Sharp guards spark Celtics

Rajon Rondo took the pass from Eddie House and bolted for the basket, cutting between 6-foot-11 Dwight Howard and 6-10 Rashard Lewis for a thunderous dunk.

In a crucial game for the Boston Celtics, the little guys came up big.

Rondo had 15 points, 18 assists and 11 rebounds for his third triple-double of the playoffs, and House scored a career high-shattering 31 points on Wednesday night to lead Boston to a 112-94 victory over the Orlando Magic that evened the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Howard had 12 points and 12 rebounds and Lewis had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Magic, which stole Game 1 and home-court advantage Monday night despite blowing almost all of a 28-point lead.

Game 3 is Friday night in Orlando.

Rondo had 12 assists without a turnover at the half and finished one assist short of his career high. The only time the 6-1 point guard has had more than 18 assists was the triple-overtime Game 6 of the first-round series against Chicago in which he played 57 1/2 minutes.

“He picked up where he left off last game,” House said of Rondo. “He had a lot of energy on both ends of the court.”

Ray Allen scored 22 points and Kendrick Perkins had 16 points and nine rebounds for the defending NBA champions, who avoided heading to Orlando down 0-2 and assured themselves of at least one more game in Boston.

The Celtics’ Paul Pierce scored only three points in 16 minutes, but his teammates picked up the slack.

House went 11 for 14 from the field, making all four of his three-point attempts in 27 minutes -- the most he has played in a playoff game since he was a rookie with Miami in 2001. In the last three games, House is 18 for 24 from the field.