ORLANDO, FLA- Due to a solid-team effort on both ends of the floor and an electric atmosphere, the Orlando Magic (18-29, 13th in East) dominated the Boston Celtics (35-13, 1st in East), winning 113-98 on January 23rd at the Amway Center. With the win, Orlando finishes the 2022-2023 season with a 3-1 overall record versus Boston, and is the first team in the NBA to claim a season series against the current No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. In addition, the Celtics’ nine-game winning streak officially ended and they suffered their first loss since January 3rd.
To no surprise, Orlando’s 2022 No. 1 pick Paolo Banchero continued his excellent play against Boston, recording a team-high 23 points, five rebounds, and two assists on 7-13 (53.8%) shooting from the field and 3-5 (60.0%) shooting from three-point range in 36 minutes. In reference to this, Banchero averaged 35.0 MPG, 24.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 3.3 APG on 40.9/56.0/78.4% shooting splits in four starts versus Boston this season, all-team highs.
In addition to Banchero, four other players scored double-digit points for Orlando. First, Wendell Carter Jr notched his eleventh double-double of the 2022-2023 season, recording 21 points and eleven rebounds on 8-13 (61.5%) shooting in 33 minutes. Likewise, star second-year Forward Franz Wagner posted a well-rounded stat line of 15 points, seven rebounds, and a team-high six assists on 7-13 (53.8%) shooting, and Cole Anthony pitched in 18 points, five rebounds, four assists, and two steals off the bench.
In addition to their solid win over Boston, Orlando also enjoyed the return of Forward Jonathan Isaac, who had missed the past two and a half years and 211 NBA regular-season games. In just ten minutes of action, Isaac recorded ten points, three rebounds, one assist, and two steals while shooting 4-7 (57.1%) from the field and 2-3 (66.7%) from three-point range.
After initially checking into the game following a pair of Jayson Tatum free throw attempts, Isaac admitted there was a lot going through his mind, and had plenty of doubts in the past about getting to play basketball for Orlando again.
“There were days where I was like I don’t know if I want to keep going,” Isaac said. “But then again, I have to thank Christ. Being able to go back to my faith and say God has me on this journey for a purpose. I know that I was made to play basketball. I was made to give glory to God on this stage.”
As previously mentioned, Isaac made his long-awaited return to the court, playing in his first NBA regular-season game since August 2nd, 2020. For reference, Isaac tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee against the Sacramento Kings during the NBA Regular-Season Restart in the Disney Bubble. Since then, Isaac endured multiple setbacks throughout the extensive recovery process, but has recovered enough to return playing for the Magic.
“Much love to the Magic for sticking with me,” Isaac said. “And the Magic fans were excited, so I was just trying to bottle all that up in one moment. It was surreal.”
In spite of the disappointing loss to the Magic, Superstars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum both had good performances for the Celtics. For reference, Brown recorded 26 points, five rebounds, and three assists in 37 minutes, while Tatum also posted 26 points, along with a team-high six rebounds and seven assists in 38 minutes. It’s worth noting that Brown and Tatum were both inefficient, shooting just 19-41 (%) from the field and 9-21 (%) from three-point range.
Due to an extensive injury report, Boston relied heavily on Brown and Tatum, and also gave Payton Pritchard (5/3/4), Grant Williams (4/4/2), and Sam Hauser (13/2/1) all considerable playing time. For context, Boston was without Marcus Smart (right ankle), Robert Williams III (hyperextended left knee), and Malcolm Brogdon (personal reasons) for Monday’s game, three of the Celtics’ top five players.
As a team, Orlando was quite efficient, going 43-84 (51.2%) from the field, 11-27 (40.7%) from three-point range, and 16-24 (66.7%) from the free-throw line. For comparison, Boston shot 36-83 (43.4%) from the field, 18-46 (39.1%) from three-point range, and 8-11 (72.7%) from the free-throw line. Furthermore, Orlando did well limiting turnovers and personal fouls, committing eleven turnovers and twelve personal fouls. Boston didn’t do as well, finishing the game with 18 turnovers and 23 personal fouls.
Following their aforementioned win/ to Boston, Orlando will prepare to play Indiana (23-25, 9th in East) on January 25th at 7:00 PM Eastern Time at the Amway Center. Meanwhile, Boston will travel to the Miami-Dade Arena to face the surging Miami Heat (26-22, 6th in East) on January 24th at 7:30 PM Eastern Time.