Post Game - Celtics at Magic - Friday, November 24 (L)

Celtics-Magic takeaways: C's loss damages in-season tournament title hopes

https://sports.yahoo.com/celtics-magic-takeaways-cs-loss-223115582.html

Nick Goss
Fri, Nov 24, 2023, 7:36 PM EST·5 min read

Celtics-Magic takeaways: C's loss damages in-season tournament title hopes originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics just can't beat the Orlando Magic.

The Magic extended their win streak over the Celtics to four, dating back to last season, with a 113-96 victory at Amway Center in Friday afternoon's NBA In-Season Tournament game. Boston can still reach the quarterfinals of the in-season tournament, but it needs a little help (more on that below).

The Celtics had a 56-48 lead at halftime, and then essentially lost the game in the third quarter. The Magic outscored the C's 29-18 in that quarter, including a 17-0 run. They outscored the Celtics 65-40 in the second half. Orlando played harder, defended better and absolutely dominated on the glass.

Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 26 points on 7-for-16 shooting. Jaylen Brown scored 12 points in the first quarter but finished with just 18 on 6-for-22 shooting overall.

Making matters worse for the Celtics was center Kristaps Porzingis leaving the game in the third quarter with left calf tightness. Point guard Jrue Holiday missed his first game of the season with an ankle sprain.

The Celtics will be back in action Sunday when they host the Atlanta Hawks at TD Garden. But before we look ahead to that matchup, here are four takeaways from Celtics-Magic.

C's had no answer for Mo Wagner

Wagner was one of the catalysts for the Magic as they went on separate runs of 17-0 and 10-0 in the second half.

The ex-Celtic tortured his former teammates with a season-high 27 points on 9-for-13 shooting. A lot of his scoring came in the paint, and he did a great job getting to the free throw line, where he hit eight of nine attempts.



The Magic outscored the Celtics by 15 during Wagner's 24 minutes of action. He's averaging 17 points in his last four matchups vs. the Celtics.

Self-inflicted mistakes cost C's

The Celtics could have won this game. They led by 12 points at one point in the first half. They also got off to a great start with a 30-19 lead after the first quarter.

But a bunch of self-inflicted mistakes ended up being too much to overcome. At the top of the list is free throw shooting. The Celtics shot 27-for-37 at the free throw line. They missed four consecutive foul shots between the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth quarter. It's always hard to win when you miss 10 foul shots in one game.

Boston also committed 15 turnovers, which led to 14 points for Orlando. The Magic are a young, athletic team that loves to push the pace and score in transition. Turning the ball over allows them to ignite that fast-break offense.

Magic dominated Celtics on the glass

The Magic outrebounded the Celtics 48-31, including a massive 13-4 edge in offensive rebounds. Orlando had five players tally five or more rebounds, with Franz Wagner leading the way with eight rebounds.

This edge on the glass helped the Magic earn a 21-8 advantage in second-chance points.

Not only did the Magic own the boards, they also outscored the Celtics 60-40 in the paint. Losing Porzingis in the third quarter due to left calf tightness hurt the Celtics in the paint, but there's still no reason for Orlando to dominate to that degree.



The Celtics came into this game as the third-best rebounding team at 47.1 per game, but they had a really tough time in this game boxing out and dealing with the Magic's size and toughness in the frontcourt.

Celtics can still advance to knockout rounds

All the Celtics needed to clinch first place in Group C was a win over the Magic. The C's can still advance to the quarterfinals of the in-season tournament despite Sunday's defeat, but they need a little help.

The Celtics do have a path to winning Group C. That would require beating the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday at TD Garden, combined with the Nets defeating the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday. These results would create a three-way tie for first place with the C's, Magic and Nets all 3-1. Point differential would then determine the group winner.

So the Celtics could still win the group at 3-1 and a better point differential than the Magic and Nets. However, the Celtics' point differential after three games is zero. The Magic are at plus-22 and the Nets are plus-8. So not only do the C's need to beat the Bulls, they need to win by as many points as possible.

Boston could also get to the knockout stage as a wild card team. This would likely require a win over the Bulls and a better point differential than the other teams in the Eastern Conference groups that don't finish first.

From another perspective:


Beede’s Breakdown: How Magic adjusted at home vs. Boston to win 6th straight game

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/11/24/orlando-magic-boston-celtics-paolo-banchero-jamahl-mosley-moe-wagner/

By JASON BEEDE | jbeede@orlandosentinel.com | Orlando Sentinel
PUBLISHED: November 24, 2023 at 6:05 p.m. | UPDATED: November 24, 2023 at 7:54 p.m.

The Magic won their sixth straight game and remained in contention for the knockout rounds of the NBA’s In-Season Tournament by defeating the Celtics in an electric atmosphere at Amway Center on Friday afternoon.

Moe Wagner scored 27 points off the bench and Paolo Banchero added 23 as Orlando rolled 113-96 over Boston (12-4).

Coach Jamahl Mosley’s squad (11-5) can clinch East Group C of the IST and a spot in the tournament’s quarterfinals if the Nets lose to the Raptors on Tuesday. Orlando can also clinch if Boston wins by fewer than 23 points against Chicago on Tuesday and Brooklyn beats Toronto by fewer than 14.

The Magic continue their six-game homestand Sunday (Bally Sports Florida, 6) when Charlotte visits.

Starting 5

As he’s done without regulars Markelle Fultz (left knee tendinitis) and Wendell Carter Jr. (fractured third metacarpal in left non-shooting hand), Mosley started Anthony Black, Jalen Suggs, Franz Wagner, Banchero and Goga Bitadze vs. Boston.

The starting unit pushed to get to the rim early and often throughout the game. Orlando scored 60 points in the paint compared Boston’s 40.

Eight turnovers in the opening 12 minutes, however, hurt Orlando. The Magic were able to limit those turnovers — committing just 10 over the final 36 minutes — as shots began to fall for Orlando.

Banchero hit his first 3-point try and offered a balanced attack on offense to go with 7 rebounds and 5 assists.

Franz Wagner grabbed 8 rebounds, dished out 6 assists and totaled 17 points but struggled to shoot from distance (1 of 6 from 3) against Boston.

Suggs’ shooting powered a 12-0 run in the third quarter when he made his first pair of 3s in the frame. Suggs (10 points) later sank a 3 to put the Magic ahead by 14 with 1:02 remaining in the game.

Second Unit

The Magic’s bench continued to contribute heavily against the Celtics. Orlando outscored Boston 57-24 in bench points largely behind Moe Wagner’s ability to score close to the basket.

Wagner, who scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, joined Joe Ingles, Cole Anthony, Gary Harris, Jonathan Isaac and Caleb Houstan off the bench.

Anthony shot the ball well (2 of 2 from 3) for 10 first-half points but he ended the second quarter in some pain. Although he was hobbling on his left ankle before the break, Anthony was able to play through it and return midway through the third quarter.

He totaled 16 points to go with 6 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals.

Ingles brought the ball up the court for the second unit, which let Anthony play off ball at times. The veteran newcomer hit his lone 3 of the game and grabbed 5 boards with 2 assists.

When on the floor, Isaac was asked to defend Boston’s Jayson Tatum, who finished with a team-high 26 but he had a plus-minus of -21. Isaac fell to the floor early in the fourth but was able to get up on his own and return with 2:24 left in the game to help close it out.

Rookie Watch

It was a quiet game for Black, who only saw 6 minutes of action.

The No. 6 overall pick earned the start but spent the second half on the bench. He scored no points with an assist and 1 turnover before the break.

Family Affair

Friday’s game was also telecast on NBA TV and the network sent a broadcast crew filled with familiar names to Orlando.

The crew included former Magic forward Grant Hill and Greg Anthony, the father of Cole Anthony. They were joined by reporter and former Orlando forward Dennis Scott as well as play-by-play broadcaster Spero Dedes.

The younger Anthony spoke with the Sentinel pre-game about his father calling one of his NBA games for the first time.

“He’s pretty good at what he does, so it’s cool seeing him on the sidelines,” Anthony said.

Greg Anthony averaged 7.3 points, 4.0 assists and 1.2 steals throughout his 11-year career and still offers advice to his son. Anthony said the two talk after almost every Magic game.

“He’s still my Pops,” Cole said. “He always has points for me. He’s not steering me wrong, so I’m always listening.”