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April 15, 2007

Orlando works its Magic in victory over Celtics

Hedo Turkoglu blocked Delonte West's driving layup at the buzzer to help Orlando clinch its first playoff berth in four years with an 88-86 win over Boston on Sunday.

Orlando's win and Indiana's 111-107 loss against New Jersey combined to clinch the final spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs for Orlando.

The Magic nearly blew a 17-point lead in the final 6:41 before Turkoglu clinched the win. Turkoglu led the Magic with 20 points. Grant Hill and Jameer Nelson had 16 points each and Dwight Howard added 10 points and 14 rebounds.

Al Jefferson led Boston with 28 points. West had 19 points and Rajon Rondo had 16 as the Celtics lost their seventh straight game.

The Magic led 87-86 with 13.5 seconds left when Howard missed two free throws to give Boston a chance.

Rondo drove hard to the basket, but his layup attempt fell well short. Howard grabbed the miss and was fouled with 4.6 seconds to play. He missed the first free throw, but made the second to put Orlando up 88-86.

After a timeout, the Celtics got the ball to West, who drove to the basket, but saw Turkoglu block it from behind as the buzzer sounded.

--AP

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 9:09 PM to Celtics | Permalink

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