SOURCE: AFP
Orlando rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit Saturday to beat Boston 86-78 and end the Celtics' 14-game NBA winning streak.
Brandon Bass scored 21 points and Hedo Turkoglu chipped in 16 for the Magic, who followed up their Thursday triumph over NBA leaders San Antonio -- which ended the Spurs' 10-game winning streak -- with a victory over another elite team.
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Orlando rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit Saturday to beat Boston 86-78 and end the Celtics' 14-game NBA winning streak.
Brandon Bass scored 21 points and Hedo Turkoglu chipped in 16 for the Magic, who followed up their Thursday triumph over NBA leaders San Antonio -- which ended the Spurs' 10-game winning streak -- with a victory over another elite team.
Jameer Nelson and JJ Redick delivered key jump shots in the final minutes for the Magic, who engineered a brace of blockbuster trades last Saturday in a bid to bolster their sagging fortunes.
"You see what the possibilities are," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said of his new-look lineup. "You see that you have a chance to be a really good team. We're not there yet by any means, but you have a chance to be a very good team.
"That belief and that confidence that if we will stay with it, we can be very good -- That's a great thing for our team to get that belief that ... yeah, this can work. We can do this."
Kevin Garnett scored 22 points for Boston and Paul Pierce added 18, but it wasn't enough for the Celtics to overcome the team they defeated in last season's Eastern Conference finals.
It was Boston's first defeat since they fell at Toronto on November 21.
"I just thought we went away from executing offensively and we just didn't get any stops down the stretch," Pierce said.
For much of the contest the Celtics dictated, with Magic center Dwight Howard in foul trouble over the first three quarters and held without a field goal until the final period.
In the first minute of the fourth quarter Howard's hook shot over Glen Davis narrowed Boston's lead to four points.
Several plays later, Howard drew a sixth foul on Celtics center Shaquille O'Neal when he fell to the court as the two fought for position.
"I didn't flop," Howard insisted. "I just tripped."
Bass's jump shot with 1:56 to play knotted the score at 77-77. Nelson followed with a three-pointer and Redick drained a jump shot as the Magic pulled away for a victory.
Orlando was struggling when they put together two trades last weekend, bringing Gilbert Arenas from Washington and Jason Richardson, Turkoglu and Earl Clark from Phoenix.
They gave up Rashard Lewis, Vince Carter, Mickael Pietrus and Marcin Gortat along with a 2011 first-round draft selection and cash in the moves.
The new-look Magic lost their first two games before clicking in the victories over San Antonio and a Boston team that had been winning despite injury concerns.
Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo was again sidelined with a sprained ankle that had seen him miss seven of the 14 straight victories. Backup Delonte West has missed the last 13.
Shaquille O'Neal sat out four and Jermaine O'Neal played for the first time in 14 games against Orlando. Kendrick Perkins -- last season's starting center -- hasn't played this season.
Boston's deficiencies didn't dim the Magic's pleasure in the victory.
"I had never played on Christmas," Arenas said. "I got a nice Christmas present today."
"You see what the possibilities are," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said of his new-look lineup. "You see that you have a chance to be a really good team. We're not there yet by any means, but you have a chance to be a very good team.
"That belief and that confidence that if we will stay with it, we can be very good -- That's a great thing for our team to get that belief that ... yeah, this can work. We can do this."
Kevin Garnett scored 22 points for Boston and Paul Pierce added 18, but it wasn't enough for the Celtics to overcome the team they defeated in last season's Eastern Conference finals.
It was Boston's first defeat since they fell at Toronto on November 21.
"I just thought we went away from executing offensively and we just didn't get any stops down the stretch," Pierce said.
For much of the contest the Celtics dictated, with Magic center Dwight Howard in foul trouble over the first three quarters and held without a field goal until the final period.
In the first minute of the fourth quarter Howard's hook shot over Glen Davis narrowed Boston's lead to four points.
Several plays later, Howard drew a sixth foul on Celtics center Shaquille O'Neal when he fell to the court as the two fought for position.
"I didn't flop," Howard insisted. "I just tripped."
Bass's jump shot with 1:56 to play knotted the score at 77-77. Nelson followed with a three-pointer and Redick drained a jump shot as the Magic pulled away for a victory.
Orlando was struggling when they put together two trades last weekend, bringing Gilbert Arenas from Washington and Jason Richardson, Turkoglu and Earl Clark from Phoenix.
They gave up Rashard Lewis, Vince Carter, Mickael Pietrus and Marcin Gortat along with a 2011 first-round draft selection and cash in the moves.
The new-look Magic lost their first two games before clicking in the victories over San Antonio and a Boston team that had been winning despite injury concerns.
Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo was again sidelined with a sprained ankle that had seen him miss seven of the 14 straight victories. Backup Delonte West has missed the last 13.
Shaquille O'Neal sat out four and Jermaine O'Neal played for the first time in 14 games against Orlando. Kendrick Perkins -- last season's starting center -- hasn't played this season.
Boston's deficiencies didn't dim the Magic's pleasure in the victory.
"I had never played on Christmas," Arenas said. "I got a nice Christmas present today."
