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Sunday, Mar. 5 3:00pm ET
Walker, Pierce spark Boston | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
BOSTON (AP) -- The fans cheered, and the Boston Celtics won. If only it were that simple. In their first game back in Boston since coach Rick Pitino blasted the local fans for being too negative, the Celtics snapped a four-game losing streak with a 97-91 victory over the Orlando Magic on Sunday.
"It could have been (a problem), but I think the fans were great," said Celtics forward Antoine Walker, who had 18 points and 10 rebounds. "They gave us a huge lift." Adrian Griffin added 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Paul Pierce scored 19 points for Boston. Kenny Anderson and Eric Williams had two 3-pointers apiece as the Celtics extended their lead to 83-71 with 6:32 left in the game. Darrell Armstrong scored 19 points, and Orlando closed the gap to five points in the final minute by sending Boston to the free-throw line. But after Griffin hit one of two free throws with 18.1 seconds left, Pat Garrity missed a 3-pointer and Walker grabbed the rebound to enable the Celtics to run out the clock. The Celtics blew a 20-point lead to Dallas last Monday, then lost to Toronto on Wednesday night when Vince Carter hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. After that loss, Pitino complained that the fans expect his young team to play like the Celtics of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish and added, "All this negativity that's in this town (stinks)." The crowd of 18,624 was the sixth sellout of the season at the FleetCenter. There was no noticeable fallout directed toward the coach except for one fan who held up a sign that said, "I still believe in Rick Pitino." "I think the message I gave the other day was directed at a few people -- less than 100 people," Pitino said. "The people who didn't like what I said have a guilty conscience." Orlando had won two consecutive games, but they have now lost five in a row on the road. Magic coach Doc Rivers said he read about the controversy when he got to town and didn't know how the Celtics would react. "I was hoping it would help us. But I kind of figured it would hurt us," Rivers said. "We know what they're going through. We've been there, too. I felt for Rick, because you just don't want that to happen to anybody." Boston led by 15 late in the third quarter before Armstrong scored to make it 72-59 going into the fourth and start a 9-0 Magic run. The Celtics extended the lead to 12 points with sharp 3-point shooting -- they were 7-for-19 on the game. Boston connected on only 39 percent of its shots in all, and missed five free throws in the final quarter to give the Magic one last chance. Game notesThe Celtics missed their first 14 shots while falling behind 9-2. But they soon tied it 11-11, and made eight of their last 10 shots in the first. ... Ron Mercer hurt his left ankle when he was cutting past Anderson on a fast break in the second quarter. Although Anderson was called for a foul, replays showed Mercer twisted the ankle as he went up for the basket. Celtics doctor Arnold Scheller diagnosed a severe ankle sprain and Mercer did not return to the game. ... Orlando blew a chance to tie Milwaukee for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. ... Chucky Atkins scored 12 points in the fourth quarter for Orlando. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Orlando Clubhouse Boston Clubhouse RECAPS Utah 88 New York 79
Boston 97
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