Almost Perfect

It had to end some time. And, it did in the swamps of Central Florida, as the C's lost their first game of the year to the Magic, 104-102.

The Cs battled from 20 down, trailing after three quarters, to make it a game at the end. They fell just one Pierce 3-pointer short at the buzzer.

The Big Three were aided by some complementary parts last night—although Pierce led the way with 28 points, joined by Allen with 19 and Garnett with 14 (and another double-double). The exciting rookie Rajon Rondo added 18 points in the comeback—but the Celts were victimized by only 4 of 16 shooting from the three-point arc. So, it's over. But, the fact that the team battled back to make a game of it is yet another new wrinkle in your 2007-8 Celtics.