In Doc Rivers return to Orlando, he got a victory for his players, and his players won one for their coach.

Rivers steered his team back on course while gaining a measure of revenge on his old squad, and the Boston Celtics snapped a four-game losing streak by beating the Orlando Magic 117-101 on Monday night.

The Magic fired Rivers a year ago, after four-plus seasons, when the team stumbled out to a 1-10 start. Rivers, the NBA's coach of the year in 2001, had a 171-168 record with three trips to the playoffs.

But he insisted there was nothing personal about beating his former team.

"For me, I just kept it on the guys," Rivers said. "It couldn't be about me. It had to be about the players, and the players answered tonight."

While Rivers deflected inquiries about his return, his players knew what it meant to him.

"I know Doc is feeling pretty good about this team and the fact they let him go this year," said Paul Pierce, whose 24 points led seven players in double figures. "It worked out for him and the team tonight."

"They attack the basket, so we thought if we could get stops and get up and down the court, then we could beat them before they set their defense," Rivers said. "That was something we saw on film that we could take advantage of, but the key was getting stops first."