Both Game 3s on Friday night have one thing common, other than being knotted at one game apiece: A starting point guard in each will not be on the floor due to a suspension. Also note that ESPN takes over from TNT for a night.

Boston Celtics at Orlando Magic, Game 3 (ESPN)

The bounce-back game that nearly everyone expected from Boston came to fruition on Wednesday night with the Celtics evening this series with a 112-94 win and only their second home cover of the playoffs. It ended Orlando's three-game winning streak against Boston and three-game playoff winning streak overall.

What I'm fairly sure about is that no one expected Boston would be led by Eddie House's 31 points on 11-for-14 shooting. The points were his most ever in a playoff game, and the 27 minutes were House's most in the postseason since 2001. It helped make up for the fact that Paul Pierce was a non-factor with foul trouble.

House also clearly got into the head of Magic starting point guard Rafer Alston, who slapped House in the back of the head in clear view of everyone in the third period. Alston claimed House had elbowed him while celebrating another of his baskets, but it was a dumb move for a veteran. It only cost him a technical during the game, but the NBA suspended Alston for Game 3. He was averaging 7.5 points and 6.0 assists this series but shooting a dismal 27.3 percent.

Thus the Magic will start journeyman Anthony Johnson at point guard and dust off Tyronn Lue to back him up, although small forward Hedo Turkoglu probably will handle the ball a lot.

Orlando, a 4.5-point favorite on BetUS, is hoping to get back starting shooting guard Courtney Lee for Game 3. Out since Game 5 of the Sixers series with a fractured sinus cavity, Lee returned to the team Wednesday after last week's surgery but hasn't yet been activated. Lee said he is getting used to the protective mask he must wear but will be listed as a game-time decision. Even if Lee plays, backup J.J. Redick has definitely earned more playing time, as he is averaging 13.5 points in this series and shooting 60 percent from the 3-point line.

But that thin Magic backcourt was thoroughly dominated in Game 2, so look for big games against from Boston's Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo (a triple-double on Wednesday) and, yes, even House. The Celtics also love being a playoff dog, having covered seven of the past eight occurrences.

Los Angeles Lakers at Houston Rockets, Game 3 (ESPN)

The Lakers will have a suspended player for Friday night's Game 3 in Houston, but that's actually good news for L.A.: It could have been two suspended players.

Point guard Derek Fisher (10.5 ppg, 2.5 apg in this series), who dropped his shoulder and drove into Houston's Luis Scola on a screen in Game 2, won't play against the Rockets. The veteran claimed that Houston's big men, including Scola, had been setting tougher-than-usual screens in a very physical game.

"He, Yao [Ming] and [Carl] Landry . . . for some reason they get to tee off on the little guys up there when they're coming to set screens," Fisher said to reporters. "I knew he was coming. I was going to give a good, hard foul, with no intent to harm or injure anyone."

Either Jordan Farmar or Shannon Brown will start at the point, but Lamar Odom and Kobe Bryant both figure to handle the ball most of the time. L.A. has opened as a 1-point road favorite on BetUS and has covered in eight of its past 10 trips to Houston.

Speaking of Kobe, his elbow to Ron Artest in Game 2 won't cost him a game. Kobe wasn't even called for a foul on the play - in fact, humorously, Artest was. But the NBA has given Bryant a Flagrant One foul for the elbow. Bryant would have to get two more of those, or a Flagrant Two, in order to miss a game. Kobe had 40 points in Game 2.

So while Bryant was back to normal on Wednesday, the Lakers' worries again center on their center, Andrew Bynum. After a terrible series against the Jazz, in which Bynum was replaced in the starting lineup by Odom, he was equally ineffective in Game 1 against Houston's Yao Ming. So Odom started in Game 2, and Bynum played less than nine minutes, missing his only two shots to go with one rebound, one assist and three fouls.

"It's mental," Bynum said of his recent slump. "It's not really physical."

But Houston couldn't capitalize on Bynum this time, as Yao picked up two fouls in the first quarter and another before halftime. He finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes but a team-worst (by far) plus/minus rating of -29.

The Rockets, by the way, haven't been a home dog this season since Feb. 26 against Cleveland, a game they won. Houston was 3-0 at home in the first round, covering just once.