Kevin Garnett

Kevin Garnett missed last season's playoff series against Orlando with a knee injury. Rasheed Wallace signed with Boston after it was over. But the Magic made a key offseason pickup of its own.

This is a big game for us, a confidence booster   -Rashard Lewis

 

Vince Carter scored 26 points, Rashard Lewis had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and the Orlando Magic beat the Boston Celtics 83-78 on Friday night. Dwight Howard grabbed 15 boards and Mickael Pietrus added 14 points for Orlando, which won the rematch of last season's Eastern Conference semifinal for its fourth consecutive victory. Paul Pierce scored 21 for Boston, which has lost three of its last four, and three of five at home.  

High-flying Josh Smith kept the Atlanta Hawks soaring. Smith skied through the lane for a put-back of Mike Bibby's missed jumper with seven tenths of a second left, lifting the surging Hawks to their seventh straight win on Friday night, a dramatic 105-103 victory over the visiting Houston Rockets. "I seen my man and Bibby's man staying with him, so I just wanted to crash the boards. Just in case he missed I was there to get the tip-in," said Smith, who finished with just nine points.

I seen my man and Bibby's man staying with him, so I just wanted to crash the boards. Just in case he missed I was there to get the tip-in   -Josh Smith

 

Vince Carter scored 26 points, Rashard Lewis had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and the Orlando Magic beat the Boston Celtics 83-78 on Friday night. Dwight Howard grabbed 15 boards and Mickael Pietrus added 14 points for Orlando, which won the rematch of last season's Eastern Conference semifinal for its fourth consecutive victory. Paul Pierce scored 21 for Boston, which has lost three of its last four, and three of five at home.  

Dwight Howard grabbed 15 boards and Mickael Pietrus added 14 points for Orlando, which won the rematch of last season's Eastern Conference semifinal for its fourth consecutive victory. Paul Pierce scored 21 for Boston, which has lost three of its last four, and three of five at home. Kevin Garnett scored 13 points with 11 rebounds, and Ray Allen had 15 points for the Celtics.  

Vince Carter scored 26 points, Rashard Lewis had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and the Orlando Magic beat the Boston Celtics, 83-78, on Friday night. Dwight Howard grabbed 15 boards and Mickael Pietrus added 14 points for Orlando, which won the rematch of last season's Eastern Conference semifinal for its fourth consecutive victory. Paul Pierce scored 21 for Boston, which has lost three of its last four, and three of five at home.  

Maybe Stan Van Gundy and Dwight Howard ought to have regularly scheduled meetings. The Magic beat the Boston Celtics 83-78 on Friday night as the club returned to TD Banknorth Garden for the first time since their Game 7 victory against the Celtics that sent the then-defending champs on vacation. The Magic are now 1-1 against their main Eastern Conference rivals this season, having been routed by the Cleveland Cavs. Van Gundy and Howard met sometime before Wedneday night's victory against the Oklaho

You know players sometimes are like little puppies   -Dwight Howard

 

Dwight Howard grabbed 15 boards and Mickael Pietrus added 14 points for Orlando, which won the rematch of last season's Eastern Conference semifinal for its fourth consecutive victory. Paul Pierce scored 21 for Boston, which has lost three of its last four, and three of five at home. Kevin Garnett scored 13 points with 11 rebounds, and Ray Allen had 15 points for the Celtics.  

Sitting in a hot tub overlooking a postcard-perfect panoramic view of the sun setting behind the Smoky Mountains, Perry Fewell never had an inkling his long-imagined opportunity of a lifetime of being an NFL head coach hung on the misty horizon. "No," the Buffalo Bills' newly appointed interim coach recalled of that July day. "I never envisioned it. I never thought about it sitting in that hot tub at that particular time."

He’s got everybody’s respect in this locker room   -Donte Whitner