The Boston Celtics shifted their first-round playoff series against the Magic to Orlando Friday night at Kia Center.
The Magic roared back with a vengeance and sent the Celtics into a spiral in the second half with a 95-93 win for their first win of the series.
Their stars made an impact, while Orlando’s defensive tenacity took total control of the game. Boston made several mistakes, lost all juice entering the second half, turned the ball over at a brutal rate and allowed the Magic to reset the momentum entering Game 4.
Boston did make a 17-5 run and tied the game late, but the Magic did enough to stay ahead and snuffed out a desperation lob to the rim out of a timeout to seal the deal against the Celtics.
The lineup missed Jrue Holiday in the loss and could not rally behind the return of their superstar to take care of business.
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Here are three studs and two duds from Boston’s loss:
STUDS
Jayson Tatum
The Celtics star clearly didn’t let the wrist injury affect his night as a shooter from the floor.
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Tatum shot out of the gate with 13 points to match fellow Duke alum Paolo Banchero in the first quarter. He followed that up with a stretch of eight straight points on an impressive solo run. The Celtics star poured in 36 points and drained four three-pointers, though his ball security became a problem in the second half.
Jaylen Brown
Brown got his co-star back and entered the contest after his Game 2 double-double. He had double-digit points in the first half. The Celtics forward dropped 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting.
Paolo Banchero
Orlando did not shoot well across the board, but Banchero dominated on his home floor. Banchero led the winners with 29 points and grabbed six rebounds.
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DUDS
Boston’s turnovers
The Celtics never would have found themselves in this position if they had taken better care of the basketball in Game 3.
Tatum and Brown, despite their stud scoring nights, were the main culprits with seven and six turnovers, respectively. Boston’s 19 turnovers are unacceptable for a team of this caliber and completely deflated the chance to take a 3-0 series lead with a sloppy effort Friday night.
Boston and Orlando combined for 32 turnovers Friday night.
Boston’s second-half start
Orlando’s quick 14-0 run flipped the script from nearly going the final six minutes of the first half without scoring.
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The Magic quickly put the Celtics on their heels in the third quarter and forced Boston into its worst 12 minutes of the season. The offense shot just 3-16 to start the frame and tallied a season-low 11 points in the third quarter. Orlando made a statement with a 24-11 quarter.
Featured image via Mike Watters/Imagn Images
