• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Boston and Orlando renew rivalry as C's shoot for 15th straight win

Dec 25, 2010 - 3:48 PM (Sports Network) - Two days after stopping San Antonio's 10-game winning streak, the Orlando Magic aim to derail the NBA's longest run this season when they spend Christmas Day hosting the red-hot Boston Celtics in a rematch of last year's Eastern Conference finals.

Boston, of course, topped Orlando in six games during last season's East finals before coming up a little short in Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Magic, however, are a vastly different team now after pulling off a pair of major deals last week and the club won for the first time since the shakeup on Thursday when mainstay Dwight Howard scored a game-high 29 points to go along with 14 rebounds as Orlando routed San Antonio, 123-101, to end the Spurs' winning streak.

Brandon Bass added 17 points and Jason Richardson netted 15 as the Magic put a check in the win column for the first time since acquiring Richardson, Gilbert Arenas, Hedo Turkoglu and Earl Clark in two separate trades on Dec. 18. It was only the team's second win in their last 10 games.

J.J. Redick finished with 17 points, while Arenas and Turkoglu scored 14 and 11 points, respectively, in the win. Arenas also dished out a game-high nine assists.

"Our energy on the offensive end was fantastic," said Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy. "We were running hard, pushing the ball up, pushing it ahead. I like the way we played."

The Celtics, meanwhile, won their 14th consecutive game on Wednesday, outlasting long-time rival Philadelphia, 84-80, at TD Garden. Ray Allen led the C's with 22 points and six assists in that one.

Shaquille O'Neal finished with 13 points and nine rebounds and Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce added 12 and 11 points, respectively, for Boston, which finished up a perfect three-game home stand despite playing without star point guard Rajon Rondo, who remains out with a sprained left ankle.

"We are not really concentrating on the streak," O'Neal said. "One of our goals is to try to stay dominant at home and stay above .500 on the road."

Orlando has won five of the past six regular season matchups between the two clubs and eight of the last 10 played in central Florida but it's all about the postseason when you talk about these two clubs.

"We are not playing for December or January," Howard said. "We are playing for June."

"They have brought [in] more talent and they are a better team, to me, in the long run because they have added more talent," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said when talking about the Magic."

Shaq is preparing to play on Christmas Day for the 13th time, tying Dolph Schayes and Earl Monroe for the most in NBA history. His former teammate in Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant, is also scheduled to make his 13th appearance later today when the Lakers host the Miami Heat.