And it's tough, as well, to call yourself a defensive team when you allow the Magic to shoot 59.1 percent from the floor.

With Jameer Nelson out for the season and Rafer Alston suspended one game for giving Eddie House a dope slap, it was expected that Rajon Rondo could almost singlehandedly take back homecourt advantage for the Celtics . He'd gone for his third triple-double of the playoffs in Game 2, and with a 34-year-old insurance policy starting for the Magic, Rondo figured to go off.

Anthony Johnson is the very definition of journeyman with 11 NBA stops, if you include the multiples with Atlanta, Sacramento and Orlando, not to mention a D-League stint.

Rondo had to tell himself before the game not to try to force things. He needn't have worried. That option was pretty much taken out of his hands by the Magic marksmanship. And when Johnson went for 11 of his 13 points in the first half, well, he'd made his point.

``He's a wily old tough veteran, and he came to play,'' C's coach Doc Rivers said of Johnson. ``And he deserves it. He deserved that performance. He's paid his dues and he keeps hanging in there, and when you give him a shot he'll do something.''

The Celtics did relatively nothing. Rondo made 7-of-17 shots on the way to 15 points, five rebounds and six assists.

``I think part of it was they were scoring every time, and so we were a halfcourt Basketball team,'' Rivers said. ``And that's never good for us.

``(But) I thought (Rondo) went to the floaters more than the attack mode. We've got to keep him seeing how good he is when he attacks bodies and attacks the paint and creates havoc. In his defense, I do think it's very difficult when every single time you're taking the ball out of the net. It's very difficult to get into any type of tempo or running game. I thought that had a lot to do with it, as well.''

Ah, defense. It, too, was sidelined. When the Celts most needed to make a stand, after they'd cut a 20-point deficit to seven, they stumbled. They were back in the game with more than 11 minutes left, but Orlando went on to score seven straight.

``It was terrible tonight,'' Rondo said of the defense. ``We just didn't play well at all defensively. I can only speak for myself. I didn't keep the ball in front of me. I think it came from our offense. We struggled offensively and didn't get some calls, and it leaked over to the defense.''

Rivers was similarly pointed.

``Well, our defense was awful,'' he said. ``They made every shot. I thought they were the aggressors the entire night and we were the retaliators. You know, a team that led the NBA in field goal percentage (defense) and is supposed to be a great defensive team, we sure didn't act that way tonight.''

Left to set up in the halfcourt, the Celts found themselves trailing 16-4 in free throw attempts at the half. When Rondo did beat Johnson, he didn't get all the way to the goal.

Tough night for Rondo. Tough night for the Celtics . Tough to blame anyone but themselves.

- sbulpett@bostonherald.com