtics were able to control the tempo of the game after the first quarter. The Magic shot only 34.4% from the field compared to the Celtics 47.6% shooting. The Magic only shot 12.5% (3-24) from the three-point line while the Celtics shot at a 33.3% clip (3-9). The Magic edged the Celtics in rebounds (46-41) and turnovers (10 to 13).
The Celtics head on the road Monday night, February 7, to face the Charlotte Bobcats (21-29) at the Time Warner Cable Arena at 7:00 p.m. EST. Allen will most likely pass Reggie Miller for most career threes since he only trails by three. The Magic will head home to the Amway Center to face the Los Angeles Clippers (19-31) at 7:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday, February 8.