Back in April, the Celtics disposed of the Magic in five games. However, that gentleman’s sweep wasn’t indicative of how rough and tumble that first round series was. Now, with the NBA Cup in mind, Orlando exacted some revenge with a 123-110 win over Boston.
After making a big trade to acquire Desmond Bane, the previously 3-5 Magic have underperformed this season. Three-point shooting has still been an Achilles heel for Orlando, but on Friday night, they got out of their early season slump. They hit half of their eighteen attempts from the behind the arc in the first half to go up 59-51.
For the Celtics, some early foul trouble kept their starters at bay. Despite picking up two chippies in the first quarter, Pritchard had 14 points in the first half, including hitting 3-of-4 from three. Three fouls on Josh Minott did not prevent him from contributing on the glass, defending and making shots from the perimeter, and throwing down an alley-oop.
In the second half, the Celtics opened with an 11-3 run off forced turnovers and offensive rebounds to knot the game at 62. Jaylen Brown paced Boston in the third with 16 points with a series of mid-range jumpers and strong drives.
To open the final frame, Anfernee Simons got into the scoring column with a pair of threes to tie the game again at 86; Derrick White would hit another to give Boston their first lead since early in the first 89-87. Simons and Brown would trade buckets with the Magic down the stretch, but some timely three-pointers from Wendell Carter Jr., Desmond Bane, and Franz Wagner and a 17-4 run ultimately ended Boston’s comeback chances. Orlando would finish 17-of-35 from 3.
All in all, Boston continues to control the controllables. The Magic had just ten offensive rebounds, but they scored a whopping 17 second chance points. Unfortunately, the league-leading Celtics had 14 turnovers with five in the fourth.
With the loss, the Celtics fall to 1-1 in NBA Cup competition. They previously beat the 76ers 109-108 in Philadelphia on Halloween. The Pistons and Nets started their road to Vegas tonight as well with Detroit notching a win at Barclays Center. Orlando and Detroit sit atop the group undefeated.
The team will stay in Orlando for the weekend for another game against the Magic on Sunday at 6 pm EST.
