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Magic-Celtics Preview

Feb 6, 2010 - 6:18 PM By MIKE LIPKA STATS Writer

Orlando (33-17) at Boston (32-16), 2:30 p.m. EDT

The Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic were the last two teams to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA finals, and both entered this season with plans to contend for the title.

Neither looked like an elite team in its latest game.

The Magic will try to shake off an embarrassing home loss before Sunday's trip to Boston, where the struggling Celtics hope to regain some confidence after averting what would have been an even more ignominious defeat.

Following a 2-7 stretch last month, Orlando (33-17) seemed to have regained its footing by winning seven of eight going into Friday night's meeting with lowly Washington.

But the reigning East champions blew an early 21-point lead in a 92-91 loss to the Wizards, who outscored Orlando 39-17 in the third quarter. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy wasn't pleased with his team, which was outrebounded 52-41 even though Dwight Howard had 18 boards.

"Quite honestly, we deserved to lose," Van Gundy said. "The way we came out and played in the third quarter, defensively, put nothing into it. A sign of real immaturity and very, very disappointing.

"And there you go, exactly what I've been talking about, you start to think, 'Oh, we've turned the corner or whatever.' There's no corners to turn. We need to keep playing hard."

The Magic were also inconsistent offensively, and Vince Carter's shooting slump continued with a 5-of-17 night from the field. In 11 games since returning from a shoulder injury, Carter is shooting 33.1 percent and averaging 10.8 points.

"It's flat-out unacceptable," Carter said of the loss.

Even though the Celtics (32-16) extended their winning streak to three with Friday's 96-87 victory over New Jersey, Boston also wasn't pleased after entering the fourth quarter trailing a Nets team that is on pace to finish with the worst record in NBA history.

"It doesn't matter who's coming here, if it's the Lakers or if it's the Nets or whoever," forward Rasheed Wallace said. "We have to work on us and that's our main focal point, to go out there and execute."

Plenty of issues remain for Boston, which continues to deal with injuries. The Celtics were without leading scorer Paul Pierce for Friday's game as they improved to 9-11 since an 86-77 win at Orlando on Christmas Day.

That stretch includes a 96-94 road loss to the Magic on Jan. 28 during which the Celtics were outscored 35-22 in the fourth quarter.

"I can't explain that one," forward Kevin Garnett said after that game. "We had them right where we wanted them and let it slip away."

In eight games since a 10-game absence due to a knee injury, Garnett is averaging 13.0 points and 6.0 rebounds - unimpressive numbers for a player with 663 career double-doubles.

Pierce hopes to return Sunday after missing two games with a foot injury, but the veteran-laden Celtics have rarely been able to operate at full strength.

Ray Allen led the way with 26 points against the Nets. Allen and center Kendrick Perkins are the only Celtics who've played in all of the team's games.

With Garnett out, the Magic won 101-82 at Boston in Game 7 of the conference semifinals last season, and they earned an 83-78 victory at the TD Garden on Nov. 20 - their fourth win in their last six road games against the Celtics, including playoffs.

In those four losses, the Celtics have averaged 82.3 points while shooting 37.8 percent from the field, with Howard totaling 16 blocked shots.