POST GAME - ORLANDO - AWAY

NEXT GAME - TUESDAY - AWAY - AT MIAMI - 7:30PM

CELTICS KEEP ON LOSING, THIS TIME FALLING SHORT AGAINST LOWLY ORLANDO MAGIC

By WEEI  

In the race to claim one of the NBA’€™s worst records, this would have been a good night for the Celtics. But those hoping for some wins, the 93-91 loss to the Magic was about as demoralizing a game as this season has presented.

The Celtics‘€™ dropped their 14th game in their last 16 tries, extending their road losing streak to nine straight.

This one, however, was more than just another defeat. This loss came at the hands of a team seemingly in worse shape than the Celts.

With the victory, the Magic snapped a 10-game losing streak. They had also dropped their last 10 meetings with the Celtics.

Orlando still claims the worst record in the NBA, standing at 11-30, while the Celtics drop to 14-28. Brad Stevens‘€™ club is now tied with Utah and Philadelphia for the league’€™s second worst mark.

The loss was sealed when Orlando’€™s Tobias Harris sunk two free throws after Kris Humphries was whistled for a loose ball foul with 10 seconds remaining.

Avery Bradley lost control of the ball while driving to the hoop as the buzzer sounded, ending the Celtics’€™ final chance.

In his second game back after recovering from knee surgery, Rajon Rondo scored six points in 21 minutes, going 3-of-10 from the field while dishing out four assists.

The Magic finished with five players in double-figures, with former Celtic Glen Davis finishing with 17 points and seven rebounds. Arron Afflalo led the hosts with 20 points and 13 rebounds.

Guard Jerryd Bayless was forced from the game after spraining his right toe.
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Rapid Reaction: Magic 93, Celtics 91

By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com

Rapid reaction after the Orlando Magic defeated the Boston Celtics 93-91 on Sunday evening at the Amway Center:

THE NITTY GRITTY
Jeff Green lived at the free throw line in the second half and scored a team-high 22 points (13 of 15 overall at the stripe), but a late miss helped Orlando generate the winning points as Boston fell for the 14th time in its last 16 games. Kris Humphries added 18 points and 12 rebounds, but got whistled for a loose-ball foul late that helped Orlando emerge. Avery Bradley added 18 points on 7-of-21 shooting, but got caught with the ball in the final seconds and couldn't get off a shot that could have forced overtime. Arron Afflalo scored a team-high 20 points for Orlando, while adding 13 rebounds and six assists, while Tobias Harris added 18 points, including the winning freebies with 10.1 seconds to play. Old friend Glen Davis registered 17 points and seven rebounds for the Magic.

RONDOWATCH
In his second game back off ACL surgery, Rondo played 21 minutes, 20 seconds. He was 3-of-10 shooting for six points with six rebounds, four assists, a steal, and three turnovers. He hit a big jumper that had the Celtics out front with 1:16 to go, but it wasn't enough.

TURNING POINT
The last 18 minutes were a nauseating seesaw ride with no team leading by more than four. The entire fourth frame, in fact, was a one-possession game. The Celtics were down two with 35 seconds to go when Brad Stevens drew up a pretty little lob play in which Green took an arcing inbound feed from Gerald Wallace and muscled in a hoop while being fouled. He missed the free throw, however, and Orlando scrambled to call a (questionable) timeout after referees deemed them to have corralled a loose ball on the floor. Humphries got whistled for a loose-ball foul with 10.1 seconds to go on the other end and Harris made a pair of freebies. Boston never got off a final shot.

LOOSE BALLS
Rookie Vitor Faverani and newcomers Joel Anthony and Chris Johnson were healthy DNPs for Boston. ... The Celtics did a nice job again limiting the damage off their turnovers, giving up just seven points off 10 giveaways. Orlando turned the ball over 17 times for 20 points. ... The Celtics shot a gruesome 36.7 percent from the floor (33 of 90) and just 23.1 percent beyond the 3-point arc (3 of 13). ... Jerryd Bayless departed in the third quarter with a sprained toe on his left foot.

WHAT IT MEANS
The Celtics (14-28) are now tied with Utah for the fourth-worst record in the league (only Milwaukee, Orlando, and Philadelphia are worse). Boston takes Monday off before launching into a back-to-back against the Heat (Tuesday) and Wizards (Wednesday) to wrap up this three-game road trip. The Celtics return home with games against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Brooklyn Nets on a brief stop back at TD Garden.

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Tough day for New England sports fans as our Patriots season has finally ended.  I was very surprised that they went this far considering all the injuries including Wilfork & Gronk............and the preseason fiasco with Hernandez! Next year should be very bright with off season signings, draft and injured players returning.   Well on with the Bruins....and oh yeas Pitches and catches report in 4 weeks...............go Red Sox!

Tonight was not a disappointing loss as Stevens and now Rondo continue to evaluate talent to determine who stays and who goes.  It is tough as the team is incomplete....kind of like half a team .............while experiments with personnel are on going.  We should get clarity and a sense of what we will have personnel wise as we approach the trading deadline.  There are more bodies to go.

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The final play was mind-boggling. It was as if there wasn't a play in place to run.


KJ

I suspect someone screwed the play up and was out of position for setting a pick or screen.

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According to Brad, the play was run for Green to take it to the hoop. He couldn't do it, and he spent so much time trying that it became panic time (my words, not Brad's).

It seems to me that Jeff Green can attack the basket when the floor is spread and there are available lanes. But, at the end of a game, when the defense is packed in (almost like a football defense in the Red Zone), Jeff's maybe a bit too lengthy and not compact enough to penetrate through traffic.

Sam

Sometimes I think these drawn-up last minute plays aren't very productive. Finding the open man for the best possible shot is what works throughout the game. Why not at the end? Green had an open jump shot available but waited too long trying find a lane to the basket. Bradley had for a second an open 3 but for some strange reason tried to pass the ball. No clock awareness! Take the open shot and let the chips fall where they may.

Also, Green does not have a top end handle. That may be his biggest weakness as he labors to find open spots off the dribble. The ISO game is not something that works for him. Our best Iso player was traded...Crawford.

Green should work on his ball handling, his jump shot and his passing. Imo

Dboss

I didn't watch the game, yesterday was committed to football (NE and SF) and pacing my alcohol intake.

First off, whomever it was that said we're tied for 2nd worse is wrong.  Milwaukee is the worst, Orlando is still worse than us (just not last night) and Philly is .008 worse than us.  We are tied with Utah for 4th.

According to the box score:

It looks like Kelly had a decent night.  It seems like when he gets minutes he's ok, but he struggles coming off the bench and only getting 4-6 minutes.  Pressey finally had a few turnovers, but we all knew that streak couldn't last forever.  Jeff Green had a poor shooting night, statistically, but he lived at the line.  Would it be accurate to say that a lot of his missed shots were fouls he couldn't finish on?  Hump looked like he had a monster game.


bob


.

me too was at a great football bash, Hump might be closest we have to a 5, but not a legit 5 to build on as he's another 4.

Think 7'0"


6'9" centers do not cut it in the NBA in this era.

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