Boston ends Orlando's magical run

ORLANDO, Florida – Ray Allen scored 25 points, Paul Pierce had 22 and the Boston Celtics used smothering defense to beat the Orlando Magic, 92-88, on Sunday in the opening match of the Eastern Conference finals.

Rasheed Wallace added 13 points as the Celtics built a 20-point lead, then held on late to end Orlando’s 14-game winning streak.

Vince Carter had 23 points and Jameer Nelson finished with 20 for Orlando, which cut the lead to two in the final seconds but simply ran out of time, looking rusty after a six-day layoff.

Dwight Howard was limited to 13 points and 12 rebounds, nowhere near the dominant force the Magic need to win a title.

Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Tuesday night in Orlando.

Two years removed from an NBA title, the revived Celtics might be a little grayer and perhaps a little slower than their paralyzing defense of old. But, healthy again, maybe not as much as some once thought.

“We’re old. So I think a lot of our guys during the regular season with the injuries and stuff, it was very difficult,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “It’s tough to work on your defense when guys don’t practice. It’s tough to practice when you only have eight guys at practice.”

The Celtics built a 15-point lead in the second quarter and watched it fizzle with Howard on the bench. Backup Marcin Gortat had two layups and a dunk to help the Magic end the half with Boston ahead 41-32.

Nelson had two quick 3-pointers and another jumper to start the third, moving the Magic within three points. Then it all unraveled.

The Celtics went on a 22-5 run later in the quarter to go ahead 65-45, but the Magic rallied late to cut the lead to three with 26 seconds remaining in the fourth on a dunk by Howard.

After Pierce made two free throws, Carter was fouled driving to the hoop. He made the first, then missed the second intentionally as Nelson swooped in for the tip to make it 90-88. But Allen followed with two free throws with 6.1 seconds left to seal the Celtics’ victory.

“We played hard in the paint,” Allen said. “We forced them to take shots from the perimeter, but we always got a hand up in their face.”

A Celtics team that downed LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the last round seems as rejuvenated as ever, ready to give the Magic - who swept through the first two rounds – their toughest test yet.