Orlando Magic 96, Boston Celtics 94: The Morning After

• Orlando Magic rally late to beat Boston Celtics
  Rashard Lewis' strength isn't driving to the basket, as Brian Schmitz posits, but he was able to make a game-winning layup for the Orlando Magic against the Boston Celtics.

• The Boston Celtics contained Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard on Thursday for the first three quarters
  Josh Robbins states that Dwight Howard was a difference-maker on offense in the fourth quarter and Kendrick Perkins explains why.

  "He went to a face-up game and played finesse," Perkins said. "He made some great shots. He made some tough shots. Anytime he hits a shot outside the dots I am living with it. That is just my opinion. I just have to do a better job."

• Denton: Magic-Celtics Postgame Analysis
  John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com reveals some words of wisdom from Jameer Nelson about Lewis stepping up in the clutch.

  Cracked Magic point guard Jameer Nelson: ``That’s why Rashard is here, to do things like that. The play wasn’t for him, but sometimes the ball has a way of finding its master.’’

• Denton: Magic-Celtics Notes
  Ladies and gentleman, a prime example as to why Howard went out of his way to make sure Matt Barnes signed as a free-agent with the Magic.

  Tired of seeing Howard hammered on a hard foul, Magic small forward Matt Barnes confronted Boston’s Paul Pierce early in Thursday’s first quarter. Pierce made no attempt on the ball and wrapped both arms around Howard, drawing a whistle. Barnes went to the defense of Howard, going head to head with Pierce. Both Barnes and Pierce were issued technical fouls.

• Vince Carter's bad night

  UPDATE (from Ben): Henry Abbott of TrueHoop lays into Vince Carter for his poor play last night. Strong words from Abbott, such as these, abound:

  His defense was OK, but on offense he almost killed the Magic single-handedly. It's hard to remember any player have a worse game.

More after the jump.

• Pictures: Magic come from behind to beat Celtics
  The Orlando Sentinel was on hand to photograph last night's game. Here are the results.

• Unsuspecting Heroes Net Big Win
  Here's Philip Rossman-Reich's detailed take on the game.

• Magic Rally From 16 Down to Beat Celtics
  Andrew Melnick of Howard the Dunk calls the win Orlando's "most important victory since the playoffs."

• The Rebounding is a Crisis | Boston Celtics Basketball
  Here's what most alarmed Zach Lowe of Celtics Hub about last night's game:

  But one key takeaway: The Celtics cannot win the title rebounding like this.
  
  That is all.

• Airball
  Jeff Clark of CelticsBlog notes, without comment, that the Magic shot 22 more free throws than the Celtics. Not much home cooking last night, though. The Celtics got themselves in early penalty situations with silly loose-ball fouls, which sent Orlando to the line early and often. Meanwhile, Boston contended itself by shooting jumpers, which obviously do not draw many fouls.

• First impressions: Magic 96, Celtics 94
  Clark wasn't the only writer to wonder about the officiating. Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston concludes his recap with the following thought:

  The officials did the Celtics no favors, but the team can only blame itself for some head-scratching possessions late in the game.

• Daily Dime
  ESPN's John Hollinger calls last night's affair "one of the most depressing games I've ever seen" and writes that neither Boston nor Orlando looks like a championship contender.

• Twitter / Bill Simmons
  ESPN's Bill Simmons, arguably the world's most famous Celtics fan, was particularly outraged after the game and registered his displeasure via a series of Tweets, such as this one directed at coach Doc Rivers:

  And Doc - you're on pace to break your 2005-06 season record for "Most times out-coached in 1 season." Good luck. Do I sound bitter enough?

• Celtics Have Three All-Stars, but Fading Hopes
  Tim Povtak of NBA FanHouse isn't impressed with the Celtics.

• Twitter / John Schuhmann
  Also from Twitter? This thought from NBA.com's John Schuhmann, who's covered plenty of Nets games in his day and knows Vince Carter won't play this poorly forever.

  Prediction: VC will go on a tear after the AS break. He's not this bad, really.

• Last Action Hero
  UPDATE 2: Rashard Lewis receives praise from Dime Magazine. Sort of.

  It’s not that Rashard Lewis isn’t clutch. Anybody who watched him take down the Cavs and scare the Lakers with some big-time shots in last year’s playoffs knows better than that. But the way Raw Lew sent the Celtics home last night — not with a corner three or a turnaround jumper, but with a strong drive to the cup past one of the best defenders in the world — it was the last thing you’d expect out of him.

• The Big Ol’ Honkin’ Celtics-Magic Post
  UPDATE 3: Matt Moore of Hardwood Paroxysm with an entertaining, lengthy, and informative write-up about last night's game.