The Celtics got back Jayson Tatum back from a wrist injury but it wasn’t enough as the Magic held off a late Boston rally for a 95-93 win in Game 3 at Kia Center. Boston now leads the best-of-seven series 2-1.
The Celtics led by as many as 12 points in the first half behind the hot shooting of Jayson Tatum who erupted for 21 of his 36 points before intermission. However, the hosts fought back with some stifling defense in the third quarter, limiting Boston to a season-low 11 points in the third quarter to take back the lead.
Orlando pushed their lead to as many as 12 points in the fourth quarter behind the offense of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. However, the Celtics fought back with a 17-5 run to tie the game up at 91 with 2:31 remaining. From there, a pair of clutch baskets from Wagner on drives put the Magic up for good, helping to secure the first win of the series for the Magic.
Tatum finished with a game-high 36 points while Jaylen Brown added 19 points. They were out dueled by Wagner (32 points) and Banchero (29 points) as the Magic held serve at home with Jrue Holiday (hamstring) sidelined.
Holiday’s status will be worth watching with Game 4 looming in Orlando on Sunday night.
Here are four takeaways from the Celtics’ loss on Friday night.
Jayson Tatum returns from wrist injury on first half heater: The All-Star forward showed no ill effects of a right wrist bruise on his jump shot in this one, at least early on. He scored a team-high 21 points in the first half, while knocking down three 3s in the first half alone. He keyed a big Celtics turnaround in the second quarter with his production, helping Boston building a double-digit halftime lead with a 32-18 advantage in the period. He came up big again the fourth quarter finishing with 36 points while going 12-of-12 from the free throw line.
Turnovers wreak havoc against physical Magic defense: The Celtics started the series with great success in Boston largely based on their ability to avoid miscues. However, sloppiness occurred early and often in Game 3 as the Magic forced plenty of miscues all night long. Boston piled up 19 turnovers in the contest including six in the game-changing third quarter. The biggest culprits were the Celtics stars as Jayson Tatum (seven) and Jaylen Brown (six) as they were constantly bothered by Orlando’s ball pressure and made poor passing decisions that led to easy Magic points going the other way.
Worst offensive quarter of the season: The Celtics second quarter momentum came to an abrupt halt after halftime, as the Magic stifled the visitors for the majority of the 12-minute period. Boston managed a season-low 11 points in the third quarter on 17 percent shooting from the field, going 3-of-17 from the field and 1-of-8 from the 3-point line. Boston also piled up six turnovers in the frame as they failed to get anything going, which allowed the Magic to take the lead early on with a 16-3 run while Boston failed to score a single point for five minute stretch in the first half of the quarter. The fact that Tatum was on the floor for the entire period was an alarming development and showed the power of Orlando’s defense in Game 3.
Kristaps Porzingis woes continue: The big man entered Game 3 showing just 27.3 percent from the field in the series and did little to improve on that number Friday night. He missed six of his first nine shots at the Kia Center including a host of easy looks in the paint against mismatches. His struggles against the Magic physicality along with a cold streak at the 3-point line (0-of-10) has left Boston’s offense struggling for ways to score against the Magic defense for longer chunks than we’ve seen all season. He also allowed two isolation layups against Franz Wagner in crunch time that ended up providing to be the difference.