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Regardless of who took the court for the Celtics on the second night of a road back-to-back, the Magic viewed defending-champion Boston as dangerous and treated the contest like a playoff game.
Orlando, who took the driver’s seat for the No. 7 spot in the East with a win against the Hawks less than 24 hours earlier, didn’t leave anything up for chance against the No. 2 team in the conference.
Outscoring the Celtics by 11 points in the third quarter, the Magic secured a key victory, 96-76, behind 23 points from Franz Wagner.
With the win in their final home game of the regular season, Orlando (40-40) clinches the No. 7 seed, homecourt advantage in the Play-In Tournament and secures back-to-back Southeast Division titles.
The win also secures the regular season series 2-1 for the Magic against Boston (59-21), a team they could face in the first round of the playoffs if Orlando advances out of the Play-In as the 7-seed.
But Boston was without key pieces to its championship squad including Jaylen Brown (right knee posterior impingement), Jrue Holiday (right shoulder impingement) Al Horford (right knee sprain), Kristaps Porzingis (return from illness reconditioning), Jayson Tatum (left ankle sprain) and Derrick White (left ankle sprain).
Still, the win offers Jamahl Mosley’s squad a clearer picture of their pathway to the playoffs. The Magic will the host the No. 8 seed (one of Miami, Chicago or Atlanta) next Tuesday at Kia Center (TNT, tip-off time TBD).
With their home slate complete, the Magic hit the road for the final two games of the regular season — at Indiana on Friday and at Atlanta on Sunday.
Despite a slow start, Orlando’s offense eventually found its groove as Boston’s reserves failed to keep up.
Franz Wagner found his spots on the floor and aggressively attacked the paint to total 20-plus points for the 12th straight game. He added 8 rebounds in 26 minutes.
Wagner helped power a third quarter that saw Orlando outcore Boston 31-20.
The Magic did a solid job limiting Boston’s chances from distance as well. The Celtics entered averaging the most made 3s (17.9) and the most 3-point attempts (48.3).
Against Orlando, Boston shot 7 of 40 (17.5%) from distance in the road loss.
The Magic also took advantage of errors and scored 25 points off 16 Boston turnovers.
Paolo Banchero, who missed his first 3 shots, recorded just 1 point in the opening frame. Totaling only 15 points in 29 minutes, his 20-game streak of scoring at least 20 points came to an end.
Banchero was able to sit the fourth quarter after playing 37 minutes the night prior.
A lull in the second quarter saw Orlando fail to score in the final 4:30 of the first half. The Magic, who led by as many as 19 points before the break, only held an 8-point advantage at intermission.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope only played 7 minutes in the first quarter against the Celtics.
The veteran guard did not see the floor in the second frame and was ruled early in the third due to a sore left knee. In 7 minutes, he missed a lone 3-point try and grabbed 2 rebounds.
He previously missed one game (Jan. 12) because of the soreness in the same knee.
Cole Anthony was piecing together an efficient first half from beyond the arc before he had to exit the game because of a health issue.
Anthony, who posted 10 points on 3 of 6 shooting from distance, puked near the Boston baseline after a defensive possession with 5:18 left in the first half.
Mosley jogged over to make sure Anthony was OK before the Magic guard made his way to the bench during a timeout. It wasn’t the first time he’s dealt with an in-game illness either this season.
Anthony returned late in the third quarter and finished with 18 points when he added two more triples with 8 rebounds.
After missing the past three games as a healthy scratch, Tristan da Silva started the fourth quarter with the final result already determined.
He played the entire final frame and notched 5 points with 3 rebounds in late-game action.
Jason Beede can be reached at [email protected]
Magic at Pacers
When: 7, Friday, Gainbridge Fieldhouse
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Florida
Continue reading...
Orlando, who took the driver’s seat for the No. 7 spot in the East with a win against the Hawks less than 24 hours earlier, didn’t leave anything up for chance against the No. 2 team in the conference.
Outscoring the Celtics by 11 points in the third quarter, the Magic secured a key victory, 96-76, behind 23 points from Franz Wagner.
With the win in their final home game of the regular season, Orlando (40-40) clinches the No. 7 seed, homecourt advantage in the Play-In Tournament and secures back-to-back Southeast Division titles.
The win also secures the regular season series 2-1 for the Magic against Boston (59-21), a team they could face in the first round of the playoffs if Orlando advances out of the Play-In as the 7-seed.
But Boston was without key pieces to its championship squad including Jaylen Brown (right knee posterior impingement), Jrue Holiday (right shoulder impingement) Al Horford (right knee sprain), Kristaps Porzingis (return from illness reconditioning), Jayson Tatum (left ankle sprain) and Derrick White (left ankle sprain).
Still, the win offers Jamahl Mosley’s squad a clearer picture of their pathway to the playoffs. The Magic will the host the No. 8 seed (one of Miami, Chicago or Atlanta) next Tuesday at Kia Center (TNT, tip-off time TBD).
With their home slate complete, the Magic hit the road for the final two games of the regular season — at Indiana on Friday and at Atlanta on Sunday.
What worked
Despite a slow start, Orlando’s offense eventually found its groove as Boston’s reserves failed to keep up.
Franz Wagner found his spots on the floor and aggressively attacked the paint to total 20-plus points for the 12th straight game. He added 8 rebounds in 26 minutes.
Wagner helped power a third quarter that saw Orlando outcore Boston 31-20.
The Magic did a solid job limiting Boston’s chances from distance as well. The Celtics entered averaging the most made 3s (17.9) and the most 3-point attempts (48.3).
Against Orlando, Boston shot 7 of 40 (17.5%) from distance in the road loss.
The Magic also took advantage of errors and scored 25 points off 16 Boston turnovers.
What didn’t
Paolo Banchero, who missed his first 3 shots, recorded just 1 point in the opening frame. Totaling only 15 points in 29 minutes, his 20-game streak of scoring at least 20 points came to an end.
Banchero was able to sit the fourth quarter after playing 37 minutes the night prior.
A lull in the second quarter saw Orlando fail to score in the final 4:30 of the first half. The Magic, who led by as many as 19 points before the break, only held an 8-point advantage at intermission.
KCP update
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope only played 7 minutes in the first quarter against the Celtics.
The veteran guard did not see the floor in the second frame and was ruled early in the third due to a sore left knee. In 7 minutes, he missed a lone 3-point try and grabbed 2 rebounds.
He previously missed one game (Jan. 12) because of the soreness in the same knee.
Anthony’s illness
Cole Anthony was piecing together an efficient first half from beyond the arc before he had to exit the game because of a health issue.
Anthony, who posted 10 points on 3 of 6 shooting from distance, puked near the Boston baseline after a defensive possession with 5:18 left in the first half.
Mosley jogged over to make sure Anthony was OK before the Magic guard made his way to the bench during a timeout. It wasn’t the first time he’s dealt with an in-game illness either this season.
Anthony returned late in the third quarter and finished with 18 points when he added two more triples with 8 rebounds.
Rookie watch
After missing the past three games as a healthy scratch, Tristan da Silva started the fourth quarter with the final result already determined.
He played the entire final frame and notched 5 points with 3 rebounds in late-game action.
Jason Beede can be reached at [email protected]
Up next …
Magic at Pacers
When: 7, Friday, Gainbridge Fieldhouse
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Florida
Continue reading...
