The red-hot Orlando Magic faced off against the Boston Celtics for the second time in three days. Furthermore, this young, hungry team has been on fire as of late, winning five straight (now six) after a rocky start to the season. Orlando wanted to capitalize off this energy and momentum and looked to take down the second best team in the NBA Sunday night.
Magic In the Air
Paolo Banchero came out with a chip on his shoulder against Boston. Banchero was scorching the Celtics all night. The rookie phenom dropped 31 points on 9/21 shooting including a remarkable 6/7 from beyond the arc. Banchero was a menace all night and looked to score every time the rock was in his hands. In addition to the great play of Banchero, Admiral Schofield added an amazing performance off the bench. Schofield scored 13 points, 11 of which came in crunch time, in just 16 minutes played. Schofield has had a fire in his eyes after almost being out of the league in recent history. He showed off why he’s here to stay along with the entirety of the Magic’s young core.
Looking To Retaliate
The Boston Celtics were without their superstar against Orlando. Jayson Tatum, who is currently in first place in the MVP race, was marked out of Sunday’s game due to personal reasons. In his absence, Jaylen Brown looked to take over as the catalyst for Boston. Brown had 24 hard-fought points on 10/25 shooting. Moreover, defensive technician Marcus Smart played a big part in keeping it close for the Celtics as he was flying around the court all night trying his best to contain Orlando. Furthermore, this proved to be not quite enough in the end as the Magic outlasted the Celtics and took home their sixth straight win, which is currently tied for the second-longest streak in the NBA.
Building Momentum
Orlando continues their road trip and looks to win their seventh straight game against Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks Monday night.