If the Celtics are one thing in these playoffs, they are inconsistent. Tonight they could neither shoot straight, nor defend well. The Magic go up 2-1 in the series.

It seems unless Rondo is playing against a league stud counterpart at the guard position, he just doesn't get as up for the game.

Twenty one second half points by Pierce were countered by 18 points by Hedo Turkoglu and 17 more by Rashard Lewis to hold off the Boston Celtics and hold on to home court advantage.

In what was supposed to be a Celtic advantage with Rafer Alston suspended for the game, replacement Anthony Johnson scored 11 first half points, and Courtney Lee added 10 more in his first action of the playoffs. It helped set the tone for the game. Also setting a tone, Dwight Howard had 4 (3 amazing) blocks in the first 13 minutes of the game.

Boston never led and were down by 20 in third quarter, before making a late 15-4 run to close out the third quarter at 78-69 on a Rondo drive. Eddie House (two threes) and Paul Pierce contributed 6 points apiece to the run.

For a long while, to start the game, neither team could make a jump shot. The Celtics first 22 points were in the paint, but not for lack of trying. They started the game completely out of sync. They were 6 of 19 shooting and finished the first quarter at 8 for 22, missing many open shots.

Reminscent of the first game, the Celtics could hardly have played more poorly than they did in the first half. Yet, shooting 41% to the Magic's 56% from the floor, they were down only 12 going into the break.

Defensively, the Celtics gave up 48 points in the paint, 22 fastbreak points and 25 points off turnovers. They were slow on switches, in transition, and late closing out perimeter shooters for much of the night.

House Continues Incredible Hot ShootingHere is how futile it was for the Celtics' defense. The fastest gun in the NBA, Eddie House, was once again 'en fuego' all night, scoring 15 points on a precision 6 of 7 shooting in 21 minutes. Yet, the Cs lost 11 points to the Magic in those minutes.

Orlando played a strong game and held off a number of Boston runs even after the Celtics fell down by 20 points. The Celtics finally got within 7 points within 11.5 minutes left at 78-71 on two Pierce free throws. Pierce attacked the middle and went 14 for 14 from the line in the second half.

The talented Magic forwards, Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis, finally broke out with big games. Lewis led the Magic with 28 points on 17 shot attempts, including 3 of 7 from downtown, and 7 of 8 from the free throw line.

Lewis found great success by going down low into the paint, making 6 of 10 shots and getting numerous fouls called, particularly on Brian Scalabrine.

Turkoglu was was even more efficient, dropping in 24 points on just 12 attempts, 2 of 3 from the arc, and 6 of 7 from the free throw line in 34 minutes.

The Celtics first offensive play of the game was a king of foreshadowing for the rest of the game.

Paul Pierce drove the lane, was met by Dwight Howard inside the circle (offensive player's area), and was clearly fouled. It was called a shot block by Howard. Anthony Johnson rebounded and passed to Rashard Lewis who beat the Celtic defenders down court and dunked in transition.

Ray Allen was kept under wraps again. J.J. Redick played pretty good defense, running through picks all over the court. At times, Ray was doubled at the three point line. Many of Ray's shots were contested, and he missed many open shots as well. He finished 3 for 13 on the night.

You would think Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo would be outplaying the Magic guards convincingly. So far the Magic guards have stayed close enough to the two Celtic stars for it to be a problem.

Kendrick Perkins had his hands full with Dwight Howard and finished with 5 fouls, 10 points, 7 rebounds and no blocks. Howard had another double double with 17 points and 14 rebounds, in addition to his 5 blocks and 2 steals. What won't be recorded is that he changed a number of other shots by the Celtics .

Stephon Marbury is shooting just 28% in the playoffs coming in to this game, went 1 for 4, and ended up passing up a number of open shots. He plays a great pick and roll game with his bigs, though Glen Davis missed at least three lay ups in this game. In a tough night for him, Glen shot 2 for 6 and had just three rebounds as the Celtics were outrebounded by 36-29. Glen did play some solid defense on Dwight Howard.

Next Game: Sunday in Orlando

Newstex ID: 34784565