Magic Avoid Near Letdown, Take Down Celtics In Game One

Both the Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics got quite a scare in Round One of the playoffs this year.

Orlando faced a 2-1 series deficit against the Philadelphia 76ers before rallying to win three straight.

Boston had to extend its series to seven games and seven overtimes in order to eliminate the Chicago Bulls.

In game one of the Eastern Conference Semifinal match-up between these two teams, however, there was less drama.

The Magic led by 28 midway through the third quarter and hung on for a 95-90 win at the Boston Garden.

Both teams were looking to carry momentum from the first round into the second. But rest seemed to be the bigger factor. Orlando had more of it.

Orlando led 24-19 after the first quarter and outscored the Celtics 30-17 in the second to take a 54-36 halftime lead. Rashard Lewis led the way with 14 points. Hedo Turkoglu, Dwight Howard and Mickael Pietrus each chipped in nine.

In the second the Celtics started to look like the defending world champions.

After the lead reached 28, Orlando eased up. Boston's combination of Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce, along with contributions from Glen Davis and Ray Allen, cut the lead to 10 in the fourth quarter. 

Lewis finished with 18 points. Pietrus came up big with 17 off the bench. Turkoglu had 15 points. Howard was a beast down low, grabbing 22 rebounds and  scoring 16 on 6 for 12 from the field.

Boston was led by 23 from Paul Peirce and a near triple-double from Rajon Rondo (14 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists). But he shot only two-for-12 from the floor. Ray Allen was also two-of-12.