Allen, Pierce spur Celtics to Game 1 win over Magic

ORLANDO, Fla. - The hair is a little grayer, the ankles and knees no longer so sturdy. But even with a roster full of aging superstars, the Boston Celtics are still standing tall.

Too old to chase a title? Not these days.

Ray Allen scored 25 points, Paul Pierce had 22 and the Celtics used smothering defense to beat the Orlando Magic, 92-88, Sunday in the Eastern Conference finals opener.

Hampered by injuries, the Celtics literally limped their way through parts of the regular season. All that seems a distant memory.

"I honestly say we lost ourselves," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "I think we've found ourselves again."

Rasheed Wallace added 13 points as the Celtics built a 20-point lead, then held on late to snap Orlando's winning streak at 14 games.

They held the Magic to 41 percent shooting - 22 percent from three-point range - in displaying that rough and tough defense that once was their staple.

"There were stretches in the season, we know each other so well now, where we were becoming less patient with each other," Allen said. "We were getting on each other a little too much. We can take it, but we respected each other.

"When we started the playoffs, we said teams are going to hit us, they're going to attack us. But when somebody scores on us, which they will, we go get the ball out and come back."

Vince Carter had 23 points and Jameer Nelson finished with 20 for Orlando, which cut the lead to two in the final seconds but simply ran out of time, looking rusty after a six-day layoff.

"I don't think it was rusty. Just anxious," Dwight Howard said. "We dug ourselves a hole, and it was tough to get back from."

Howard was limited to 13 points and 12 rebounds, nowhere near the dominant force the Magic needs to win a title.

Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Tuesday in Orlando.

The Magic lost for the first time since April 2 at San Antonio. "Our guys aren't going to, like, fall apart," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "Hell, they got down 20 in this game and they didn't collapse. That's not our team. This is all about winning. Our team doesn't have to prove they can bounce back from adversity and all of that. They've done all that."