The Boston Celtics were in town Wednesday night to face off against Cole Anthony and the Orlando Magic. Jayson Tatum and company showed up to play a defensive-minded game, and that’s exactly what insured. Coming off of a win against the Timberwolves on Monday, the Magic were looking to build some momentum and not already throw the season away with less than 10 games into the year. Contrarily, Boston had just come off of three straight losses. Boston wanted to do anything to “stop the bleeding” and find their footing and remain a contender in the East as many thought they would be.
First Half Recap
From the tip, this game looked as if it was going to be competitive and hard-fought until the end. The first two quarters played true to this narrative, as the first quarter found the Magic with a two-point lead after the first 12 minutes. Up by a basket, it looked like the Magic came to play against a Celtics team with a lack of identity right now. The pace slowed down in the second quarter and this game quickly became a grind-it-out defensive game. Similarly, both teams put up 18 points apiece as stops were made on the defensive side of the ball. The Magic went into the second half still up by two points.
The Magic Died Out
The third quarter came around and it was all Boston. The Celtics put the clamps on Orlando, leading the Magic to only scoring 10 points in the entire quarter. Cole Anthony tried his hardest in this one, but it seemed as if nothing was going in the basket. The fourth quarter reared its ugly head and it just left the Magic flustered and out of options after a 21 third quarter point differential.
Leading The Way
Anthony was the Magic’s leading scorer on Wednesday with a mere 13 points on 4/18 shooting in 37 minutes played. On the other hand, Jaylen Brown continued his dominance and boasted 28 points. Brown shot 10/17 from the field in just 31 minutes played. The Magic fall to 2-7 and the Celtics improve to 3-5.
Up Next
The Magic are at home for Friday night’s matchup with Dejounte Murray and the San Antonio Spurs.