Celtics rally past Magic in Game 5

He’s technically a member of the defending champions, but Stephon Marbury doesn’t have the ring, doesn’t have the memories of the Boston Celtics’ 17th NBA title. So he’s doing what he can to help them win an 18th.

“I’m playing basketball this year. For me, that was enough,” Marbury said Tuesday night after scoring all of his 12 points in the final quarter to help Boston rally from a 14-point deficit and beat the Orlando Magic, 92-88.

“From where I was, just being able to get back on the court after not playing the whole year, I know I’m blessed. I’m just happy that I had the opportunity to come out and help the Celtics win another championship.”

Ray Allen’s three-point basket with 1:20 left gave Boston its first lead since midway through the first quarter, and the Celtics took a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals with a chance to close it out in Game 6 in Orlando on Thursday night.

Dwight Howard had 12 points and 17 rebounds for the Magic, which did not make a basket after opening a 10-point lead with 5:39 to play. It didn’t help that, on one of the only times the Orlando defense played well, the officials ruled that Rajon Rondo’s apparent airball hit the rim and gave Boston a fresh 24-second clock with 37 seconds to play.

“You can watch it, you can write whether it hit the rim or not,” Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy said. “But you want us coaches to say it, so that I can donate money to the league and I can be called a whiner and everything.”

Paul Pierce had 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Celtics, and Glen Davis scored 10 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter.