Magic hand Celtics first loss of season

The Boston Celtics had been a perfect 8-0 and the league’s only remaining undefeated team but Sunday evening they lost 102-104 in Orlando to the Magic. Hedo Turkoglu stepped up in the 4th quarter, especially from three-point range.

Orlando got 44 free throw attempts in the game, while Boston had just 26. Both teams struggled from the charity stripe, however. Dwight Howard alone had 20 free throws, making just 10.

Boston dominated the glass, winning the rebounding battle 41-28. Aside from Kevin Garnett’s 11 rebounds it was a total team effort on the boards.

For Orlando, Dwight Howard shot 7-of-9 for 24 points and 3 blocks. He had just 6 rebounds. Rashard Lewis shot 6-of-11 for 22 points and 3 assists, but just 2 rebounds. Jameer Nelson took 15 shots to get 18 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Hedo Turkoglu took 13 shots for 16 points and 6 rebounds. And Keith Bogans needed 10 shots to get 10 points.

For Boston, Paul Pierce shot 10-of-17 for 28 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. Ray Allen needed 17 shots to get 19 points, plus 5 rebounds. Rajon Rondo, a bright spot for the Celtics today, shot 8-of-9 for 18 points and 5 rebounds, though he dished just 3 assists. Kevin Garnett was quiet offensively, shooting 7-of-13 and not getting a single free throw attempt for 14 points, 11 rebounds and 1 assist. He fouled out.

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Warriors assign Kosta Perovic to D-League

The Golden State Warriors have assigned center Kosta Perovic (COAST-a PEAR-a-vich) to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League, Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Mullin announced today.

Perovic, 22, has not appeared in any of Golden State’s first seven games during the 2007-08 regular season, spending the first five games on the inactive list.  The 7-2 center, who was originally drafted by Golden State with the 38th overall selection in the 2006 NBA Draft out of Serbia, is a rookie this season after staying overseas to play the 2006-07 campaign in Serbia.

Perovic is the sixth player assigned to the D-League from the NBA following Ramon Sessions (Milwaukee Bucks), Kyrylo Fesenko (Utah Jazz), Steve Novak (Houston Rockets), Brandon Wallace (Boston Celtics) and JamesOn Curry (Chicago Bulls).

The D-League is way ahead of last years pace in terms of NBA player assignments. During the 2006-07 season there hadn’t been one NBA player assigned at this point. The first player sent to the NBA Development League occurred on November 22, 2006 when Ryan Hollins of the Charlotte Bobcats was assigned to the Fort Worth Flyers from the Charlotte Bobcats.

Perovic joins a Bakersfield club led by head coach Jim Harrick who won the 1995 NCAA Championship with UCLA. The team tips off their second season in the NBA Development League on November 24 when they visit the Austin Toros, the affiliate of the defending NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs.

Rasho Nesterovic out 1-2 weeks with ankle sprain

The Toronto Raptors announced Sunday that following further evaluation and testing by team medical personnel, centre Rasho Nestervoic is expected to be sidelined for one to two weeks with a Grade 2 sprain of his right ankle.

Nesterovic sustained the injury at the six minute mark of the third quarter of Wednesday’s game versus Utah. He will not join the team on its upcoming road trip to Dallas (Tuesday) and Memphis (Wednesday).