ORLANDO—The Magic, with their backs against the wall in what felt like a must-win Game 3, pulled through with an emphatic 95-93 victory over the Boston Celtics.
Wagner and Banchero Propel the Magic
Tonight’s contest featured six lead changes, four ties, and multiple double-digit leads that wouldn’t last long as each team kept pulling closer and closer to victory.
Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero were nothing short of sensational propelling the Magic to victory. The duo combined for 61 points, 13 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 steals, and they shot 21 of 49 (42.8 percent) from the floor. Paolo in the first three playoff games is averaging 32.3 points, 8.6 boards, 1.0 steals, 1.0 blocks, and is shooting a very efficient 47.1 percent from distance. Banchero is also second in total points this postseason.
“A lot. I mean his resilience — I think there was a time one of the coaches came to me and said Franz has run 16 minutes straight, and that’s okay,” Jamahl Mosley said of Franz’s performance. “That’s the toughness that he had; Paolo did the same thing the other night. That’s what these guys are willing and wanting to do in order to make sure that we come away with a victory.”
Celtics star Jayson Tatum didn’t have much to say regarding Franz Wagner’s performance after Boston suffered their first loss of the postseason.
“He made some shots. I don’t know, I’m not focused on the other team right now,” Tatum said. “What can we do to prepare and get better for the next game?”
Celtics Injury Report
After having played in 114 consecutive playoff games Jayson Tatum missed the first playoff game of his career in Boston’s 109-100 win over the Magic in Game 2. When the Celtics injury report came out this afternoon both Jrue Holiday (hamstring) and Jaylen Brown (knee) were downgraded to questionable. Jayson Tatum (wrist) was upgraded from doubtful to questionable.
Then just before tipoff both Jaylen Brown (knee) and Jayson Tatum (wrist) were upgraded to available and Jrue Holiday (hamstring) was downgraded to out.
Up and Down First Quarter
Boston jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter leading by seven points and it looked as if they would be in control of this game from tipoff to the final buzzer. Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero scored the first 17 points for the Magic before Orlando went on 17-6 to close out the first quarter.
Second-year guard Anthony Black was huge for the Magic off the bench scoring seven points and finding different ways to impact the game. He came into the game and was the spark that this team needed to ignite the crowd and propel the Magic to get the lead back.
“I think you’re seeing constant growth from him, consistent growth, the little things in the moment. You know, he’s getting to the basket, getting hit in the head, not getting the call, he’s staying the course,” Mosley said of Black. “And that just says a lot for him to not let the things in these moments rattle him and continue to play the right style of basketball.”
Magic and Celtics Getting Chippy
Early in the second quarter, Cole Anthony got tangled up with Jaylen Brown, which saw Anthony receive a flagrant foul, and Brown ended up dislocating his finger on the play.
“I fell on it. Dislocated my index finger,” Brown said. “But I got nine more.”
The Celtics haven’t been very fond of Orlando’s physicality and it feels as if frustrations are getting close to boiling over.
“If we can get away with it, I’d do it too,” Jaylen Brown on the Magic’s physicality. “I don’t have a problem with the game being physical. But it seems like when I use my physicality, it gets called in the opposite direction. That’s what my frustration was. It was a tough whistle tonight.”
Brown added: “It’s starting to feel like it’s not even basketball. The refs aren’t controlling the environment. So it is what it is. If you wanna fight it out, we can do that.”
“Keep it basketball,” Tatum said. “But, you know, just be physical, it’s the playoffs. Ya know, s*** happens sometimes.”
The Celtics would respond back with a run of their own late in the first half to pull ahead and be up 59-49 heading into the halftime locker room.
Third Quarter Run
Orlando has struggled all year long in the third quarter, but they flipped a switch limiting the Celtics to their lowest-scoring quarter (11 points) since November 1, 2021. Boston in that third period of play shot just 3 of 17 (17.6 percent) from the floor, 1 of 8 (12.5 percent) from distance, and had six turnovers that led to seven Magic points.
”It was about digging in and understanding where we were and how we needed to play. And we came out and moved the basketball, attacked the rim, sat down and got stops, forced them into some tough twos,” Mosley said of the third-quarter performance. “We were able to turn them over as well. I think that was a big key in the game.”
A frustrated Jayson Tatum didn’t have much to say regarding the woeful third-quarter performance by the Celtics.
“We just got stagnate,” Tatum said. “Something we are going to watch film on tomorrow and we just have to play with some more pace and movement. That is when we are at our best.”
Wild Fourth Quarter
Both Boston and Orlando had a dramatic finish to this contest that featured a rollercoaster of emotions on both sides. The Magic led by just three points heading into the final period of play, but jumped all the way out to a 12-point lead with multiple baskets by both Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero as they led 86-74 with 7:01 left in the game.
Boston responded with back-to-back baskets that cut into the Magic lead before Orlando called timeout to stop the bleeding. The Celtics kept slowly chipping away and they eventually rallied back to tie the game at 91 a piece with 2:31 left in the contest.
Franz Wagner who already was playing at such a high-level all evening long, decided to put this game away as he took over in the final two minutes of action. Franz on back-to-back went right at Kristaps Prozignis attacking the rim and finishing with two tough baskets to give Orlando a 95-91 lead with 1:26 left in the game.
Boston committed an untimely turnover and would have a few looks down the stretch, but couldn’t convert and the Magic walked away with their first win of the series.
“Nothing. This is a group that continues to pull for one another, no matter who’s on the floor, no matter who’s on the bench,” Mosley on what was said in the moments that Boston kept fighting back. “These guys continue to talk to one another about what we needed to do, and it came together on the defensive end of the floor.”
Final Numbers and Thoughts
Jayson Tatum in his return from injury finished with 36 points, nine rebounds, and four assists while shooting 10 of 22 (45.4 percent) from the field and 4 of 10 (40.0 percent) from distance. Jaylen Brown was limited to just 19 points, and Derrick White scored 16.
The Celtics should feel encouraged that they lost a one-possession game while Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, Payton Prichard, and Sam Hauser combined for just 16 points.
For the Magic, outside of Banchero and Wagner the team did a great job of limiting the Celtics three-point attempts and forcing them into a ton of turnovers. Boston shot just 9 of 27 (33.3 percent) from behind the arch and they committed 21 turnovers for 26 Magic points.
Orlando will look to continue to build on this momentum and protect home court for the second game in a row as they will host the Celtics for Game 4 on Sunday evening at the Kia Center.