The Boston Celtics lost a golden opportunity to take a commanding lead over the Orlando Magic by losing Game 3. The game was also right there for the taking, as the Celtics had their chances to take the lead in the game’s closing minutes.
One particular instance was when the Celtics had the ball down two with 0.3 seconds remaining. Derrick White tried to throw a hail mary entry pass where center Kristaps Porzingis tried to catch the ball, but made some contact with Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. as time expired.
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No foul was called, which bred some skepticism regarding whether the no-call was correct in that instance.
Magic guard Gary Harris and guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope defend Celtics forward Jayson Tatum.Mike Watters-Imagn Images
The NBA released its last two-minute report for Game 3 between the Celtics and Magic.
In the report, they said Carter’s contact with Porzingis going uncalled was the correct no-call, writing, “Carter Jr. (ORL) lowers his arm down across Porzingis’s (BOS) body, but the contact is marginal and does not prevent him from reaching the pass.”
Even if the contact were called for a foul, Porzingis would only have had the chance to tie the game at 95. There was no guarantee that the Celtics would have come up victorious had the game on into overtime.
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Boston’s turnovers were a problem all game. They had 19 turnovers, 13 of which came from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Even worse, the Celtics gave up 26 points off those turnovers in a two-point loss. The Celtics must clean that up if they want to win Game 4.
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