BOSTON — Even though Rajon Rondo enters Friday’s game shooting a mere 25 percent from the free throw line, the Magic are not going to give him extra trips to the charity stripe. Just because free throws have been a weakness for Rondo this season that doesn’t mean the same is true for his teammates.

“With their team you don’t want to foul unnecessarily,” said Anthony Johnson. “Even though maybe he’s not shooting well, Paul Pierce, KG, all the other guys, they’re going to draw fouls.”

In spite of Rondo’s struggle (4-16 FG), the Celtics are still in the middle of the pack around the league. Ray Allen is ranked eighth in the NBA (89.3%) while Shelden Williams and Pierce are both shooting better than 80 percent.

“If you waste your fouls on Rondo, it’s going to help them as a team get into the bonus and it’s going to give those guys free points,” Johnson said. “So as much as possible we want to keep them off the line, including him, and try to make them make tough shots over the top of us.”

The Magic have a lot more to worry about with Rondo than just free throws. They are without starting point guard Jameer Nelson (knee) and will depend on veterans  Johnson and Jason Williams to contain Rondo.

“He’s a guy that plays with a lot of energy offensively and defensively so you’ve got to always keep him in front of you, don’t allow him to really dictate the tempo with his ball pressure and just putting pressure on our defense getting into the paint,” said Johnson. “So we’re going to have to keep him in front of us and not let him orchestrate and make all the big plays.”

Thursday marks five years since the Pacers - Pistons brawl at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Rasheed Wallace, a member of the Pistons at the time, was surprised it has been that long.

“No, no I don’t even think about it unless somebody brings it up,” he told WEEI.com.

So what does he think when someone does bring it up?

“That was a funny little event there, if you ask me,” he said.

The fight began with less than a minute to go in the fourth quarter. It started with a Ron Artest foul against Ben Wallace and spiraled out of control … and into the stands. Punches and drinks were thrown, among other things, by both players and fans. A total of nine players were suspended for nearly 150 games.

In spite of the penalties, Wallace, who was not suspended, doesn’t think there have been many lessons learned from the fight.

“No, not really,” he said. “There’s fights that still go on. They just try to break it up. But see, once it’s a real melee they talk all the refs tried to break it up but no, they [are] ghosts. The refs are in the back. So it’s all on the players to break it up.”

Wallace may not think about the fight that often, but to many NBA fans, “The Malice at the Palace” still stands out to them.

On Wednesday night the Celtics broke their losing streak against streaky scoring teams. After falling to Suns (111.3 ppg) and Hawks (108 ppg), the Celtics defeated the Warriors, the league’s highest scoring squad (111.6 ppg).They rolled 109-95 to improve to 9-3.

Player of the game: After scoring a total of 15 points over the last three games, Rondo scored 12 points in the third quarter alone to put the Celtics back in control. He finished the night with 18 points, 12 assists, and 7 rebounds. It was also a night of firsts for Rondo – he hit his first free throw since November 4 against the Timberwolves and drained his first three-pointer of the season.

Play of the game: Rondo earned his player of the game status in the third quarter. He scored the Celtics first fastbreak points of the game with 4:45 to go, then completed a three-point play for a 12-point lead. On the next possession he kicked the ball cross-court to Paul Pierce for a three-pointer and drained a trey of his own to put the Celtics up 78-65.

- Pierce passed Isiah Thomas on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with 19 points. He now ranks 48 (18,224) and is seven points behind Chet Walker (47th).

- The Celtics held the Warriors to 35.3% (6/17) three-point shooting. The Warriors came into the game ranked fourth in the league shooting 39.5% on the season. The Celtics, on the other hand, surpassed their season average (36.5%) with 8-for-19 shooting (42.1%).

- After getting outrebounded 21-14 in the first half, the Celtics crashed the boards in the second to reclaim the lead. They outrebounded the Warriors 22-14 in the second half (36-35 for the game).

- Former Celtic Mikki Moore posted six points and five rebounds in 28 minutes as the Warriors starting center. Before the game he said he is trying to help his high-scoring teammates become more defensive-minded, like the Celtics are.

- Kendrick Perkins was the first Celtics player to score in double-digits. He finished with 15 points and passed his previous season high of 14.

Ray Allen reveres Dell Curry as one of the best players he ever competed against – and with – in the NBA. Ten years after playing with him on the Milwaukee Bucks, Allen is playing against Curry’s son, rookie Stephen, as the Celtics take on the Warriors.

“It doesn’t make me feel old,” Allen, 34, said before the game. “It just makes me feel privileged to be able to play in two generations of players. I always say Dell was the one guy I feared playing against because he shot the ball so quick. And then when I played with him, it was a privilege because he was the one guy that I loved watching.”

21-year-old Stephen looks forward to the match up as well. Allen was one of his favorite basketball players growing up and he has carefully watched Allen’s game with his father over the years.

“We would watch the Celtics play and he would point out how well Ray would move without the ball and how quickly he could get his shot off,” he told WEEI.com before tip-off. “I don’t think he figured out how to defend him so he couldn’t give me any advice. But you’ve just got to be able to chase him around the court because Ray Allen’s going to find a shot.”

Allen believes Stephen will find his shoot, too, but he points out the bar has been raised for the young guard.

“Dell was a pure shooter. Dell’s a big guard, Dell was pretty slow.  Stephen is quicker but his jumpshoot doesn’t compare to his dad’s,” he said. “As good as Stephen’s jumpshot is, people ask me who the best star is and I say Dell Curry and Dale Ellis that I’ve seen. And so you’re talking about 30 years combined of great shooting, so that’s lineage that Stephen has to live up to.”

On Monday evening Paul Pierce will trade his basketball sneakers for bowling shoes at “The Truth Strikes Again,” a celebrity bowling tournament to raise funds for the Truth on Health Campaign and FitClub 34 by Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. Pierce is scheduled to be joined by his teammates, including Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins, Rasheed Wallace, Glen Davis, Eddie House, Marquis Daniels, Tony Allen, Brian Scalabrine, Lester Hudson, and Bill Walker.  The event will take place at Kings Lanes in Dedham. For more information on Pierce’s initiatives, visit www.paulpierce.net.

BOSTON — Amid a growing rivalry between the Celtics and Hawks, Al Horford formed a close relationship with a Boston sports icon.

Horford, who grew up in the Dominican Republic, has been a fan of Red Sox slugger David Ortiz for years. The feeling was mutual. Ortiz watched Horford’s father, Tito, play in the NBA and was excited for the younger ball player to make it to the NBA.

After the two were told of each other’s mutual admiration, they met during Horford’s rookie season at TD Garden. They have developed a friendship over the past two years, and Horford even visits with Ortiz whenever the Hawks come to Boston.

“I know that since I’ve been there, the last two days he’s been at Fenway working out, that’s all I can say,” Horford told WEEI.com on Friday.

Horford always respected Ortiz’s game, and this week he saw his work ethic firsthand.

“It looks like the season just got over and he’s already getting back to work,” Horford said. “So that speaks a lot about him.”

Ever since the 2008 playoffs, games against the Hawks have been some of the most intense contests for the Celtics. Friday night was no different. The Hawks upset the Celtics 97-86 in Boston.

Player of the game: Joe Johnson dropped 14 points in the second half to push the Hawks to a win. He fought to get open the entire night and attempted 21 shots. But it would be unfair to name Johnson based on his offensive performance in a game that was won by defense. Al Horford added 11 rebounds for the Hawks.

Turning point: The Hawks held the Celtics to two points in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter to take control of the game. They outscored the Celtics 25-16 in the final 12 minutes to keep a Cs win out of reach.

- Paul Pierce suffered a bruised left knee and left the game with 3:15 left in the third quarter. He fell to the ground during a play at the basket earlier in the quarter and limped to the bench during a timeout. He returned to the game two minutes into the fourth quarter. Pierce led all Celtics with 24 points.

- The Hawks dominated the boards from the very start of the game and outrebounded the Celtics 47-29. A breakdown by quarter – first: Hawks 12-4, second: 13-9, third: 11-10, fourth: 11-6.

- The Celtics failed to connect on key free throws down the stretch. Rajon Rondo missed two, down nine with 3:24 to go. Pierce only hit one of two when the Celtics were down seven with 2:21 left in the game. The Celtics finished the night 17-for-23 from the line.

- It was an ugly three-point shooting night for the second game in a row. On Wednesday night the Celtics shot 7-for-19 and held the Jazz to 0-for-10. On Friday it was the Celtics who struggled, shooting 1-15 while the Hawks were 4-15.