Rajon Rondo had a season-high 26 points and contributed seven assists to help the Boston Celtics record an impressive 91-80 victory over the visiting Orlando Magic on Sunday.

Paul Pierce scored 18 points and Kevin Garnett had 16 and nine rebounds as Boston improved its Eastern Conference-best record to 38-12.

Dwight Howard had 28 points and 13 rebounds for Orlando (32-20), which is just 7-8 over its last 15 games.

The Celtics played stellar defense and limited Orlando to 34.4-percent shooting, including 3-for-24 shooting from 3-point range. Howard didn’t score a second-half field goal until little more than a minute remained.

Boston’s Ray Allen scored 11 points and made two 3-point baskets. He is now three 3-point baskets behind Reggie Miller’s NBA record of 2,560.

Ryan Anderson added 12 points for Orlando.

Celtics guard Marquis Daniels suffered an apparent neck injury early in the second quarter. Daniels was carried off on a stretcher and transported to a hospital.

Boston led 46-43 at halftime and started the second half with a 24-12 run to take control.