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Wednesday, Jan. 26 7:30pm ET
For starters, Magic do just fine | |||||
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 GAME FLOW
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Orlando coach Doc Rivers takes a look at his starting five and is happy they're back. Finally. After losing 13 of 14 games, Orlando is enjoying a three-game winning streak and Rivers looks no further than his starters as the reason why. Four of them scored in double figures and shot a combined 27-of-41 as Orlando beat Boston 111-89 Wednesday night. "The last three games, I think our starters really played huge," Rivers said. "The thing is, you look at our starters and you think of a defensive unit. "It was a big night for us. Our confidence is back up again, which is nice. Now we have to try and build on it." Tariq Abdul-Wahad scored 19 points to lead Orlando. John Amaechi added 16, Bo Outlaw 13 and Ben Wallace 12. Darrell Armstrong says Orlando's starters are somewhat of a secret, but he knows what they're capable of doing. "We've got guys from other teams that really just sat around and weren't recognized on offense, like Ben Wallace. We knew Bo could score, we just had to get him in the offense. Tariq played well, Amaechi played well. "It's fun when you've got a situation when the starting five come out and play like that." It wasn't so fun for Boston coach Rick Pitino, who was suffering from the flu and was unavailable for comment. But assistant coach Jim O'Brien said it was the players who looked sick after being outscored 46-28 in the paint. "It was very ugly," O'Brien said. "We did not pass the ball quickly enough out of the post. We did not defend the post. If you have problems with your interior offensively and your interior defensively, it is going to be very difficult to beat a team like Orlando." After a 46-46 first-half tie, Orlando never was threatened in the second half as it shot a season-high 70.4 percent (for any half). The Magic now have won 12 of the last 14 games at home against Boston. The Celtics have lost their last three games. Boston played without Paul Pierce, its second leading scorer, who missed the game with a sore hamstring. Antoine Walker had a game-high 26 points but had little help. Starters Walter McCarty, Adrian Griffin and Kenny Anderson were a combined 7-of-29. Boston struggled from 3-point range, shooting 7-of-24. The Celtics also had 16 turnovers, which Orlando converted to 25 points, and committed 34 fouls. Orlando converted 31 of 43 free throw attempts. "We gave it all we had, but it just wasn't enough," McCarty said. "Paul (Pierce) is a big part of our scheme offensively and defensively and we really could have used him tonight." Orlando outscored Boston 35-17 in the third quarter to distance itself from the Celtics. Orlando went ahead by 22 points when Armstrong's basket gave the Magic a 78-56 lead with 2:40 remaining. Game notesThe Celtics placed forward Eric Williams (sore knee) on the injured list and activated guard-forward Adrian Griffin. Griffin (sprained ankle) had been on the injured list since Jan. 9. ... McCarty tied a career-high with 13 rebounds. ... The Magic are 17-13 when scoring 100 or more points. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Boston Clubhouse Orlando Clubhouse RECAPS Phoenix 93 Philadelphia 87
Orlando 111
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