Magic curse Celtics with their first loss

Orlando Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu of Turkey drives against Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce during the second half of their game in Orlando on Sunday. The Magic won 104-102. AP

Orlando (9-2) got off to a fast start before holding off a furious late comeback bid by the last remaining NBA team with a perfect record.

"They couldn't stop us in the first half, we couldn't stop them in the second half," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy told reporters.

Dwight Howard scored 24 points and Rashard Lewis had 22 for the winners while Paul Pierce led Boston with 28 points but missed a three-pointer with a second remaining that would have won the contest.

"I thought I had a good look at a three," Pierce said. "I saw about one or two seconds left (on the clock) and I could have drove and tied the game up but I went with my instincts."

Orlando had enjoyed a 20-point lead on Lewis's jumper in the second quarter but Boston battled back to lead 88-87 with 6:03 left in the game on back-to-back three-pointers by Eddie House and James Posey.

Orlando then ran off six straight points, capped by Hedo Turkoglu's three-pointer at 4:51.

The Magic moved into a 103-99 lead on two Lewis free throws with 15 seconds remaining, but Ray Allen hit a three-pointer with seven seconds on the clock to pull Boston within 103-102.

A Lewis free throw then accounted for the game's final point after a foul by Pierce.

"Great game, they played great we didn't compete until the second half," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said.

Jameer Nelson added 18 points for the Magic and Turkoglu contributed 16.

Allen finished with 19 for Boston with Rajon Rondo scoring 18. Kevin Garnett added 14 points and 11 rebounds.

At Toronto, Stephen Jackson scored 17 points, Andris Biedrins had 15 points and 14 rebounds and Golden State won its second straight after opening the season with six consecutive losses, beating the Raptors 106-100.

Baron Davis had 16 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, Kelenna Azubuike scored 16 points and Al Harrington added 10 for Golden State, which saw all five starters reach double figures scoring.

T.J. Ford scored 29 points for the Raptors, who have won just twice in six tries at home this season. Ford added eight assists and six rebounds.

Andrea Bargnani scored 12 points and Chris Bosh had 11 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto.

In Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored 10 of his 18 points in the third quarter, five Los Angeles reserves finished in double figures and the Lakers beat Chicago 106-78 for their third straight victory.

Los Angeles blew the game open by scoring 18 straight points to finish the third quarter and start the fourth for an 81-60 lead with 9:45 remaining.

The Bulls weren't closer than 15 points after that, and wound up losing by their biggest margin ever to the Lakers. The previous record margin was 27 points in 1968.

Andrew Bynum had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers.

Ben Gordon scored 20 points and Andres Nocioni had 14 points and six rebounds for the Bulls.

Agencies

(China Daily 11/20/2007 page24)