BOSTON // Kevin Garnett returned after missing nine games with an injured leg and came up with a steal in the final seconds to help the Boston Celtics beat the Orlando Magic 109-106.
Garnett went around Jameer Nelson and intercepted a pass intended for Jason Richardson, then threw the ball ahead to Ray Allen. Allen was fouled trying to dribble out the clock, but he made both free throws - giving him 26 points for the game and 13 in the fourth quarter alone.
Garnett scored 19 with eight rebounds in his first game since he strained his right calf on December 29. Rajon Rondo had 10 points and 13 assists.
Dwight Howard scored 33 points with 13 rebounds and Ryan Anderson scored 16 points, including four three-pointers, for the Magic.
There were 10 lead changes in the third quarter and six more in the fourth as the Magic scored eight straight points to turn a six-point deficit into a 95-93 lead.
Allen hit a pair of three-pointers to answer 3s by Jason Richardson and Hedo Turkoglu, but a third three-pointer by Allen was negated when Garnett was called for a moving pick.
That left it 102-102 with 65secs left.
It was tied again with 39secs left when Paul Pierce, who had not scored in the fourth quarter, stepped in to draw a foul on Richardson before hitting a jumper; he converted the three-point play to give Boston a 107-104 lead.
On the Magic’s next possession, Nelson tried to push the ball to Richardson but Garnett, who was stepping around a screen, got his fingertips on the ball and then gathered it in.
It was the third straight win for Boston, who went 6-3 with Garnett out. The Celtics had been 5-5 since Christmas Day, when they lost to 86-78 to the Magic to snap a 14-game winning streak in the team’s only other meeting this season.
Orlando ended a two-game losing streak with a victory over Minnesota on Saturday, improving to 10-4 since the trade that brought Hedo Turkoglu, Gilbert Arenas and Richardson to the Magic.
The teams have met in the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, with Orlando knocking Boston out in 2009 and the Celtics eliminating the Magic last year.