The Magic took an 86-74 lead, their largest, on a Wagner free throw with 7:01 left. But the Celtics quickly answered with a 3-point play by Jaylen Brown, a 3-pointer by Al Horford, and a 3-point play by Tatum, needing just 70 seconds to unspool that 9-0 run.

The Magic were unable to create separation, and a driving layup by Derrick White tied the score at 91 with 2:33 left. Then on consecutive possessions Wagner called for screens that would result in Kristaps Porzingis switching onto him, and he swirled past him both times for layups that gave the Magic a 95-91 lead.

After the Celtics committed yet another turnover, Wagner missed a 3-pointer and White and Wendell Carter chased after an offensive rebound near the sideline. It was initially ruled a jump ball, but the Celtics challenged the call since White did not have his hands on it.

Unfortunately for Boston, White’s foot was on the sideline while the ball was touching his head, giving the Magic possession with 48.4 seconds to play, and causing Boston to lose a valuable timeout.

But after a Wagner miss, White raced the other way for a layup. Tatum pressured Banchero as he crossed midcourt, and one official called an eight-second violation after the ball was knocked into the backcourt, but another overruled that call.

The Magic had the ball with 17 seconds left and 14 on the shot clock, and Wagner’s potential game-clinching 3-pointer was off, but he fired it up just before the shot clock expired and it took a high, favorable bounce, giving the Celtics just 0.3 seconds left when they secured the rebound and called timeout.

White fired the inbounds pass off the rim and it was tapped out by the Magic as time expired.

⋅ The Celtics’ injury report was ever-changing over the last two days. On Thursday night, Tatum was listed as doubtful and Jrue Holiday questionable. On Friday, Brown (knee) was added to the report as questionable, and Tatum was later upgraded to questionable. Ultimately, Tatum and Brown played, and Holiday did not. Tatum’s appearance was clearly most important, and in the first quarter he showed no signs that anything was ever amiss.

He played with some black tape on his wrist and started the game with a driving layup and a step-back 3-pointer, and when he sprawled across the floor and battled for a loose ball, it was clear he was not worried about wrist pain. He went to halftime with 21 points on 7-for-12 shooting, quickly putting to rest any concerns about that wrist.

Brown, meanwhile, appeared to be wincing after an early dunk and tumbled to the ground in pain after Magic guard Cole Anthony pulled him down by his arm on a second-quarter foul. But he generally appeared to be moving quite well. The Celtics All-Star duo did combine for seven first-half turnovers, however. Boston had 11 as a team.

⋅ Payton Pritchard had a rare tough opening stint. The Sixth Man of the Year had a shot blocked inside, committed a turnover when he stepped on the end line, and had the ball knocked away in the backcourt and committed a clear-path foul. Although the Celtics went to the break with a 10-point lead, they were outscored by five points during Pritchard’s nine minutes.

⋅ In the first quarter, Magic star Paolo Banchero mostly answered Tatum shot for shot. He poured in 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting and helped Orlando take a 31-27 lead after one quarter.

But he ended up hurting the Magic in the second. Banchero was whistled for a foul with 7:34 left, his third of the game, but he stayed in for the rest of the half anyway. It was an understandable choice considering Orlando’s lack of offensive punch, but Banchero provided little to no resistance at the other end of the floor, clearly conscious of picking up his fourth foul.

He allowed Tatum to step into a pair of easy jumpers without contesting them and watched Derrick White glide right past him for an easy layup. The Celtics closed the half on a 21-9 run, thanks in large part to Banchero’s defensive effort.

⋅ The Magic burned their lone challenge of the game in the worst possible way. With 9:48 left in the second quarter Orlando disputed an out-of-bounds call that had given possession to the Celtics. But the review showed that Magic guard Anthony Black committed a foul on the play. Orlando lost the challenge, Black picked up his third foul, and Orlando was unable to challenge again.

⋅ The Magic’s offense is brittle, and at some point they’re going to need some contributions from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. He was 0 for 3 through three quarters, dropping him to just 3 for 17 through the series.

⋅ Orlando trailed by 11 points early in the third quarter but started that period with a 16-3 surge, with Boston’s turnovers at the center of the Orlando rally. Boston mustered just four points over the first seven minutes. Tatum was whistled for a rare palming violation and whistled another pass out of bounds. Brown was called for a hooking offensive foul. The Celtics committed six in the quarter, giving them 17 to start the fourth. The Magic were a rare team able to speed them up in a bad way. Boston committed just 11.9 turnovers per game this season, second-fewest in the NBA.

The Magic took a 73-70 lead to the fourth after holding the Celtics to just 11 points in the third.

Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.