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Magic hope to avoid 2-0 series hole vs. Celtics

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05/18/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If you live by the sword, you die by the sword, or in the case of the Orlando Magic, if you live by the three, you die by the three.

The long-range bombs were misfiring for Orlando in the opener of its Eastern Conference Finals series with Boston on Sunday and now the Magic find themselves squarely behind the eight-ball as the teams get set for Game 2 of the series on Tuesday night.

Paul Pierce netted 22 points, grabbed nine rebounds and handed out five assists to lead the Celtics to a 92-88 wire-to-wire victory over Orlando in Game 1.

Boston, which finished off its second-round upset of the top-seeded Cavaliers on Thursday, continued its solid play by forcing 18 turnovers and holding the Magic to 22.7 percent shooting from three-point range to hand Orlando its first loss this postseason. In fact, the Magic hadn't tasted defeat since falling in San Antonio in the regular season, well over a month ago (April 2).

Orlando head coach Stan Van Gundy certainly wasn't happy with his shooters but blamed the loss on his team's inability to protect the ball.

"The biggest thing was turnovers," Van Gundy said. "We aren't giving ourselves a chance to win with 18 turnovers. We have to be able to convert better in the paint. I thought we got the ball into the paint, but we weren't very efficient. Nothing is going to be easy in this series."

The Magic trailed by as many as 20 points before cutting the deficit to five in the final minute. Rashard Lewis, who finished 0-for-6 from three-point range, missed a three with the Magic trailing 88-83, but J.J. Redick controlled a long rebound, and Dwight Howard cleaned up a Jameer Nelson miss for a three-point game with 26.1 seconds on the clock.

Pierce was fouled with 12.9 to go and hit both free throws to end a 5 1/2- minute scoreless drought for Boston. Vince Carter was hacked 3.5 ticks later going to the hoop and hit the first before missing the second from the stripe.

Nelson came from the top of the key to put in an acrobatic tip shot, though Ray Allen pushed it back to two possessions with a 2-for-2 effort at the line with 6.1 seconds remaining. Lewis' missed three -- his sixth of the game -- gave the Celtics their fourth straight win and allowed Boston to steal home- court advantage.

"I really felt like the two days off was just enough. We felt really good going into this game. Our rhythm was there," Pierce said. "We have to expect Orlando to be ready in Game 2. Hopefully we come in with the same type of rhythm."

Allen ended with 25 points, while Kevin Garnett grabbed 11 rebounds to go with eight points for the Celtics, who received eight points and eight assists from Rajon Rondo.

Rasheed Wallace was solid off the bench with 13 points and helped contain Howard on the defensive end.

"I think defensively in the first half we were terrific," Boston head coach Doc Rivers said. "It was a defensive game. We like those. They're good for us."

Howard, who missed a total of five shots in a second-round sweep of the Hawks, finished with 13 points on 3-of-10 shooting to go with 12 rebounds and five blocked shots but committed seven turnovers.

Carter and Nelson chipped in 23 and 20 points, respectively, for Orlando, which had won 14 straight games dating back to the regular season, including sweeps over Charlotte and Atlanta in the playoffs.

The latter was especially impressive, as the Magic recorded the largest victory margin in a four-game sweep in NBA playoff history, winning the series against the Hawks by a total of 101 points.

"I don't think we moved the ball like we needed to get them off our bodies," Howard said. "That's what we have to do to beat this team."

The Magic won three of four games vs. the Celtics in the regular season this year and has taken both previous playoff matchups between the two franchises, last year's Eastern Conference semifinals set and a first round win back in the 1994-95 season.

The best-of-seven series continues on Saturday in Boston for Game 3.

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FOOTBALL BETTING : Cassel Signs Contract

Kansas City, MO - Kansas City has not officially named Matt Cassel its starting quarterback, but there can be no doubt now.

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After praising his leadership and work ethic through spring workouts, the Chiefs announced Tuesday they had signed the 27-year-old Cassel to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he will almost certainly be one of the highest-paid members of the team.
"We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come," owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization."
Patriots made him their franchise player, meaning his salary for this season will be about $15 million.
New head coach Todd Haley, taking over for Herm Edwards after a 2-14 season, refused to name a starter at any position during offseason workouts. But it was obvious to everyone the team belonged to Cassel.
"I go out there each and every day with that focus that I'm the starter," Cassel said during a June minicamp. "Competition brings out the best in everybody."
The signing will come as welcome news to Cassel's new coaches and teammates. Amiable and hardworking, online football betting he appeared to win over everyone at minicamp.
"I think he's got some unique leadership qualities. I think his teammates like him and have respect for him. I think he's doing a pretty good job on the field, too," Haley said last month. "He's doing everything that I'm asking him, that our coaches are asking him to do. I don't have one single complaint how he's carrying himself."
After one workout, wide receiver Devard Darling declared Cassel "a breath of fresh air."
"He has a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence. It's good for us," said Darling. "We trust in him that he's going to go out there and lead us all the way."
nse to accommodate his specific abilities.
Trapped on the bench behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and then unable to unseat Super Bowl MVP Brady at New England, Cassel seemed destined to be a backup all his life. As Brady was helped off the field last September, Cassel seized the opportunity he'd been waiting for since high school.
In his only sustained action since his teens, he hit 349 of 555 passes for 3,949 yards at New England. He had 23 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions as the Patriots, who had gone unbeaten through the regular season the year before, finished 11-5 and out of the playoffs.
Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had been Bill Belichick's assistant in New England, engineered the trade after the Patriots became convinced that Brady would recover fully from his knee operation.
"Since Matt arrived in Kansas City, he has embraced the team and the community," Pioli said. "His work ethic, his ability and competitive presence is what we expect from our players."

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