Boston: The Orlando Magic beat the Boston Celtics 96-92 in an overtime thriller on Monday to stay alive in their Eastern Conference playoff series.
Facing elimination, the Magic got better leadership from centre Dwight Howard, who top scored with 32 points and notched 16 rebounds to help neutralise Boston's tight defence.
"We were very aggressive from the start," Howard told reporters. "We needed to run the ball and not let them get their defence set."
Guard Jameer Nelson added 23 points for Orlando, and helped lock up victory with a pair of three-pointers in overtime.
"His play throughout the game was the reason we got a chance to win," Howard said of his team mate. "And from then on, it was all about confidence. He has to have confidence in himself. He did tonight."
Orlando let slip a 10-point lead midway through the second quarter, setting up a raucous final period with frequent lead changes that saw the score tied at 86-86 at the end of regulation.
"In the second half, in overtime, we didn't play well. But we did keep fighting and fighting and fighting," said Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy.
Paul Pierce top scored for Boston with 32 points, equalling his season playoff high, and had 11 rebounds. But the veteran forward missed two rushed shots in the final minute.
Guard Ray Allen kept the Celtics close with a pair of three-pointers in overtime on his way to a 22-point game.
Monday's loss snapped a six-game winning streak for Boston.
"I thought we executed poorly throughout the game. We didn't make the next rotations, we didn't make the next pass," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers.
"It was amazing how bad we were execution-wise and still had a chance to win that game."
