Celtics Smother Magic 92-88, Take 1-0 Series Lead

[photogallerylink id=20892 align=right]The Orlando Magic finally met their match in the playoffs.

Ray Allen scored 25 points, Paul Pierce had 22 and the Boston Celtics used smothering defense to beat the Magic 92-88 on Sunday in the Eastern Conference finals opener.

Rasheed Wallace added 13 points as the Celtics built a 20-point lead, then held on late to snap Orlando's 14-game winning streak.

Vince Carter had 23 points and Jameer Nelson finished with 20 for Orlando, which cut the lead to two in the final seconds but simply ran out of time, looking rusty after a six-day layoff. Dwight Howard was limited to 13 points and 12 rebounds, nowhere near the dominant force the Magic need to win a title.

Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Tuesday night in Orlando.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.

Click here for copyright permissions!