"Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo both shot 2 for 12 in last night's 95-90 Game 1 loss to the Magic in the Eastern Conference semifinals, and they combined on a key turnover in transition after the Celtics closed to within 91-87 in the final minute.

Rondo particularly got off to a slow start, and he finished with seven turnovers. Backup guard Stephon Marbury ended up having his most impressive outing since joining the Celtics in late February, with 8 points and 3 assists in less than 9 minutes. But Marbury remained on the bench in the second half.

"He was terrific," coach Doc Rivers said of Marbury. "It was a tough call for a coach because you wanted to go back with him in the second half. But Rondo got it going and we were playing with such speed that we just stayed with that group."

Said Marbury, "We have to come prepared and ready. As a team, we were prepared from the coaching staff, but we didn't go out and execute the gameplan. You can take some positives. We get our opportunity to watch film and see what we did in the second half.

"It's a long series, it's seven games. I think for us we just have to continue to play with the mind-set we played with in the second half."

Tough first step

The loss marked only the second time the Celtics have dropped Game 1 of successive playoff series. It previously happened in 2002, against Detroit in the second round and vs. New Jersey in the Eastern Conference final, which the Celtics lost in six games. The Celtics fell, 105-103, to the Bulls April 18 in Game 1 of their first-round series in these playoffs . . . Before the game, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge clarified the status of Kevin Garnett, saying he "wasn't planning on him the rest of the season." Garnett is sidelined with a strained right knee, and also will have surgery on that knee to remove a bone spur, though he has not set a date for the procedure. "He's still in a lot of pain," Ainge said in a text message before last night's game. "That's why he is not playing. If he could play, he would. If he could help us win, he would." "