Orlando, FL (Sports Network) - Hedo Turkoglu's three-pointer as time expired lifted Orlando over a short-handed Boston team, 96-93, in a battle of division leaders.

The Celtics hung tough despite playing without All-Star Kevin Garnett, who missed the game with a pulled stomach muscle suffered in the team's Friday win over his former club, the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Turkoglu made a pair of free throws with under a minute to go to give the Magic a 93-88 edge but Rajon Rondo managed to sneak a layup past Dwight Howard before Ray Allen deadlocked things at 93 by burying a three from the left corner with just 14.1 seconds on the clock.

After a timeout, Orlando went to Turkoglu at the top of the circle. The Turkish star then deked left before dropping a turnaround three in the face of Paul Pierce to win it.

"It was a good shot," Pierce said. "I thought I played pretty good defense. I cut off the initial drive, he turned around and shot a three-pointer from two to three feet off the line and sunk the shot. It was just a great shot."

Turkoglu finished with 27 points for the Magic, who have won four of their past five and continue to lead the Southeast Division. Howard added 18 points and 16 rebounds, while Rashard Lewis chipped in with 15 points for Orlando.

"I didn't really want to settle for a jumper," Turkoglu said of his game winner. "I just tried to go to the hole and take a foul but they had good defense and forced me to take a tough shot."

Pierce had 24 points and nine boards for the Celtics, who have lost six straight in Orlando but still possess the NBA's best record at 34-8. Allen pitched in with 17 points, while Rondo finished with 15 points and five assists.

"I don't believe in moral victories," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "We wanted to win the game and we played well enough to win the game. I thought we took them out of whatever they were trying to run and Turkoglu turned around and made a tough shot so I can live with that."

The Magic entered the second half trailing by three points but seemed to take over with a dominant third quarter. Orlando quickly evened things at 49 on a Howard layup with 9:28 left in the frame.

The Magic then distanced themselves with a 23-7 run over the next several minutes. Brian Cook fueled the burst with consecutive threes before Turkoglu finished it with a pair of free throws to make it a 72-56 game with 2:40 remaining in the third.

Boston recovered a bit from there but Orlando still took a 10-point cushion, 75-65, into the final frame.

The Celtics continued to chip away early in the fourth quarter, however. After Rondo hit a pair of free throws, Allen deposited a three and Pierce followed with a conventional three-point play to make it a one-possession game, 78-76, with 8:24 remaining in the game.

Moments later, Allen dropped in another three from the left corner to cap an 11-0 run and Boston was back on top, 79-78.

Lewis finally stopped the bleeding at the other end by drawing contact and draining two free throws with 7:23 left.

That seemed to steady the Magic, who regained a measure of control over the next few minutes. Lewis stuck a turnaround jumper, Howard followed with a thunderous slam and Lewis dropped in his first triple of the game to make it a 89-81 game with 3:33 on the clock.

The Celtics had one last run in them. Perkins made a pair from the line and Allen followed with a driving layup to draw Boston within three, 91-88, with 1:13 left.

Boston edged out to a 23-19 advantage after the opening 12 minutes and continued to hold a slim lead at halftime, 46-43.