Final, Celtics 120-88:

Courtney Lee scored 20 to lead the way while teaming up with Jordan Crawford and Terrence Williams to put the finishing touches on a game that was even more of a whupping as the final score suggests. Tobias Harris scored 22 points and Nikola Vucevic had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Magic, who never seemed to be running much of anything on offense or defense.

Bass, meanwhile, shot 6-for-7 from the field and Lee was 7-for-10, as well as 3-for-3 from deep. The Celtics shot just a shade under 60 percent as a team, and at one point led by 37 points. They clinched the No. 7 spot in the Eastern Conference, meaning they are assured of avoiding the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs — or any time until the conference finals, if they make it that far.

Fourth quarter, 2:37, 115-80: Two-thirds of this group might be relative newcomers to the Celtics, but the Lee-Crawford-Williams combination must be a lot of fun to be a part of. Crawford gave his pass to Lee a little extra flair before Lee tossed it home for a dunk, and the Celtics are off and running.

Fourth quarter, 7:19, Celtics 101-70: He has not shown it much this year, but Lee has been a good 3-point shooter for most of his career. He was pretty much a career 40-percent shooter from deep, but this season he has shot just 36 percent from downtown — a decent percentage, but well below where he has typically been.

Lee has started to show signs of regaining his stroke, or at least of getting aggressive with that shot again. He is 2-for-2 here after going 2-for-6 Friday in Miami. In the last three games, Lee has taken 10 threes, after taking just six in his previous six games.

End of third quarter, Celtics 85-64: This has been a rough trip for Green. One night after having to leave the game with a bruised elbow, Green suffered a charley horse while trying to maneuver around a screen on defense.

Green stayed in the game, and the Celtics held onto their 20-plus point lead. The Celtics are on fire, particularly their starters, who each have reached double figures in scoring. Crawford makes it an even six players in double figures with 10 points himself.

Third quarter, 6:36, Celtics 67-48: The Magic sure aren’t good, but they do have some promising pieces, especially in their frontcourt.

Vucevic is well on his way to another double-double with 12 points and nine boards, while Harris has shaken off a rough shooting night to put up 11 points, plus two blocked shots on the defensive end. Meanwhile, rookie Kyle O’Quinn did an admirable job defending Garnett on one possession, forcing the future Hall of Famer to hit a tough, contested 18-footer.

But, yeah, the Magic are bad. That certainly is not going to change soon.

Halftime, Celtics 57-37: Jordan Crawford is playing just the way Rivers wants him to. He is attacking the basket, shaking off contact and converting some seemingly impossible layups, but he has also let the referees know how much contact he is taking when he does drive.

Crawford shouted “And one!” at the officials after a double-pump layup, and it was not the first time he has yelled that in this game. Bennett Salvatore had had enough, and he hit Crawford with a technical foul.

Crawford’s activity aside, Bass has been incredibly active for the Celtics. He dunked home a miss at the buzzer to give him 10 points, tying Green and Pierce for the team lead. If Bradley had not missed a layup and Green not missed a dunk on successive plays, the Celtics’ lead could be even wider.

In a combination of good defense and an awful offensive team, the Magic are shooting less than 33 percent from the field and are just 2-for-8 from beyond the arc. At the same time, they have taken only four foul shots. Oh yeah, and they are getting outrebounded 30-23. So it’s no wonder the Celtics’ lead is 20 points and likely to grow in the second half.

Second quarter, 6:35, Celtics 39-21: The alley-oop finally worked for the Celtics. With Pierce leading the break, Green sneaked up the right wing and soared in for a one-handed slam off the lob from Pierce. That gave the Celtics their largest lead of the game.

To be brutally honest, a victory should be a given here for the Celtics, with or without Pierce and Garnett. The only question is how ugly this thing gets, and right now it looks like it could get pretty ugly.

Second quarter, 8:30, Celtics 33-2: Vucevic learned the hard way that Garnett is never his opponent’s friend. Vucevic tried to give Garnett a friendly hand slap after fouling him, but Garnett slapped away Vucevic’s hand in a not-so-friendly way.

The lesson for the young big man should be clear: Garnett is not high-fiving a guy in an opposing jersey. Deal with it.

End of first quarter, Celtics 23-17: Not many Celtics can claim to have truly played well the last month, but Bass can. The forward continued his strong play by going 4-for-4 from the field in the first quarter, reminding his old team what they are missing.

Remember, Bass came to Boston two summers ago in a trade for Glen Davis, so deep down he probably wants to stick it to the Magic, however slightly.

First quarter, 2:33, Celtics 19-13: Since Nik Vucevic scored on a putback to finally get Orlando on the board a little less than four minutes in, the Magic have fared much better against the Celtics. Bradley may want to stop trying to throw lobs, as two attempted alley-oops to Pierce and Chris Wilcox have easily been snuffed out by the Magic.

First quarter, 10:08, Celtics 7-0: The Celtics are back at full strength, more or less, and they look like it.

Green has had trouble finding shots with Pierce and Garnett in the lineup, but he got off to a solid start by scoring Boston’s first five points. Garnett then added a turnaround 15-footer to extend the Celtics’ lead, prompting a quick timeout from Orlando’s bench.

The Magic do not have much margin for error, so coach Jacque Vaughn is smart not to take any chances.

6:16 p.m.: Pierce and Garnett might be around for this one, but Jason Terry will not be. The 35-year-old guard will miss his first game of the season, making Green and Brandon Bass the only players not to miss a game this season for Boston.

6:02 p.m.: The starting lineup should look a little more familiar in Orlando, where both Pierce and Garnett are expected to be announced in a darkened arena before the game. Doc Rivers also seemed to think Jeff Green, who got nicked up in Friday’s loss to the Heat, would be ready to play shortly after the game in Miami.

The Celtics’ magic number to clinch the seventh seed, assuring that they cannot meet the powerhouse Heat until the Eastern Conference Finals, now stands at one. If the Celtics beat the Magic or the Bucks lose to the Bobcats (which is unlikely but entirely possible), the Celtics avoid the dreaded eighth spot.

The projected starting lineups, assuming all sorts of things with regard to available personnel, appear below.

Celtics
Kevin Garnett
Brandon Bass
Jeff Green
Paul Pierce
Avery Bradley

Magic
Nikola Vucevic
Tobias Harris
Maurice Harkless
E’Twaun Moore
Beno Udrih

3 p.m. ET: Jeff Green is not expected to miss any time with the left elbow bruise he suffered late in Friday’s loss to the Heat, so the Celtics should be at full strength — or what amounts to full strength for them, anyway — when they visit the Magic on Saturday.

Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett are slated to return for the second leg of this road back-to-back, one of two the Celtics (40-39) have to close the season. The Magic (20-59) won their last game Wednesday to snap a five-game losing streak, but that was just their second win since March 12. Since that victory over the Lakers, the Magic are 2-13.

The Magic do have a couple of promising players worth watching. Nikola Vucevic is a double-double machine at center, while Tobias Harris came over in the J.J. Redick trade to give Orlando an intriguing centerpiece. Mo Harkless has played well at times lately, as well.

Join us for updates and analysis during the game, which tips off at 7 p.m. ET.

It appears that Howard is trying to do all that, in the way that Howard has often tried to communicate his view of the world before: by sharing his thoughts at length. Howard talked with USA Today for a weekend article that touched on his messy departure from Orlando, his current state with the Lakers and what he hopes to be in Los Angeles.

Howard’s words hit all the key points — but they don’t appear to do much to refute the narrative that he doesn’t care how badly he left things in Orlando, and that he is only looking ahead to his self-interest in Los Angeles. With Howard and the Lakers playing the Magic on Tuesday night, Howard’s make-nice words could just put Orlando fans in a much sourer mood.

Howard reportedly turned down an interview with the Orlando Sentinel in the run-up to this week’s game, which will only add to the perception that Howard is making an apology tour out of obligation rather than heartfelt regret for how his time in Orlando ended. Still, he hit all the key points in talking to USA Today, saying he was sorry for how he left, that he felt the messy public perception was due to him trying to please everyone and that he thought the whole situation has helped him grow up and be a better person.

“In Orlando, I handled a lot of stuff the wrong way,” he told USA Today. “If any of those people in Orlando are upset with how I did it, I apologize for the way I handled it and the way it was handled in the media.”

Howard said he’s learned from the backlash from his decision to leave Orlando — and how that process was often portrayed with high drama. He said the criticism has pushed him to mature.

“If it didn’t happen, I’d be stuck in my ways,” he said. “I would never change, and then it would be a lot worse. For all this stuff to happen, for me to sit back and see and evaluate myself and what I could’ve done better and realize that I needed to make a change, I’m getting better. I’m growing up. I’m maturing.”

Perhaps the most interesting line, however, was in the middle of the story, as Howard talked about his future in Los Angeles. With the Lakers stumbling this season and Howard struggling just to find his role with the team, much less his place in the greater stratum of Los Angeles’ big names and heroes, one goal that Howard has written out for himself for this year stuck out among the rest. The USA Today article noted that it was taped to his mirror, written in black marker in Howard’s handwriting.

“Be an icon. Be iconic,” it said.

Rarely does an icon feel the need to tell himself to be an icon, but the way Howard’s NBA story has played out, it sounds about right that he’s writing himself notes telling himself who he needs to be.

As the Lakers continue to struggle toward a playoff spot and Howard finds instant legend status hard to obtain, there’s no doubt that he’s regretting the way his path has wound since his first ill-fated trade demand in Orlando. But his regrets appear to be just that — regrets that things haven’t gone better, not regrets over his role in how the situations have played out. Howard’s version of “growing up” seems to still include a lot of Howard, icon or not.

Chances are that Magic fans will be able to pick up on that. On Tuesday night, this rift may get even deeper.

Dwight Howard

Jameer Nelson finally had his fill of Howard’s choice words to the media, wherein Howard has asked for trades, criticized teammates and just jabbered beyond any good reason many times. This week, he took a swipe at his former team in Orlando, saying the squad “was a team full of people who nobody wanted, and I was the leader, and I led that team with a smile on my face.”

Nelson, one of the better players on that team — which still found ways to win despite its collective deficiencies (including a 2009 run to the NBA Finals), has had enough of Howard’s thoughts.

“At some point, when are you going to, as a man, when are you going to take ownership and stay out of the media in a professional manner?” Nelson said, according to the Orlando Sentinel. “I would be less of a man to comment on certain things that people comment on about me and my teammates. We had a great run as a group, as core guys, and he was part of it.”

Howard had previously said he would like to play with an elite NBA point guard — while he and Nelson were still on the same team.

Doug Collins

By Collins’ account, he has even gone to team executives Rod Thorn and Tony DiLeo to ask for advice on how he should turn around a Sixers’ season that has gone south.

“If everybody looked at themselves as much as I did, this world would be a CAT scan,” Collins told reporters. “There’s not two days that go by that I don’t go to Rod, that I don’t go to Tony, and say, ‘What can I do? Can I do anything different? How can I be a better coach? How can I be a better leader? How can I help these guys?’ Sometimes, you’ve got to help yourself.”

Whereas Collins’ accountability is refreshing, he is being too kind to his bosses. The Sixers’ struggles did not begin two weeks ago, when they were blown out by the Lakers to start their current six-game losing streak, or in early December, when a 10-6 start devolved into a 9-20 record over the next two months. Their struggles began Aug. 10, when they dealt their best player, a promising rookie and a young center primed for a breakout campaign for a mercurial, injury-prone Andrew Bynum.

This is not second-guessing the move, which was roundly lauded inside and outside of Philadelphia when it was made. This is simply reasserting the first guesses that were made immediately and shortly thereafter when the four-way trade was made last summer.

Not wanting to pile on, since Bynum has yet to play for the Sixers as his hair and bowling exploits have dominated the headlines, we have held off from the “I told you sos” for a long time. But this is it. We told you so.

The Sixers’ eagerness to land Bynum was understandable. When the opportunity arises to add an All-Star level center, teams usually need to seize that opportunity. The Lakers won the quest for Dwight Howard last year, but they had ample competition from Brooklyn, Houston and Dallas. If the Sixers had not joined the fray, some other team would have helped facilitate the deal to acquire Bynum while sending Howard to Los Angeles.

There was always reason for trepidation, though, and not all of it had to do with Bynum’s shaky injury history. Andre Iguodala, for all the criticism he attracted, was the unique wing player who could affect the game with his defense, which was as valuable as any 20-point scorer. Maurice Harkless was a top-15 pick with tangible skills that a coach like Collins could exploit. Nikola Vucevic, 22, was a young big man whose potential should have been obvious.

Although Iguodala was an All-Star, Vucevic might be the most unforgivable piece the Sixers included in the trade. The 6-foot-10, 250-pound youngster from Switzerland by way of USC averaged a double-double per 36 minutes as a rookie in Philadelphia and showed no unusual signs of fragility. (He has played in all 57 games for Orlando this year.) He was under team control through 2015 for no more than $1.8 million until the fourth year of his rookie contract. So far for the Magic, he is averaging 12.3 points and 11.5 rebounds per game.

Bynum, meanwhile, is an outstanding talent — when he is on the court, which is virtually never. He was due $16.8 million this season, which he has presumably poured into bad haircuts, and is eligible for a huge raise this summer as an unrestricted free agent. His reputation for misbehavior precedes him, a drastic departure from the respect the squeaky-clean Iguodala commanded in Philadelphia’s locker room.

While the Lakers’ season has lurched forward in fits and starts, the Sixers so far are the massive losers in the deal. The rebuilding Magic have a solid, low-cost pivot, and the Nuggets are fighting for a top-four playoff seed with Iguodala improving the team’s defense by nearly seven points per 100 possessions. The Sixers are 22-33, ostensibly only two spots out of the playoffs but realistically light years from postseason contention. A once-exciting young team has crumbled into a major disappointment as a result of its “blockbuster” deal, and the Sixers should have seen it coming.

Have a question for Ben Watanabe? Send it to him via Twitter at @BenjeeBallgame or send it here.

Hawks forward Josh Smith, Clippers guard Eric Bledsoe, Jazz big men Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap and numerous other players whose names came up in multiple trade rumors in the lead-up to the deadline surprisingly stayed put. Blockbuster deals involving Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett or Rajon Rondo never came to pass, with many of the bigger deals consisting of solid but unspectacular players like J.J. Redick and Ronnie Brewer.

After weeks of striking down reports that Garnett, Rondo and even Paul Pierce were on the trading block, the Celtics held true to their word and did not make a major shakeup. They did make a minor deal, adding guard Jordan Crawford from Washington in exchange for a couple of expiring deals, but the team’s three All-Stars will finish out the season as Celtics.

NESN.com’s Doug Kyed sat down with Ben Watanabe to talk about deadline day, which featured some interesting developments despite the lack of a star-studded trade.

Listen in the player below or subscribe on iTunes to download it there.

4:20 p.m.: 

Both players were moved for second-round picks, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. So, there’s that.

3:50 p.m.: Perhaps the biggest surprise of the trade deadline were the players who were not dealt. Eric Bledsoe stayed with the Clippers, Josh Smith stuck with the Hawks, Andrea Bargnani is still a Raptor and the Jazz kept Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap. Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo are all still Celtics, as well.

3:44 p.m.: As part of the J.J. Redick deal, the Bucks will send Doron Lamb, Tobias Harris and Beno Udrih to the Magic, according to Wojo. Gustavo Ayon and Ish Smith were sent to the Bucks along with Redick.

Harris and Lamb are both young players who have shown occasional flashes in Milwaukee. Udrih will serve as a backup to Jameer Nelson.

3:26 p.m.: Ronnie Brewer was one of the few members of this year’s Knicks who consistently defended his position, and now it appears he is gone. The Knicks sent Brewer to the Thunder for a second round pick, HoopsWorld’s Alex Kennedy reports, and the veteran guard/forward was just told of the move.

All in all, this is not a horrible move for Brewer. The Thunder are one of the league’s top teams and are all but assured of a deep playoff run. At the same time, Brewer’s main skills — defense and corner 3-point shooting — are somewhat redundant to Thabo Sefolosha’s. And Sefolosha has the benefit of already being entrenched in OKC’s rotation.

3:16 p.m.: Say goodbye to Jason Collins, Celtics fans. The veteran backup has been included in the deal that will bring Crawford to Boston, according to Wojo. (There is that guy again.)

This could mean that the traded involves more than a straight-up one-for-one swap that was reported earlier. Collins also makes the veteran’s minimum, and the Wizards are below the salary cap, so they could absord the extra expiring salary if they wish.

3:11 p.m.: The Hawks appear to have decided to hold on to Josh Smith, but Danny Ferry did not spend the deadline just sitting around. The Hawks have flipped Atlanta-area native Anthony Morrow to the Mavericks for Dahntay Jones, per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, so there is that.

3:04 p.m.: Do not close the book on the Celtics’ deadline wheeling and dealing just yet. CSNNE’s Net’s A. Sherrod Blakely tweeted that he ran into Ainge, who was still on the phone, suggesting that Boston’s work may not be done.

As for that pesky Redick deal, Orlando is reportedly sending Gustavo Ayon and Ish Smith to Milwaukee as well. The Magic will get Hakim Warrick in a separate deal with Charlotte, while the Bobcats get Josh McRoberts.

Or something like that.

2:59 p.m.: Trying to sort this all out, but it appears that J.J. Redick has been traded to the Bucks, per multiple reports. Who the Magic will receive in return or whether there is another team involved is unclear. One thing that seems to be certain is that it is not a three-way deal involving the Hawks, according to Adrian Wojnarowski.

Also, Eric Maynor indeed is headed to Portland. The Thunder will get the Blazers’ trade exception in exchange for the backup point guard. Boston College alum Reggie Jackson now becomes Russell Westbrook’s primary backup.

Stick with us for updates well past the deadline in one minute, since teams can take extra time to finalize deals in process.

2:47 p.m.: Around the NBA, executives are picking up the phone and just punching numbers randomly, hoping to get a representative from another team on the line. If teams are in serious discussions as of 3 p.m. ET, they are allowed to continue those discussions.

As a result, the last-minute reports are coming fast and furious.

ESPN’s Marc Stein reports the Thunder are working on a deal to send Eric Maynor to Portland, and Orlando Sentinel beat reporter Josh Robbins reports that the Magic have a three-way deal in place that could send J.J. Redick to Milwaukee.

General managers, the clock is ticking.

2:38 p.m.: With a little more than 20 minutes remaining until the deadline, J.J. Hickson is still trying to work his way out of Portland. The 24-year-old forward has had a resurgence with the Blazers, but he would like to join the talented-laden squad in Brooklyn, according to Sheridan Hoops.

Dishing Hickson would not be the worst thing for Portland, either. His $4 million deal is not gigantic, but it does have some value on the trade market since he has far outplayed that number by averaging 12.9 points and 10.4 rebounds this season.

Regardless, Chris Sheridan adds that a deal getting done by 3 p.m. ET is unlikely.

2:10 p.m.: More huge news (not), this time out of Toronto. Sebastian Telfair appears to be headed north of the border. The Suns have completed a deal to send Bassy to the Raptors for Hamed Haddadi, reports Chris Broussard.

1:47 p.m.: Here comes the boom. Jordan Crawford AND Dexter Pittman will both be traded, according to Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Trade deadline excitement does exist.

Seriously, though, the Celtics’ reported pickup of Crawford does help Boston in its current roster crunch. Who has been sent to Washington is unclear, but it presumably is rookie center Fab Melo, who was connected in a deal with Washington earlier. Leandro Barbosa is also an option. Melo and Barbosa each make about the same as Crawford’s $1.2 million, so a straight-up trade could include one or the other, but not both.

Crawford would give the Celtics an extra body in the backcourt, where they are down to just three healthy rotation players plus Terrence Williams, who is on a 10-day contract.

Pittman’s deal is much less exciting. The Grizzlies agreed to take the 24-year-old center and a second-round pick in exchange for the trade exception Memphis received when it sent Sam Young to Philadelphia last March.

1:38 p.m.: We now take a break from your regularly scheduled trade deadline coverage to bring you a bizarre story involving Metta World Peace — as if there are any other types when it comes to this guy.

World Peace reportedly had to be woken up by police when his nephew and some of his nephews friends were “playing” with fake guns outside World Peace’s condo early Tuesday morning. The Lakers forward, donning Cookie Monster pajamas, apparently explained the situation to police and everybody walked away with a good laugh.

Hey, we told you deadline day wouldn’t be totally boring.

1:10 p.m.: The earl of NBA beat reporters, Adrian Wojnarowski, is feverishly working the rumor mill on this deadline day. And guess what he thinks will go down this afternoon?

Asked one GM what he had: "We're down to bulls--- text message offers from people who couldn't keep a straight face if they called."

—
Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) February 21, 2013

So, there you go.

12:57 p.m.: The San Jose Mercury News and The San Francisco Chronicle have been mostly silent on this, but we will forward this rumor anyway. Apparently the Warriors and Hornets have talked about a Klay Thompson-Eric Gordon swap, which has been reported by Warriors TV analyst Ric Bucher and reposted on numerous Warriors-themed blogs.

This seems unlikely. Truthfully, it seems outright idiotic for the Warriors, who would surrender a 23-year-old shooter on a long-term rookie deal for an injury-prone combo guard who is in the first season of a four-year, $50 million deal.

12:40 p.m.: Here is an often overlooked aspect of deadline day: The expiration of trade exceptions.

Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld has a look inside nine trade exceptions for seven teams that effectively expire if not used by 3 p.m. Thursday. The Lakers, Nuggets, Bucks, Net, Clippers and Grizzlies — all of whom have been active in actual or rumored deals in the lead-up to the deadline — have trade exceptions of $1.2 million each or more.

The Spurs also have an $854,000 trade exception for last year’s T.J. Ford deal, but they have been less active in trade reports beyond the long-standing knowledge that DeJuan Blair is available.

12:35 p.m.: J.J. Redick has been on the trading block for weeks, but the Magic may not want to part with him if they can help it. He may not be a part of Orlando’s long-term future, since he is a free agent at the end of this year, but if the Magic get any worse offensively it could get embarrassing.

Redick is one of the few shot-makers on the Magic’s roster. For the 12th straight game, the Magic shot a lower 3-point percentage than their opponent. That’s a lot of games and a lot of bad shooting.

12:18 p.m.: If the Celtics truly are interested in Jordan Crawford’s services, they may have some competition. The Mavericks are also said to be interested in the Wizards guard, whose shot selection is known to be, er, liberal. That said, Crawford is unlikely to bring much in return for Washington. As mention earlier, the Celtics would probably be willing to part with Fab Melo, but not much else.

12:06 p.m.: The Nets are never far from any trade talk, and from the sound of it they are extremely interested in adding Josh Smith. But if the Fighting Prokhorovs fail in their pursuit of the Atlanta forward, they are expected to stand pat at the trade deadline, Yahoo! Sports reports.

Since the Nets are far above the $70.3 million luxury tax line — they are responsible for more than $85.5 million next season in the first year of the new collective bargaining agreement’s more prohibitive luxury tax — they could not sign Smith outright this summer without making other moves to shed salary.

11:59 a.m.: Uh, oh. These Celtics-Clippers rumors simply will not die. Now Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald, who is usually on top of these things, reports that the Clippers are still interested in getting a deal done with the Celts.

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge expressed annoyance in an interview with Bulpett over other teams’ tendency to leak reports of their discussions. Ainge had to have been talking about the Clippers, and to a lesser extent the Hawks, who have been incredibly loose-lipped in the past few weeks.

11:35 a.m.: Tyreke Evans’ next stop could be… Boston?

The Celtics have expressed interest in the 6-foot-6 swingman before, and their interest may have been rekindled, according to ESPN. Marc Stein reports that the Celtics may make one more run at Evans Thursday, probably hoping to get some sort of discount in the waning hours before the deadline.

For what it’s worth, the trusted Jason Jones says, not so fast.

11:18 a.m.: The Kings might not be done dealing. According to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee, the team could explore trading Tyreke Evans.

Also hearing Kings could revisit dealing Tyreke Evans. His knee injury slowed talks when he might have been traded earlier this season

—
Jason Jones (@mr_jasonjones) February 21, 2013

Ridding themselves of Evans, who has regressed each year since winning the Rookie of the Year award in 2010 (because Blake Griffin was injured), would not be the worst thing for the Kings. Evans has never been the player he was as a rookie, when he averaged 20.1 points per game and started all 72 games he played in.

Since then, Evans has lost his starting job to the deserving Isaiah Thomas and even been shifted to small forward on occasion.

11:09 a.m.: Thanks to Kosta Koufos’ emergence and JaVale McGee’s sizable contract, the Nuggets do not really have room for Timofey Mozgov in their post rotation. Reports over the last few weeks have indicated that they would like to deal the 26-year-old Russian, and the Heat have registered some interest, although it is unclear what Miami can offer that Denver would want.

10:43 a.m.: The Hawks really seem to want to rid themselves of Smith, but no other team appears willing to bite. That should tell you something.

Smith is a perfectly fine player and an enticing 6-foot-9, super-athletic wing forward, but he tends to fall in love with his shaky jumper and his impressive stats have never translated into much success in the wins department. What’s more, he is due to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, and he has told reporters that he fancies himself a maximum contract player.

If Smith wants $20 million or more per year, he is too pricey. But if some team acquired him at the deadline, they probably would feel pressured to give him his money to justify the move — then regret it for the next five years.

10:35 a.m.: Not quite sure what to make of these Josh Smith-Monta Ellis rumors. One minute, the Hawks and Bucks are talking. The next minute, one side or the other is striking down the rumor. Get used to this sort of back-and-forth in the next five hours.

10:25 a.m.: Fab Melo, we hardly knew you. According to ESPN’s Chris Broussard (I know, I know), the Celtics are dangling rookie center Fab Melo as bait to land a perimeter scorer like Washington’s Jordan Crawford.

With Fab Melo as the bait, Celtics looking to add perimeter scoring. Wizards' Jordan Crawford available @ on their radar

—
Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) February 21, 2013

Crawford has one year remaining on his rookie contract before he becomes a restricted free agent after next season.

10:12 a.m.: The Maloofs are a menace that needs to be weeded out of the NBA. Fortunately, that time seems to be fast approaching. Unfortunately, it did not appear quickly enough to keep them from ruining their own franchise and, now, their current roster.

The Kings made the inexcusable move of dumping rookie Thomas Robinson, the No. 5 pick in the last draft, along with Francisco Garcia and Tyler Honeycutt on Wednesday night. In return, the Kings got Patrick Patterson, Cole Adrich and Toney Douglas, none of whom is anything beyond a role player. Patterson is an effective scorer but in non-existent on the glass or on defense.

Robinson, 21, has been far from a standout so far. He averaged just 4.8 points and 4.7 rebounds in 51 games in Sacramento, but he was a young player on an affordable rookie contract who was worth the project. He was the kind of player a new ownership group could have molded in the organization’s new image. Instead, he is the latest victim of the Maloofs incompetence and awfulness.

8 a.m. ET: Everybody is on the clock. The NBA trade deadline arrives Thursday at 3 p.m. ET, marking the last chance this season for teams to add that last pivotal player to put them over the hump — or to dump that extra salary or free-agent-to-be before it is too late.

As usual, the run-up to the deadline has featured no shortage of rumors. Some are intriguing. Some are absurd, like the Nets’ reported offer of Kris Humphries, MarShon Brooks and a draft pick for Paul Pierce. Seriously, Billy King? That was the best you could come up with for one of the all-time great Celtics?

There are plenty of more realistic deals to ponder, however. The Hawks really seem to want to move Josh Smith, the power forward who stuffs the box score but has yet to lead Atlanta to any real success. Interest in Smith, as one might expect, is tepid. The Jazz are expected to move either Al Jefferson or Paul Millsap if they can, as both members of Utah’s front line become free agents at the end of the season. A Millsap-Eric Bledsoe swap with the Clippers makes tons of sense for the Jazz, but the Clips would need to be really sure Chris Paul is re-signing this summer before they send away the 23-year-old guard.

A few teams would love to have Dwight Howard, no matter how far below his potential he has played this season. But Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak threw cold water on any Howard trade scenarios by reiterating that the Lakers will not trade the big man this season. Sorry, folks.

Join us throughout the day for updates and analysis for the moves, big and small, that take place right up to the last minute.

New York is in talks for a trade that would bring J.J. Redick, one of the game’s best shooters, to the Knicks in exchange for Iman Shumpert, according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. Kennedy reports that a straight-up trade is unlikely, with other players and possibly other teams needing to be involved.

Redick is in his seventh year in the league, all with the Magic. He has finally blossomed into the deep-range scoring threat he was envisioned to be when drafted out of Duke, where he set school records for scoring and the national record for 3-point shots made. He is averaging a career-high 15.3 points a game this year on 40.3 percent 3-point shooting and a career-high 45.9 percent field goal shooting.

Shumpert, in his second year with the Knicks, is averaging 5.3 points and 3.4 rebounds a game this season.

Click here to read why the C’s may be interested in Redick>>

Either some people’s memories have faded, or there is a renewed appreciation for Redick’s game, because whenever Redick hit a shot or tumbled to the floor during the Magic’s loss to the Celtics last Friday, there was no more than a smattering of boos from the stands of the TD Garden. Among those who have followed Redick’s career, there is at last a begrudging respect for the type of player he has become.

That player — one constantly in motion, careening around screens and slipping through cracks in the defense — could be one of the more intriguing players on the move as the trade deadline approaches. He has been featured in trade rumors involving several teams, most notably the Celtics, as his $6 million expiring contract and 3-point shooting range could make him a valuable rental player. The biggest obstacle could be convincing a new group of fans to root for one of the most polarizing players in recent college basketball history.

One of his former teammates does not think it would take much effort for fans to be converted. Courtney Lee played one season with Redick in Orlando, helping the Magic reach the NBA Finals before he was traded to New Jersey in 2009. He was charged with chasing Redick around the court last week, and although the Celtics got the better of the matchup, Lee admitted that guarding Redick is a challenge.

“He’s always moving,” Lee said. “One thing about J.J., it’s not just him getting his own shot. He’s making plays for everybody else. He’s an excellent passer and a good playmaker. People don’t give him credit for that, but he’s developed himself into a good player.”

Lee joined the Magic as a rookie in 2008, when Redick was still battling for playing time in his third professional season. Redick played less than 18 minutes per game and shot a career-low 37 percent from beyond the arc that year, although his playing time bumped up slightly in the playoffs. Even when healthy, Redick could not crack the starting lineup consistently, and his shots were few and far between. He averaged fewer field goal attempts per game than Keith Bogans and Anthony Johnson, veteran role players not known for their scoring abilities.

As Lee noted, Redick showed himself to be more than a one-dimensional shooter as he earned more playing time and became more comfortable in then-coach Stan Van Gundy‘s system. He has become one of the league’s most dangerous shooters while on the move, sort of a poor man’s Ray Allen or Richard Hamilton, while also exploiting the extra attention defenses must pay to him as he rolls around a screen. Under first-year coach Jacque Vaughn, Redick is averaging a career-best 5.1 assists per 36 minutes, more than double his average just two years ago.

“It’s good to see J.J. getting an opportunity,” Lee said. “When I was there, he played a little, not a lot, not like the opportunity he’s getting now. He’s developed into a great basketball player. He was always good, just now he has the confidence to go along with it and he has the opportunity to get out there, run plays and have plays run for him. He’s doing a good job.”

Redick’s next opportunity might not come for the Magic, who have fallen far out of playoff contention and have little need for a 28-year-old sharpshooter as they build for the future. Wherever he ends up, it should not take long for the fan base to embrace the player he has become. They just need to appreciate his on-the-go style while trying to forget, for 48 minutes, about all the expletives they threw his way as a Blue Devil.

Have a question for Ben Watanabe? Send it to him via Twitter at @BenjeeBallgame or send it here.

Photo via Flickr/Keith Allison

Final, Celtics 97-84:

For the second game in a row, the Celtics placed six players in double figures. The leading scorer was Jeff Green with only 17 points. The Celtics bench led the way, outscoring Orlando’s second unit 43-25. They saw a 23-point lead whittle down in the waning minutes, but managed to hold on for the win.

Paul Pierce finished three assists shy of a triple-double and Kevin Garnett posted a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds. The Celtics won their third straight, all without their All-Star point guard, and have a day of practice before an afternoon meeting with the Clippers on Super Bowl Sunday.

Andrew Nicholson and Nikola Vucevic each had double-doubles for the Magic, but the most impressive performance by an Orlando player came courtesy of rookie Kyle O’Quinn. The Norfolk State product owned the fourth quarter, the only quarter in which he played, to put up 11 points in just a smidgen over seven minutes.

Fourth quarter, 3:23, Celtics 90-75: A little sloppiness, and the Celts’ lead is down to 15. After back-to-back baskets by Moore and and a steal and dunk by Ish Smith, Rivers took a quick timeout to remind everybody this game ain’t over yet. It should be down for a Celtics “W,” but still.

Fourth quarter, 5:05, Celtics 86-67: Yikes. Green just baptized Vucevic. I won’t even try to describe it. Just go watch it somewhere.

Garnett left this game to loud cheers by the crowd, which recognized that with a lead like this, he should be done for the night. But right on cue, the Celtics’ defensive rotations broke down and the Magic scored easy buckets on back-to-back possessions.

Running and gunning is nice, but the Celtics need to find a way to get stops when Garnett takes a seat. That is always the case, of course, but it might need reinforcing since they are now another man down on the front line with Sullinger’s injury.

Fourth quarter, 8:07, Celtics 82-63: The Magic appear to treat defense as optional in the fourth quarter. If so, it is easy to see why they are 14-31.

The Celtics, especially Green and Lee, are attacking the basket at will. Green hit a couple of tough layups while absorbing contact, and Lee reversed a screen by Garnett to drive baseline for a dunk over Redick. A few more tacked onto this lead and the Celtics can get some early rest before Sunday’s matchup with the Clippers.

End of third quarter, Celtics 72-59: Pierce might be taking this stuff about stepping up and filling Rondo’s responsibilities a little too far. Heading into the fourth quarter, Pierce is stalking a triple-double. Doesn’t he know that’s Rondo’s job?

Pierce, who registered a triple-double two games ago, needs three assists in the final 12 minutes to give him another trey-deuce. He is at 14 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists thus far.

Third quarter, 1:54, Celtics 66-56: Once again, the bench comes through. With a soaring baseline dunk as the top moment, the Celtics went on a 9-2 run to increase their lead back to double-digits.

Third quarter, 5:54, Celtics 55-49: This Lee-Bradley backcourt is becoming a lot of fun to watch. Both guards move a ton without the ball, can knock down a corner three and are a handful on defense.

Lee gave the most extended highlight for the duo after he quickly stole the ball back after a Magic defensive stop. He dribbled out, penetrated the lane and then dropped a jump-pass to a cutting Bradley for a reverse layup.

The Celtics need more energetic play like that, as they are going through their normal mid-game doldrums. The 13-point advantage was down to four points before Lee and Bradley’s flurry of activity.

Third quarter, 8:52, Celtics 48-43: Never before has Courtney Lee hitting the floor taken so much air out of a building. The Celtics cannot afford to lose any more bodies, yet while Lee tried to chase Redick around a screen, he was caught in the midsection by Vucevic. Lee stood up after a few seconds and stayed in the game, but it was a worrying moment for a team already light on bodies.

Halftime, Celtics 46-35: The Celtics could not have started out much colder on offense, but since then they have been scorching. The bench can take credit for that.

After starting out 3-for-11 from the field, the Celtics went 18-for-30 the rest of the half. The reserves, led by Terry, Green and Barbosa, sparked the run. Garnett picked up on their energy, scoring all 10 of his points in the second quarter to lead the Celtics.

Pierce has been quiet scoring-wise, but he has eight rebounds and four assists and he takes on the responsibility of filling both Rondo and Sullinger’s roles.

Second quarter, 6:11, Celtics 35-24: The Big Ticket must have heard us talking (typing?) about him. Since the last stoppage, Garnett has drilled two step-back jumpers and looks ready to take the young Vucevic, a solid young big man, to school.

Second quarter, 7:43, Celtics 29-24: For once, Garnett is the one trying to fit in. The unit of Wilcox, Green, Barbosa and Terry is attacking the hoop and taking its open shots, but Garnett is the only one who looks tentative. He practically had to be coaxed into taking on the rookie Nicholson in the post, then finally took a baseline jumper in rhythm.

End of first quarter, Celtics 25-18: Disclaimer: This is not saying that the Celtics are better without Rondo, so do not read it as that.

BUT…

The Celtics’ offense looks much different after a turnover or rebound than it did when Rondo was healthy. Whereas the player who got the ball used to stop and wait to hand the ball to Rondo while everybody else jogged up the court, now whoever gets the ball immediately looks for a long touchdown pass. That was how Green found Barbosa for a free and clear layup.

So far, the bench is carrying the starters. The Celtics’ starting five went 5-for-16 from the field in the first half. Led by Terry, the bench was 5-for-7 and helped the Celtics get about 40 percent from the field.

First quarter, 2:57, Celtics 15-13: One worry, in the wake of the second season-ending injury in less than a week, is how the Celtics’ second unit will be effected. So far, it looks like Boston’s bench still could be their strength.

Barbosa, Green and Terry keyed a 6-0 run to push the Celtics back into the lead, playing the up-tempo style the team has to play without Rondo running the show. So far the Celts are also holding close rebounding-wise. They are winning the battle on the boards 13-11, although Orlando is no great rebounding team either. (The Magic are 19th in the NBA in rebounding.)

First quarter, 6:15, Magic 8-7: If the Celtics keep shooting like this, we can all expect to hear Rivers’ staple quote after the game:

“It’s a make-miss league.”

Right now, the Celtics are a “miss” team. They have missed eight of their first 11 shots, so even though they have held the Magic to 36 percent shooting, they still trail.

6:48 p.m.: Courtney Lee had to knock on the wood paneling on the locker when he was asked, “Who’s next?”

It was a pertinent question since Jared Sullinger, the team’s rookie rebounder extraordinaire, is officially joining Rajon Rondo on the list of Celtics who are out for the season. Sullinger underwent surgery on Friday on his lower back, leaving the already-thin Celtics with even less depth up front.

“We knew this could happen,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said before the game. “We knew it a month before the draft that this could happen and at some point probably would happen. We were hoping it’d be a summer thing rather than the middle of the season, but it happened now. He was playing great. I think the good news is, we know he can play and we know he’ll be a very good player. In the long run, this will make him healthier.”

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge made a rare pregame appearance, telling reporters that he spoke with three specialists and all recommended immediate surgery, which should make Sullinger ready for training camp next season. Sullinger’s back has been bothering him for about 10 days, Ainge said, and he spent the last couple of days in the hospital.

The Magic have their own problems, meanwhile. Arron Afflalo is highly unlikely to play due to a strained left calf and Achilles. That means the Magic will be without their top two frontcourt players, as Glen Davis is also on the shelf after breaking his foot earlier this week.

The projected starting lineups appear below.

Magic
Nikola Vucevic
Andrew Nicholson
Maurice Harkless
J.J. Redick
Jameer Nelson

Celtics
Kevin Garnett
Brandon Bass
Paul Pierce
Courtney Lee
Avery Bradley

8 a.m. ET: So far, so good for the Celtics without their All-Star point guard. They are 2-0 since Rajon Rondo went down for the season with a torn ACL in his right knee, although just 1-0 since they actually learned of the injury. (Aside from Doc Rivers and a few people on the medical staff, nobody knew of Rondo’s diagnosis until after Sunday’s win over the Heat.)

The Celtics (22-23) now get a chance to climb back to .500 and continue to counter anybody who might have written them off. Their next opponent is the Magic (14-31), who were having a rough time even before Glen Davis broke his foot in Wednesday’s game against the Knicks. Davis joins Arron Afflalo, Hedo Turkoglu and Al Harrington on the shelf for Orlando, which has lost seven straight.

Join us for updates and analysis from the TD Garden during the game, which tips off at 7:30 p.m. ET.

With that in mind, nothing tempts an NBA team like a great player with an expiring contract. Even if he is underachieving in his current home, the rest of the league is convinced that they could find the answer. If not, he is gone at the end of the year with nothing but a salary cap hold and a handshake, if the team wants.

Plenty of movement is on the way between now and the Feb. 21 trade deadline, and players with expiring deals could dominate trade talks.

Check out the top 10 players on expiring deals>>

While most teenagers may turn to pop stars like Justin Bieber for life advice, Redick is handing out some good rules for the future — and getting himself to a Bieber concert in the process.

Redick spent a recent off night in Orlando listening to Bieber, and he told Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel that he was there because his wife, Chelsea, wanted to go.

“A happy wife is a happy life,” Redick said. “I have a general rule that if I have an off day during the season, that I owe it to her to do what she wants unless it’s harmful to my well-being. Her and her friends wanted to go.”

While the obvious plug there would be to capitalize on things that are “harmful to my well-being,” we’ll leave Redick and Bieber alone this time. Even if Bieber is totally ripping off Redick’s haircut.

Bieber photo via Facebook/Fuse

ESPN’s Marc Stein tweeted on Friday morning that he’s hearing the Celtics are “ramping up their interest” in Magic guard J.J. Redick.

Stein reports that he heard this news prior to the Celtics’ shooting woes against the Knicks, but one has to believe Thursday’s performance will only heighten that rumored interest.

Hearing Celts, even before season-worst 7-for-32 shooting from 15+ feet in NYK loss, have ramped up their interest in Magic’s J.J. Redick

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) January 25, 2013

Redick, who you may recall was a superstar for the Duke Blue Devils from 2002 to 2006, is putting together a solid year with Orlando. The 28-year-old is averaging a career-high 14.9 points and 4.4 assists in 31.4 minutes per game for the 14-28 Magic. He could be a valuable component to the now-struggling Celtics given his status as a knockdown shooter.

Redick, who is shooting 39.8 percent from beyond the arc this season, posted a career-high 41.8-percent mark last season and is a career 39.9-percent 3-point shooter. Those marks are higher than any of the Celtics’ shooters this year, and his presence would certainly help a team that’s shooting 33.4 percent from 3-point range — which is 27th in the NBA.

The problem for the Celtics, however, would be putting together a package to obtain Redick, as they also need some help up front. Stein reports that size is Boston’s priority if a deal is made before the Feb. 21 trade deadline, although word is that Ainge and Co. will look to work their way into the mix for Redick.

Size obviously Celts’ priority if they do deal before Feb. 21 trade deadline but word is they hope to work way into Redick mix if they can

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) January 25, 2013

Davis recently decided to call out teammate Andrew Nicholson in the Magic locker room for not carrying out his rookie responsibility, which apparently involves him bringing Davis a sandwich. Nicholson, however, played it off as if he didn’t know he was required to serve as the team’s pregame chef.

With no PB & J in sight, Davis, a sixth-year pro, was forced to explore other dining options. Among those options was some pineapple. And by the looks of it, Davis doesn’t appear to be a big fan of pineapple. Hopefully, Nicholson remembers that the next time Davis makes any food requests.

Check out the rookie hazing incident in the video below.

Avery Bradley

Playing defense comes in more than one category, though. Few defensive players understand schemes like Kevin Garnett, read passing lanes like Chris Paul or clog the paint like Dwight Howard (every year but this year). Still others are athletic shot-blockers but poor overall defenders like JaVale McGee, savvy old veterans like Tim Duncan and underrated beasts like Derrick Favors.

Then there are those with the versatility to simply shut down an opposing player, making them the elite one-on-one defenders in the game. It is tough for a big man to crack this list, due to all the helping responsibilities post defenders have, but a few guys are as capable of locking down a player in the paint as on the perimeter.

Check out the NBA’s best one-on-one defenders>>

A few players have taken improvement to the extreme this season. Whereas every player looks to make moderate gains from year to year, some young players have made leaps, both literal and figurative. Whether it is Jrue Holiday making the jump from role player to star or Nik Vucevic surprising almost everybody with his scoring and rebounding prowess, a breakout campaign can change the way a once-anonymous player is perceived around the NBA.

Keep in mind that improvement is not static, so while I labeled Eric Bledsoe as the league’s most improved player two weeks ago, that is not the case anymore. Chances are this list will not stay constant all season, either.

Check out the top 10 breakout stars of the 2012-13 NBA season>>

After all, none of our award winners get actual, tangible trophies they can hold in their hands. (Sorry, guys.)

Almost every one of our choices is somewhat controversial. That is the way it should be. Nobody should be lapping the field in any award category this early, and the great thing about midseason award-giving is that the selections are still open to debate.

So whether you feel that Damian Lillard still has a way to go to surpass Anthony Davis for Rookie of the Year or if you are still on the fence about the Sixth Man of the Year, take a look at our picks and then offer yours if you disagree.

Check out the NBA quarter-season award winners>>

Have a question for Ben Watanabe? Send it to him via Twitter at @BenjeeBallgame or send it here.

The Hornets, as the franchise has been known since it was founded in Charlotte in 1988, reportedly plan to change their name to the Pelicans as early as the 2013-14 season. Rebranding the team in honor of Louisiana’s state bird would be a positive step forward from the name that has been mostly nonsensical since the organization relocated to the Crescent City in 2001.

Still, ‘Pelicans’ is not a perfect nickname. Of the seven teams that are currently named after animals — Bobcats, Bucks, Bulls, Grizzlies, Hawks, Raptors, Timberwolves — the Pelicans would be the least-threatening creature by far. And the teal-and-purple color scheme the franchise brought with it is expected to die a quick death in honor of a more Pelican-friendly look.

Great team names are hard to come by. In more than a decade of its existence, major professional basketball has boasted only a handful of truly unique, clever, memorable names. From mispronounced classics like the Boston Celtics to geographically inaccurate puzzlers like the Los Angeles Lakers, pro hoops has contributed its share of follies to sports team-naming conventions. The impending death of the New Orleans Hornets gives us a chance to appreciate some of the times that teams got it right.

Check out the best team names in pro basketball history>>

Photo via Facebook/Gary Payton

Game over, Celtics win 116-110:

Kevin Garnett scored 24 points with 10 rebounds, Paul Pierce scored 23 points, Brandon Bass had 13 points and 12 rebounds — five of which were assisted — and Rondo finished with 15 points, 16 assists, nine rebounds and one turnover. But the win brought more of a feeling of relief for the Celtics, since a loss would have undone all the positive vibes they built up with Friday’s win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The third quarter loomed large. Jameer Nelson dropped 12 of his 20 points in the quarter, more than doubling the Celtics’ entire scoring output in those 12 minutes.

The Celtics allowed the Magic to shoot 42 percent from deep. The Magic’s long-distance shooting was crucial in keeping the game close as the Celtics dominated with 60 points in the paint and 21 second-chance points on 17 offensive rebounds. Rondo tied John Stockton by making it to 37 straight games with double-digit assists, so that’s nice.

Overtime, :13.7, Celtics 114-10: Garnett must have wanted to keep things interesting.

At the line with a chance to ice the game, Garnett missed one of two free throws to technically leave the Magic a chance of a four-point play to tie the game. Redick and Nelson can shoot it, but unless the Celtics did something really boneheaded, the C’s should have had this one in the bag.

Overtime, 1:37, Celtics 113-108: Garnett, Pierce and Rondo seized the moment in winning time. Working with a tie score after a pair of foul shots by Josh McRoberts, Pierce drained a three and Rondo looked off Pierce on the break to deke a defender and flip home a layup.

End of regulation, game tied 102-102: End-of-game situations can get real ugly sometimes. Pierce got the ball at the top of the key and waited, and waited. And waited. Finally he missed an impossible 15-footer at the buzzer.

Overtime.

Pierce and Garnett already had a nice night’s work with 20 points and 21 points, respectively. Redick also entered overtime as part of the 20-point club with 21 points in less than 29 minutes.

Fourth quarter, :19.2, game tied 102-102: Bass worked his rear end off in the fourth quarter, and he kept it up after Garnett missed a makeable eight-foot jump shot. Bass went to the hardwood to keep Davis from scooping up the floorboard, so the Celtics maintained possession and had a chance for the final shot.

Fourth quarter, :30.4, game tied 102-102: Rivers has lauded Terry’s improved defense, and it was on display on the biggest possession of the game thus far. Terry picked up Nelson in transition and hustled over a screen at the top of the key to stick with the Magic point guard. Nelson ended up taking a three under duress, and the Celtics corralled the carom.

Fourth quarter, 1:34, Magic 102-100: Rondo can create open shots for his teammates, but sometimes he leaves them guessing exactly where he will find them.

Terry got mixed up on the break as he was unsure whether Rondo would hit him with a pass on the wing or in the corner. Rondo tried an in-between pass, but the pass bounced off Terry’s hands. Terry should have caught it, but that turnover was on Rondo. He is the point guard, and if Rondo wants to claim the title of the best point guard in the league, his teammates should always know precisely where he will get him the ball. Jason Kidd, John Stockton and Magic Johnson’s teammates never suffered from that uncertainty.

Fourth quarter, 2:51, Celtics 98-97: Suddenly the Magic turned back into the Magic. Poof!

Orlando went more than five minutes without scoring a basket and the Celtics — with Garnett, Pierce, Terry and Rondo back on the floor — surged back into the lead. Bass had a chance to score the tying points at the line, but he split his free throws. Garnett ended up delivering the go-ahead shot by banking home a short jumper on the next possession.

Fourth quarter, 6:25, Magic 95-91: Barbosa giveth and Barbosa taketh away. After blowing up two straight Celtics possessions with a bad shot and a turnover, the speedy guard scored a couple of baskets to keep the C’s within striking distance. Then after Boston had built up some momentum on a tip-in by Sullinger and a free throw by Green, Barbosa fumbled the ball out of bounds on the next possession.

Sometimes you watch Barbosa play and think, “How was this guy still available to be signed two weeks before the season started?” And other times you say, “Oh, now I see.”

Fourth quarter, 11:11, Magic 87-80: Whew. Somebody get Nelson an ice pack before he burns himself. The Magic point guard was white-hot and drilled another triple to stretch Orlando’s lead to seven points. The Celtics were in trouble and could not afford to drop this one. As rousing as their win over the Thunder on Friday was, all that progress would have been for naught if they turned around and lost to a below-.500 squad just two days later.

End of third quarter, Magic lead 82-80: Jameer Nelson started partying like it was 2004 and he was still at Saint Joseph’s at the end of the third quarter.

The veteran point guard netted the final eight points of the frame to give the Magic their first lead since the 10:10 mark of the first quarter. The Celtics completely went in the tank in the last four minutes, allowing Orlando to outscore them by 12 points in the quarter. Rondo was a milk carton culprit after a stellar first quarter, missing all three shots he took and committing three fouls in the third.

Third quarter, 2:24, Celtics 78-72: If Pierce got chewed out a bit by Rivers in that timeout, the message was delivered. The problem for the Celtics was that the Magic started playing a lot better, too.

The Magic narrowed the gap to as little as three points as Afflalo and J.J. Redick operated the offense like veterans. Pierce had 11 points in the quarter, but Afflalo scored five straight at one juncture and Redick had two 3-pointers and a clever reverse layup off a feed from Afflalo to make things interesting.

Third quarter, 10:57, Celtics 58-51: There must have been naptime in the locker room, because the Celtics came out groggy to begin the second half.

The Celtics threw the ball away on their first two possessions and Pierce failed to get out on Maurice Harkless, so the rookie swished home a high, arcing trey. Rivers took an extremely quick timeout to remind his players that this game counted, even if it was against the Magic.

Halftime, Celtics lead 58-48: The Magic had no answer for Boston’s backcourt as Rondo, Barbosa and Lee combined for 26 points in the first half. Terry was the only Boston guard held scoreless, and even he got three decent looks and was active defensively with two steals.

The Celtics got to the rim at will, and when Rondo and Barbosa were not doing so on their own, Rondo was setting up his teammates for high-percentage looks. Rondo handed out nine of the Celtics’ 15 assists.

Thanks to their defense, the Celtics were able to get out and run often. They forced nine turnovers and had 13 fastbreak points, including seven in the second quarter alone.

Second quarter, 5:24, Celtics 44-36: Rondo has some eye-popping games, but it is the games in between those marquee games where stars truly set themselves apart. It is one thing to go for 20 and 20 against the Heat. It is another thing to build up that same sort of adrenaline for a Sunday evening game in Orlando.

Rondo surgically sliced apart the Magic in the first half of this one. He hit three of his first five shots and dealt out eight assists without committing a single turnover.

Second quarter, 8:18, Celtics 38-31: Barbosa had a big scoring night in mind, apparently. The lightning-quick guard scored 11 of Boston’s first 34 points before Davis stepped in and drew a dubious charge on one of Barbosa’s forays to the hoop. How Barbosa moves so fast is a mystery. He glides more than runs, and he seems to slow down his strides when he speeds up. It really is crazy to watch.

Barbosa hit all four shots he took and also picked up three fouls in three minutes, 35 seconds. Now that is making an impact.

End of first quarter, Celtics lead 28-22: The bench is getting into a habit of giving the Celtics a little bit of a different contribution every game. Doc Rivers would surely like that habit to continue.

Once again Leandro Barbosa gave Boston a boost off the bench, netting five straight points to extend the Celtics’ lead to six points. Andrew Nicholson, an intriguing low-post prospect out of St. Bonaventure, came through with two baskets late in the quarter to narrow the margin before Lee popped in a floater at the buzzer, but the Celtics’ bench played a large role in the team’s lead after one quarter of play.

Boston got 12 points from its reserves, led by Barbosa and Lee with five points each. Chris Wilcox only had two points but was a strong presence with his hustle and talking of defense.

First quarter, 1:33, Celtics 21-18: Moore had a tough time cracking the rotation in Boston, but with the Magic he has shown the skills that made him such an enticing talent out of Purdue in the first place. Fresh off the bench, the second-year guard drained back-to-back 3-pointers to briefly pull the Magic even with the Celtics at 16-16.

Courtney Lee and Rondo quickly wiped that tie off the scoreboard, but Celtics fans should take a moment to feel happy for the former C’s benchwarmer who is capitalizing on his opportunity in O-town.

First quarter, 6:02, Celtics 14-10: Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett have made a habit of getting their shots up early, since they both realize their time on the court is likely to be limited. Pierce and Garnett put up six shots combined in the first six minutes, with each player netting two buckets.

Rajon Rondo was the difference, as he often is, in the early going. Rondo assisted five of the Celtics’ six field goals, and his team needed all the help it could get. The Magic blocked three of Boston’s first 15 shots, which was surprising since Orlando is one of the league’s worst shot-blocking teams.

5:29 p.m.: Celtics fans will always hold a soft spot in their hearts for Glen Davis, and “Big Baby” has emerged as the Magic’s top post presence after the departure of Dwight Howard. In a dozen games — all starts — the 6-foot-9 Baton Rouge, La., native is averaging career highs of 14.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.

Those numbers are not just fool’s gold from playing more minutes, either. Davis’ stats per 36 minutes (17.0 points, 10.2 rebounds) are also career bests, which means he is receiving an increased role for the Magic and is coming through.

Still, when Davis is your top player down low, that is not exactly great news. He showed with the Celtics that he is best as a complementary guy, and the Magic have predictably struggled without a glut of talent on the roster. Arron Afflalo is Orlando’s leading scorer at 15.3 points per game, although the team is counting on getting better now that Jameer Nelson has returned after missing the six games with a strained hamstring, groin and balky ankle.

The projected starters appear below.

Celtics
Kevin Garnett
Brandon Bass
Paul Pierce
Jason Terry
Rajon Rondo

Magic
Nik Vucevic
Glen Davis
Mo Harkless
Arron Afflalo
Jameer Nelson

8 a.m. ET: Jeff Green experienced a slight case of deja vu Friday when he faced his old teammates from Oklahoma City, and on Sunday the rest of the Celtics will enjoy something of a reunion in Orlando.

Glen Davis and E’Twaun Moore will face their old teammates for the first time this season when the Magic (5-7) and Celtics (7-6) meet up. For Moore, it will be his first shot at the organization that traded him to Houston in July as part of a three-team trade that brought Courtney Lee to Boston. Since getting waived by the Rockets four days after the trade, things have gone well for the former second-round draft pick.

The Magic signed Moore on Sept. 6, and the former Purdue Boilermaker became Orlando’s starting point guard while Jameer Nelson was injured. In 12 games with the Magic, Moore has averaged 11.1 points and 3.8 assists. He has already played more minutes (355) than he did all of last season with the Celtics (331).

Join us for updates and analysis during the game, which tips off at 6 p.m. ET.

Dave McMenamin, who covers the Lakers’ beat for ESPN.com, sent out a tweet Monday that revealed some things he didn’t know about Howard before training camp. Among the interesting facts: Howard wears glasses only because he has terrible eyesight (not for fashion), he shoots free throws with his right hand despite doing everything else left-handed, and he doesn’t drink.

Now many people claim that they don’t drink, only to then have a few adult sodas from time to time, but Howard apparently refrains from booze entirely, as McMenamin shared this little tidbit.

“Dwight has never been drunk in his life. In fact, he’s only had one alcoholic drink in his 26 years: a celebratory shot of CÎROC (P Diddy‘s top-shelf vodka) with his friends when the Lakers trade became official this summer.”

CÎROC, huh? It’s certainly no domestic 12 oz. bottle of suds. What’s most interesting, though, is just how fired up Howard clearly was about the trade to Los Angeles. We’re talking about a guy who went to the NBA Finals in 2009, meaning champagne was there for the taking, yet it took a trade out of Orlando to get his alcoholic juices flowing.

It’s actually pretty ironic, too, as I’m sure there were plenty of Magic fans who hit the bottle pretty hard the night that Howard was traded away. Then again, the big man already gave them a headache, so the hangover couldn’t have been too bad.

Photo of the Day

The Red Sox could use a shortstop like that.

Quote of the Day

I felt like the most impactful move I could make to get everybody’s attention was to change the quarterback.
–Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel, who has opted to go with one bad quarterback (Brady Quinn) over another bad quarterback (Matt Cassel)

Tweet of the Day

See the ball. Hit the ball.

Marco Scutaro: 6th player acquired midseason to win postseason MVP award. He had 43 swings vs STL and had 14 hits and 2 swings-and-misses

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 23, 2012

Video of the Day

Bad day? It could always be worse.

According to Yahoo! Sports' Marc Spears, Arenas is close to signing a one-year deal in China with the Guandong Southern Tigers.

Arenas, who is currently a free agent, was amnestied by the Magic before the start of last season. He eventually appeared in 17 games with the Grizzlies. His impact was minimal, though, as he averaged just 4.2 points in 12.4 minutes per game.

The 30-year-old was once one of the NBA's premier scorers, averaging a career-high 29.3 points per game with the Wizards in 2005-06. He was selected to three All-Star Games from 2005-07, but his career has been on a bit of a downward spiral ever since.

Perhaps a change of scenery could prove to be the right move. Hey, it worked for Stephon Marbury.