The Celtics came out of the gates quickly again tonight (the slow starts are a thing of the past it seems) and won their 9th straight, 107-88. After a rather quiet first half, Paul Pierce came out firing in the 3rd quarter, scoring 17 points in the quarter, and helping turn a 2 point halftime lead into a 12 point lead heading into the 4th quarter. Pierce ended up with 24 points and 7 rebounds, but he was outdone by Rajon Rondo, who scored 16 points and added 12 assists. Ray Allen added 21 points, Perk had 8 points and 13 boards, and KG went for 15 and 9. The Celtics shot 54% from the field, while holding the Magic to 42%, including 5-26 (19%) from 3-point land.

Game notes:

• Sam Cassell was ejected for a double-technical in the 2nd quarter
• Kendrick Perkins picked up his  league-leading 9th technical foul in the 4th quarter
• The Celtics' starting five combined to be a +100 on the night
• The starting five also combined for 84 of the Celtics 107 points
• Ray Allen logged a team-high 40 minutes in the game
• There were a total of 9 technical fouls called, with only one being an illegal defense call