The Celtics couldn’t make enough shots as they lost 123-110 to the Magic on Friday in Orlando as part of NBA Cup play. Boston dropped to 4-6 on the season while Orlando improved to 4-5.
The Celtics started slow for the second straight game as the Magic rained 3-pointers, which was a theme of the night. The Orlando lead ballooned up to 16 points as the C’s played catch-up for most of the first half. The Celtics showed life to take the lead in the fourth quarter with Anfernee Simons having a hot stretch.
But it was the Magic who pulled away in the end, finishing the game on a 28-14 run. It was a big game for the Magic considering they’ve had a disappointing start to the season. Plus, it was part of NBA Cup play (more on that later).
Brown finished with 32 points and nine rebounds for his latest strong scoring performance. Payton Pritchard added 27 points as he looks like he’s past his slump. Franz Wagner posted 27 points, six rebounds and six assists to lead the Magic. Desmond Bane also had 22 points and seven assists.
The Celtics rematch the Magic at 6 p.m. Sunday in Orlando as part of the mini series. Here are four takeaways from Boston’s loss to Orlando:
One of those nights: The Magic have struggled shooting the ball and offensively this season, but that wasn’t the case Friday. Orlando shot 17-for-36 (47.2%) on 3-pointers, draining seven of them in the first quarter alone. That was a precursor for the rest of the night as the Magic finished with seven players in double-figure scoring. Notably, Paolo Banchero, their leading scorer, didn’t have a big night as he finished with 15 points on 4-for-10 shooting. The Magic also shot 24-for-31 on free throws as the Celtics have continued to fouled plenty to start this season.
Scoring with ease: Brown has been clearly the Celtics’ best scorer to open the season, and he was again masterful Friday. Brown shot 15-for-28 from the field as his efficiency has been some of the best in the league to open the season. Even though the Celtics are without Jayson Tatum, Brown hasn’t missed a beat when it comes to his offensive output. Friday was already the sixth time out of 10 games where Brown scored at least 30 points. For comparison, he did that nine times in his 63 games played last season.
Young wings: Jordan Walsh was out of the rotation to start the season, but he showed some gusto in the Wizards victory. So, with the Celtics leaning on him again Friday, he came through with his defense and energy. Walsh, after a season-high 24 minutes against the Wizards, finished with two points and six rebounds in 19 minutes Friday. Hugo Gonzalez also continued to show some flashes as he had nine minutes and four rebounds. The Celtics’ two youngest players on their roster both showed winning traits.
NBA Cup implications: The Celtics are now 1-1 in NBA Cup play with one win over the 76ers and a loss to the Magic. Other than these two teams, the Nets, Pistons and Sixers are in East Group B. There are still more games to determine what happens in NBA Cup play going forward. While one loss doesn’t eliminate the Celtics to advance out of the group, it does make the path much tougher. The point differential also matters as the Celtics are now minus-12 through two games. Their next NBA Cup game is against the Nets at TD Garden on Nov. 21.
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