"We're a defensive team first and this is probably our poorest defensive game of the year," captain Paul Pierce said. "I look up and they're shooting 60 percent and they score [39] points in the fourth quarter. And that's not us. I think the fourth quarter is when we make our statement on defense, we buckle down and get stops, and we didn't do that.
"I thought they kept us on our heels all night. We were indecisive defensively and it was a long night. We did not get out to their shooters. We allowed [Dwight] Howard to come down the middle. When you give them their inside game and their outside game, you don't have a chance."
Pierce has had a strange shooting experience the last two games, extending his scoreless streak to nearly four quarters before leading a late rally and finishing with 27 points.
The Celtics closed to within 8 early in the final quarter, but they appeared to lose momentum after center Kendrick Perkins was assessed a flagrant foul.
After falling behind by 20 early in the second half, the Celtics concluded the third quarter with a 15-4 run over a 3:55 span. The Celtics scored the final 8 points of the quarter, a Rajon Rondo steal and dunk cutting the deficit to 78-69.
But after a Pierce foul shot, Orlando had a 3-point possession, which included the flagrant foul on Perkins and double technicals for Eddie House and Orlando's Hedo Turkoglu with 10:15 remaining. Mickael Pietrus hit one of two foul shots, and nine seconds later Rashard Lewis converted two free throws to make it 86-75.
On the Celtics' next possession, Howard picked up his fifth foul. But Orlando managed to increase its lead to 16, Turkoglu scoring 7 points in a 1:44 span, giving Orlando a 95-79 advantage with 7:16 remaining. The Magic again went ahead by 20, and the Celtics sent in reserves Gabe Pruitt and Bill Walker for the final 3:50.
The Magic got dunks from Lewis and Anthony Johnson on two of their first three possessions. Johnson, replacing suspended starter Rafer Alston, directed the offense and Lewis (28 points) and Turkoglu (24) provided the scoring.
