NBA
Magic beats Celtics, forces Game 7
The pressure is back on the defending champions. Dwight Howard had 23 points and 22 rebounds, and the Orlando Magic beat the Boston Celtics, 83-75, on Thursday night to force a decisive Game 7. Rashard Lewis had 20 points, and Hedo Turkoglu made a three-pointer to highlight an 11-2 run to close the game for the Magic, who haven't made it to the conference finals since 1996. Rajon Rondo finished with 19 points, 16 rebounds and six assists, and Paul Pierce scored 17 for the Celtics, who led by 10 points in the second half before falling apart. Game 7 is Sunday in Boston. The Celtics also failed to close out the Chicago Bulls in Game 6 of their first-round series, a triple-overtime epic. Boston will now go the distance in its first two series for the second straight year. Boston had chances. The Celtics held the Magic scoreless for more than five minutes to start the third quarter, building a 10-point lead on a jumper by Glen "Big Baby" Davis. But Howard led the Magic back, with a backspin alley-oop from Turkoglu that highlighted a spurt to end the third quarter. Orlando took its first lead with 8:38 remaining in the fourth.
Mavericks: : Forward Josh Howard will be in New York next week for arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle. Howard missed 22 games this season because of the ankle. He returned in late March and played through pain but was a big part of Dallas' run to the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference and first-round playoff series win against San Antonio. Howard said Thursday that doctors are "just going in there to clean out all the junk."
76ers: : Philadelphia will interview former NBA coach Eddie Jordan on Friday for their head coaching vacancy. He was fired by Washington in November and interviewed with Sacramento this week. The 76ers finished 41-41 overall this season, 32-27 under Tony DiLeo, who replaced the fired Maurice Cheeks. DiLeo stepped down as coach Monday and returned to his job as a vice president and assistant general manager.
Jurisprudence: : Darius Miles of the Grizzlies was charged with possession of marijuana after police searched his car during a traffic stop in the St. Louis suburb of Fairview Heights. Miles played in 35 games for the Grizzlies this past season and averaged 3.5 points. ... A woman arrested last week at Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki's house has been arraigned in a Texas jail. A judge arraigned 37-year-old Cristal Taylor in the Jefferson County Jail in Beaumont on a theft of services charge. Taylor was charged under a 2006 indictment with theft for allegedly failing to pay for dental services ranging from $1,500 to $20,000.
