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Celtics squeak by Magic in Orlando

Nov 9, 2013 - 4:23 AM Orlando, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Brandon Bass scored 16 points and the Boston Celtics beat the Orlando Magic for the ninth straight time with a 91-89 win on Friday night.

Avery Bradley had 14 points and Jordan Crawford and Courtney Lee both scored 13 for the Celtics, who have won back-to-back games after starting the season 0-4.

Arron Afflalo had a game-high 23 points for the Magic, who had a three-game winning streak snapped -- their longest since Dec. 14-19. Nikola Vucevic had 12 points in the first quarter but scored just two after that. He finished with a game-best 13 rebounds.

"They did a good job of taking away my post-ups," said Vucevic. "In the first quarter I was able to get some post-ups and pick-and-rolls and they took those away."

Afflalo's foot was on the 3-point line on a jumper he banked in from the left corner with 4.6 seconds left to get the Magic within 90-89. Bradley missed one of his free throws at the other end, but Orlando's Victor Oladipo was stopped near midcourt and his desperation shot at the buzzer hit off the backboard.

The Magic's last win against the Celtics came on Christmas in 2010. They will get their next chance to end the streak soon -- the teams play in Boston on Monday night.

The Celtics beat Utah on Wednesday night to avoid tying a franchise record for worst start but first-year NBA coach Brad Stevens said the team isn't much different after two straight wins.

"We have to get better," the Celtics coach said. "It's good to win, but we play at Miami on Saturday and they're the best team in the league. It never stops. You have to ride the momentum but you can't let it consume you."

The Celtics turned a five-point deficit into a six-point lead with a 15-4 run in the third quarter. Bass scored six in the burst, including two on an alley- oop dunk set up by Jeff Green.

They never trailed after that, though the game remained close.

Vucevic made five of his six shots for 12 points in the first quarter and the Magic held the Celtics to 25.9 percent shooting. Eight of Vucevic's 12 points came during a 12-0 run that gave Orlando a 19-10 lead.

The Magic led 24-17 going into the second quarter and went ahead by as many as 12. Lee had 11 points off the bench in the second for the Celtics, including nine in a row to spark a 15-6 burst that got them within three. It remained a three-point Orlando lead at 49-46 going into halftime.

Game Notes

Jameer Nelson had 12 points and seven assists for Orlando ... The Magic went 3-1 on a four-game homestand and will play the Hawks in Atlanta on Saturday.