Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo both shot 2 for 12 in last night's 95-90 Game 1 loss to the Magic in the Eastern Conference semifinals, and they combined on a key turnover in transition after the Celtics closed to within 91-87 in the final minute.
Rondo particularly got off to a slow start, and he finished with seven turnovers. Backup guard Stephon Marbury ended up having his most impressive outing since joining the Celtics in late February, with 8 points and 3 assists in less than 9 minutes. But Marbury remained on the bench in the second half.
"He was terrific," coach Doc Rivers said of Marbury. "It was a tough call for a coach because you wanted to go back with him in the second half. But Rondo got it going and we were playing with such speed that we just stayed with that group."
Said Marbury, "We have to come prepared and ready. As a team, we were prepared from the coaching staff, but we didn't go out and execute the gameplan. You can take some positives. We get our opportunity to watch film and see what we did in the second half.
"It's a long series, it's seven games. I think for us we just have to continue to play with the mind-set we played with in the second half."
Tough first step
The loss marked only the second time the Celtics have dropped Game 1 of successive playoff series. It previously happened in 2002, against Detroit in the second round and vs. New Jersey in the Eastern Conference final, which the Celtics lost in six games. The Celtics fell, 105-103, to the Bulls April 18 in Game 1 of their first-round series in these playoffs . . . Before the game, Celtics president of basketball operations
Danny Ainge clarified the status of
Kevin Garnett, saying he "wasn't planning on him the rest of the season." Garnett is sidelined with a strained right knee, and also will have surgery on that knee to remove a bone spur, though he has not set a date for the procedure. "He's still in a lot of pain," Ainge said before last night's game. "That's why he is not playing. If he could play, he would. If he could help us win, he would."
No big deal
Orlando coach
Stan Van Gundy on grabbing the home-court advantage: "When you're playing a team as good as Boston, I do not think that that's that big a deal. They are certainly very good and are capable of going on the road and winning. I don't really take that into consideration too much." . . . Cleveland's
LeBron James was named NBA Most Valuable Player yesterday, with
Paul Pierce finishing seventh in the balloting. James, who received 109 of 121 first-place votes, accepted the award at his high school in Akron, Ohio. "That's cool," said Rivers
. "He deserves it. I thought it was a good choice. I really do. A lot of guys had great years, but I don't think a lot of guys have done what LeBron has done." . . . Rivers was only a little concerned about a possible jinx factor when he ordered scouting reports on the Magic to be placed in players' cars before Game 7 of the Chicago series. "I am superstitious, but I wasn't about that," Rivers said. "I had no choice. I didn't think we could get it there in time after the game. That, obviously, entered into my mind. Then I just said, 'Screw it, we're going to win.' "
New ballgame
The Celtics took a 109-99 win over the Bulls Saturday night, took Sunday off, then returned for a shootaround yesterday morning. "I was amazed, we were calling out sets and they were already walking into them," Rivers said. "So, I would say our guys did get into them [the scouting reports]." Rivers said the Magic present a different challenge than the Bulls did, key matchups including Rondo (and backup guards
Eddie House and Marbury) vs.
Rafer Alston, and
Kendrick Perkins vs.
Dwight Howard. "The biggest difference, besides the post play, the Bulls have so many guys who can beat you off the dribble," Rivers said. "And Orlando has a guy who can throw it into the post, and if you help, they have a bunch of guys who can make threes."
Marc J. Spears of the Globe staff contributed to this report. 
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