There was a glimmer of hope when Stephon Marbury began playing like the Marbury of old. He drove on Dwight Howard, pulled up for jumpers, and scored eight points in nine minutes. That was the only highlight of the second quarter for the Celtics.

With Paul Pierce sidelined by three fouls, the Celtics shut down on offense. They settled for outside jumpers, stopped penetrating, and got lost in the Magic’s passing game. Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo shot a combined 2-for-14 in the first half. Kendrick Perkins shot 1-for-5 as well. Even though their bench contributed (15 points), that could not compensate for their inability to stop the Magic from getting easy shots (52.4% FG).

At halftime … Magic 54, Celtics 36