LEAD: Short-handed Celtics show no mercy, spank Magic, 87-56

By Paul Levine Jan 24, 2012, 8:11 GMT

Los Angeles - The Boston Celtics had no Ray Allen, no Rajon Rondo - and no mercy.

Paul Pierce and Brandon Bass scored 19 points apiece as the shorthanded Celtics beat up the visiting Orlando Magic 87-56 on Monday night in record-breaking fashion.

'When you're faced with adversity like we were tonight, the guys did a great job of responding,' Pierce said. 'You have one of the best shooting teams in the NBA and you hold them to fifty something points. That's just amazing.'

The Celtics rolled to their second straight win without All-Star guards Allen (jammed right ankle), Rondo (right wrist sprain) and three reserves by sending the Magic into the franchise-record books for fewest points scored in a game.

The Celtics forced their guests to shoot an ice-cold 24.6 per cent (16-of-65) from the field.

'That was just great,' Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said of the defensive effort. 'No Ray, no Rajon, you never know how it's going to affect our team. Defensively, it was as good as you can get.'

Kevin Garnett chipped in with 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics (7-9), who earned their first win over a team with a better than .500 record this season.

After leading 46-36 at halftime, the Celtics allowed the Magic just 20 points on 5-of-27 shooting in the third and fourth quarters to complete the lopsided win.

'They came out and absolutely dominated us with their energy and defensive intensity,' Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said.

Dwight Howard had 18 points with and 14 rebounds for Orlando, which had its four-game winning snapped.

Elsewhere: Dallas Mavericks 93, Phoenix Suns 87: Shawn Marion poured in a season-high 29 points, and the reigning NBA champion Mavericks - minus top scorer Dirk Nowitzki and key reserve Vince Carter - ran their home-winning streak to seven games after shading the Suns. Martin Gortat had 19 points with 17 rebounds for the Suns, who have dropped the last nine meetings in the series.

Chicago Bulls 110, New Jersey Nets 95: League most valuable player Derrick Rose returned from a left big toe sprain with 22 points, and Richard Hamilton also had 22 as the league-best Bulls overcame the absence of forward Luol Deng (sprained left wrist) to run past the visiting Nets for their fourth straight win.

Atlanta Hawks 97, Milwaukee Bucks 92: Joe Johnson scored half his season-high 28 points in the final quarter, Josh Smith added 19 with 13 rebounds, including the go-ahead triple with 9.7 seconds left, carrying the visiting Hawks past the Bucks. Brandon Jennings paced Milwaukee with 22 points and 11 assists.

Philadelphia 76ers 103, Washington Wizards 83: Elton Brand and Jrue Holiday scored 17 points apiece, and the Sixers opened up a 30-point first-half cushion before coasting past the league-worst Wizards (2-15).

San Antonio Spurs 104, New Orleans Hornets 102: Tim Duncan scored a season-high 28 points, including the game-winning 13-foot hook shot with 1.4 seconds left, as the visiting Spurs handed the hapless Hornets their eighth straight loss.

Oklahoma City Thunder 99, Detroit Pistons 79: Russell Westbrook and reserve James Harden scored 24 points apiece, and the Thunder ran up a 30-point lead in the opening half to hand the visiting Pistons their 11th loss in the last 13 games.

Houston Rockets 107, Minnesota Timberwolves 92: Kevin Martin scored 31 points, Kyle Lowery had a second career triple double with 16 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds, as the red-hot Rockets went on a game-breaking 19-1 second-half run for their seventh straight win despite 39 points and 12 rebounds by T-Wolves' All-Star forward Kevin Love.

Memphis Grizzlies 91, Golden State Warriors 90: Rudy Gay scored 23 points, Mike Conley added 20, including the go-ahead layup with 1 minute 23 seconds left, as the surging Grizzlies rallied from 20 down in the third quarter to stun the Warriors for their seventh straight win. Monta Ellis had 20 points for Golden State, who were outscored 39-17 in the final frame.