Abracadabra: Celtics 116, Magic 110

Kevin Garnett helped carry the Celtics to their second consecutive win.

The Celtics needed whatever tricks they had up their sleeve to squeeze this one out, and they did just that. After leading by as many as 12 points, the Celtics saw Jameer Nelson and the rest of the Orlando Magic catch fire and turn their lead into a 7-point deficit. It took five extra minutes, but the Celtics ended up doing what they had to do: win the game. The C's move to 8-6 with a 116-110 victory.

Here's a recap:

The good:

* Even playing a season-high 35 minutes didn't slow down the Big Ticket. Kevin Garnett had his third double-double of the season as he finished with a game-high 24 points on 10-of-17 from the field and 10 rebounds. He hit tons of big shots and free throws down the stretch to help force overtime and to seal the deal in the overtime. A throwback KG performance.

* Rajon Rondo flirted with a triple-double, as he scored 15 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, and tallied 16 assists. He is now tied for second with John Stockton for most consecutive games with double-digit assists with 37. He arrived at 10 at the 9:49 mark of the third quarter on a Paul Pierce three-pointer. Rondo was in complete control all night. He only had one turnover in 42 minutes. A tremendous all-around effort from Rondo.

* I swear that Jared Sullinger has some sort of magnet on his uniform that attracts him to the basket. Every time a shot goes up, Sullinger is always under the basket. He always gets into the middle of things down low, something the Celtics desperately need. He ended up with 11 points and 6 rebounds in 19 minutes.

* As he always seems to do, Paul Pierce ended up scoring his points, grabbing some rebounds, and taking big shots. He finished with 23 points and 5 rebounds. He took the possible game-winning shot at the end of regulation but missed it. A few minutes earlier, he hit a big three-pointer. Even after a disappointing first half, Pierce continued to grind it out.

* Stop me if you've heard this before: the Celtics won the rebounding battle. That's what I thought. And what makes that feat even more impressive is the fact that Orlando came into tonight's game 9th in the league in rebounding. Every Celtic that played tonight collected at least one rebound with five grabbing at least 5 rebounds. That's the kind of effort the Celtics need every night on the boards. They don't have to get 51 rebounds every night, but they have to have everyone make an effort on the boards.

The bad:

* Just like the other night, the Celtics got too comfortable with a double-digit lead and before they knew it, it was gone. That all goes back to focus, and the Celtics need to be completely dialed in for 48 (in tonight's case, 53) minutes.

* The third quarter was what put the Celtics in overtime. They were outscored 34-22 and went from being up 12 to down 2. There's nothing they could've done about J.J. Redick and Jameer Nelson getting hot and hitting just about everything --they combined for 20 points in the quarter. They made adjustments and defended them pretty well in the fourth and overtime.


The Celtics will have Monday off before getting back to practice on Tuesday in preparation for the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets will come to the TD Garden on Wednesday night.