Imagine how good the new-look Orlando Magic will be once they
become familiar with each other.

The Magic overcame Dwight Howard's
worst offensive game of the season and a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit to
rally for an 86-78 home victory over the Boston Celtics, who had their 14-game
winning streak snapped.

One week after revamping their roster with two
huge trades, the Magic ended an opponent's long winning streak for the second
time in as many games. On Thursday, Orlando stopped San Antonio's 10-game
run.

"We're showing what we can possibly be," said Magic guard Gilbert
Arenas, one of the recent arrivals.

With little practice time, the
Magic lost their first three games after acquiring Arenas from Washington and
Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu and Earl Clark from Phoenix. They had lost eight
of nine before winning their last two against two of the NBA's best - and
hottest - teams, giving their confidence a boost.

"That's a great
thing for our team to get that belief that, yeah, this can work. We can do
this," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said.

With seven minutes to play, it
didn't look that way. Howard had just one basket, Arenas and Richardson were
struggling and Orlando trailed, 71-62. But the Magic tightened their defense and
got a huge lift from Brandon Bass and Jameer Nelson.

After Richardson
drained a three-pointer, Bass sank a pair of jumpers to cut the deficit to 73-69
with 4 1/2 minutes left. Bass picked up the slack for Howard with 21 points and
nine rebounds.

"There's times during the game when we have five guys
out on the perimeter, and you've got to guard us," Arenas said.

Kevin
Garnett responded with a pair of baskets, rebuilding Boston's lead to 77-71 with
3:20 left. But the Celtics missed their last seven shots and Nelson took charge
down the stretch.

After Howard made a free throw, Nelson drilled a
three-pointer to make it a two-point game. Bass tied it with a jumper and Nelson
buried another three-pointer to give Orlando an 80-77 lead with 1:19
remaining.

"Jameer is never afraid," Van Gundy said. "He's tough in
those situations and he's been in them a lot."

"He's got the biggest
heart on that team," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "He's just a warrior and he
does it all the time."

Garnett split two foul shots before J.J. Redick
made a 20-footer with 43 seconds left. The Celtics kept misfiring, and Nelson
sank four free throws to cap a 15-1 game-ending run.

Turkoglu scored
16 points, Nelson added 12 and Redick 11 as they covered for Howard, who had a
season-low six points on 1-of-4 shooting. He made 4-of-10 free throws,
forfeiting one when he took longer than the allotted 10 seconds to
shoot.

Even without Howard's customary impact, the Magic became the
first team since the Los Angeles Lakers in April 1997 to stop winning streaks of
at least 10 games in consecutive contests.

"You see what the
possibilities are," Van Gundy said. "You see that you have a chance to be a
really good team. (But) we're not there yet by any means."

Garnett
scored 22 points, Paul Pierce added 18 and Glen Davis 16 for the Celtics, who
shot less than 35 percent (28-of-81) and lost for the first time since Nov. 21
at Toronto.

Miami 96, LA Lakers 80=

LeBron James had a
triple-double with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists as the visiting Heat
won for the 14th time in 15 games. Chris Bosh had 24 points and 13 boards for
Miami, which has won nine straight road games.

Kobe Bryant and Spanish
star Pau Gasol scored 17 points apiece for the Lakers, who fell to 4-8 on
Christmas since 1999 and have lost consecutive home games with their two worst
offensive showings of the season.

New York 103, Chicago 95=

Amar'e
Stoudemire had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the host Knicks, who held the Bulls
scoreless for more than eight minutes of the fourth quarter. Carlos Boozer had
26 points and 19 boards for Chicago.

Oklahoma City 114, Denver
106=

Kevin Durant scored a season-high 44 points for the Thunder, who
have won seven of nine. Chauncey Billups scored a season-high 30 for the
visiting Nuggets, who again were without leading scorer Carmelo
Anthony.

Golden State 109, Portland 102=

Monta Ellis scored 10 of
his 39 points in the final four-plus minutes for the host Warriors. Wesley
Matthews scored 25 points for the Trail Blazers, who had a three-game winning
streak snapped.