Beat goes on for Celtics

Here’s fodder for those who want to do some early playoff handicapping.

The Celtics [team stats] now are 1-7 against Orlando and Atlanta. Add the Lakers and they’re 1-8.

An unidentified player told coach Doc Rivers following a 96-89 loss to Orlando yesterday that the Celtics still are the better team.

The numbers say otherwise. So does the Celtics coach.

“He said, ‘We’re better than Orlando, and I said, ‘No you’re not,’ ” said Rivers. “That’s a bunch of crap. They beat you three games - two at your place. They’re better. They knocked you out of the playoffs last year. Orlando’s better than you right now. Atlanta’s better than us right now. LA’s better than us right now.

“Those are the teams that have beaten us. It doesn’t mean that we can’t be better than them at some point. But right now, those teams are better than us.”

At the core of this problem is a tendency - no, make that a hell-bent urge - to get comfortable with early leads.

The C’s led by 11 points (51-40) at halftime and followed up that good work with the short end of a 36-11 third quarter. Ball movement froze, and the Magic kicked out with a 25-2 run over the last 6:56 of the quarter.

The first five scoring possessions of this explosion all were three-point swings, including a three-point play and two 3-pointers from Vince Carter. Rashard Lewis, now officially one of the most prolific Celtic killers in the NBA, buried two other treys.

Orlando carried a 76-62 lead into the fourth quarter, and the Celtics never pulled to within closer than 10 points of the visitors the rest of the way.

“Right now we can’t say that we’re better than Orlando,” said Ray Allen. “We can’t say that we’re better than Atlanta. We can’t say that we’re better than the Lakers. It’s all about what’s in the pudding, and right now we don’t have the proof.”

Rivers later referred to his players as “front-runners” - a team that plays well as long as the game is going well - and yesterday’s game was the poster event for such a statement.

The Celtics were great until the Magic, who lost star center Dwight Howard to foul trouble for all but nine minutes in the first half, hit back.

“Maybe we got too comfortable a lead, but we’re not disciplined enough. That’s our problem,” said Rajon Rondo [stats], who barely missed a triple-double with 17 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. “But it starts with me.

“The first game we blew a lead was home against Philly, and it’s been an ongoing issue. In the Atlanta series, three games out of four we had the lead going into the half and that just happened. We’re still hungry, but when we get up it’s not the same focus.

“We got stagnant. They went on a 20-5 run, then it was 30-5, and before you knew it, it was out of control. I don’t even recall what we ran in the third quarter, if we ran any sets. We only had three turnovers in the first half, and then coming out of the third we had eight. It’s difficult when teams score every time down. And then when you turn it over, you’re not running any set stuff.”

It goes deeper than running the offense, of course.

“Right now we’re trying to win consistently and be effective,” said Kevin Garnett. “We can sit up here and give y’all the answers, and you can write it down and put it in your papers, but until we do it, it’s what it is. This is more of a Celtic thing than anything. The coach can’t help you out there, the assistants can’t help you out there. It’s the guy who’s beside you. That’s what it’s going to come down to.”