When the Orlando Magic lost Game 1 of their first-round playoff series to the Philadelphia 76ers, Allen sent a text message essentially telling Lewis to keep his head up. And now they're head-to-head in the second round, a place both players probably had trouble envisioning two years ago.

``My message to him was to let him know that we were all watching,'' Allen said leading up to last night's Game 1 at the Garden. ``Rashard is still a good friend of mine. He's made such a transformation from when he first got into the NBA. We won and lost a lot together, and the ones we lost were more important in a way because those brought us closer together.

``So now I wish him well, but I don't. It's the spirit of competition now. We love each other, but we don't. I think knowing each other like we do makes you compete harder against each other.''

The friendship/rivalry also spans generations.

``My mom (Flo) and his mom (Juanita Brown) both live in Orlando, and they're good friends,'' Allen said. ``They both go back and forth with each other. We're always kidding them that we know the both of you really want to separate and start talking trash to each other when the game is on. It's kind of funny.''

It's also earnest.

When the Allen family and a large group of Celtics wives took part in the Walk for Diabetes along the Esplanade last October - a group effort triggered by the diagnosis of Allen's youngest son, Walker, with Type 1 diabetes - Lewis' mother flew north to take part in the walk. Brown also has a history of diabetes in her family.

Howard's a fan

Young star that he is, Dwight Howard has a handle on the latest technology, including the latest forms of communication.

The Orlando center Twitters. That's how he spent part of the time in his hotel room last Thursday while serving a one-game suspension for elbowing the Sixers' Samuel Dalembert in the head. The Magic didn't need him to eliminate Philadelphia in Game 6, and he needed something to do while watching the game. So he filed a running commentary for the edification of his fans.

``It was fun. I felt like I was a fan. I was cheering and Twittering,'' Howard said. ``I was Twittering and Tweeting so much I think I might need to go to Tweet-hab.''

Howard's networking left the door open for some interesting questions, including this one: ``How many push-ups could I do if Shaq(uille O'Neal) was on my back?''

J.J. on Ray Ray

Coach Stan Van Gundy was beset with questions of how Orlando planned to guard Allen, now that Courtney Lee is out following surgery to repair a cracked sinus cavity.

J.J. Redick has been left to withstand the onslaught of picks while chasing the Celtics guard.

``I didn't hear a lot of these questions about the Bulls matchup on Ray Allen, and he got 51 points on them,'' Van Gundy said. ``I think J.J. can hold him to that.''

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