NBA PLAYOFFS : Orlando Wins at Boston Garden

The Orlando Magic had no friends Wednesday night at Boston Garden, but the Celtics had no magic.

The crowd tried to rattle the Magic. Their shots clanged off the rim. They blew a 10-point lead.

But this time Orlando wouldn’t crumble under the challenge.

The Magic overcame its reputation for buckling in big games by scoring the last eight points and beating the Celtics, 82-77, to take a 2-1 game lead in the best-of-five Eastern Conference series. Orlando can close out the Celtics and slam the doors on the old Garden on Friday night.

“This is the game we didn’t lose our composure,” Coach Brian Hill said. “We didn’t make a lot of shots, but we came up here and played with all this emotion (from the fans) and it was a great win.”

Orlando was swept in the first round of the playoffs last season. It had the best record in the East this season but split the first two games at home with Boston, the only sub-.500 playoff team.

Shaquille O’Neal had 20 points and a season-high 21 rebounds in front of a full house in the building that the Celtics will leave for the new FleetCenter next season.

“We had a lot of poise and we didn’t give up when things didn’t go our way,” O’Neal said.

Neither did the Celtics, who were led by Dominique Wilkins and Dee Brown with 16 points each.

The Celtics shot a series-low 31% and were four for 19 in the fourth quarter.

Orlando squandered a 59-49 lead and trailed, 77-74, with less than two minutes remaining. Then it rallied to break a seven-game road losing streak and win with its lowest point total of the season.

Nick Anderson tied the score, 77-77, with a three-point basket with 1:10 left.

Anfernee Hardaway then swatted away Wilkins’ layup. Orlando’s Dennis Scott missed from the left corner, but O’Neal rammed home the rebound for a 79-77 lead with 28 seconds to play. Three free throws finished the scoring.

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Utah 95, Houston 82--Karl Malone scored 32 points, 21 in the second half, and grabbed 19 rebounds at Houston, where the Jazz moved to within a game of advancing to the second round.

The defending champion Rockets moved within a game of being ousted.

Utah can wrap it up with a victory in Game 4 in the Summit on Friday night.

Utah took a 69-54 lead with 3:28 to go in the third quarter, largely behind Malone’s 11 points. But Houston came back with a 10-1 run, led by Kenny Smith, but got no closer than five points the rest of the way.

Hakeem Olajuwon led the Rockets with 30 points and 10 rebounds.