No Tatum, no problem.
The Orlando Magic did not take advantage of what could have been their one and only chance to steal a game on the road at TD Garden in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.
That is because the Celtics were without All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum, who sustained a right wrist bone bruise when the East foes met for Game 1. Still, that did not distract the reigning champions.
Behind a combined 70 points from Jaylen Brown (36), center Kristaps Porzingis (20) and NBA Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard (14), the Celtics took a commanding 2-0 lead with a 109-100 victory in front of a national TV audience on TNT and a sold-out home arena.
Although the Magics Paolo Banchero (32) and Franz Wagner (25) totaled 57 points, coach Jamahl Mosley’s squad led only in the first quarter and trailed by as many as 15 during their sixth straight road playoff loss, dating back to last year’s first-round loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in seven games.
“A lot of ups and downs,” Mosley said about the loss. “A lot of adversity that we fought through which I liked for what our guys did in that situation. Regardless of the circumstances, they continued to fight.”
Down 2-0 for a second straight year in the first round, the Magic return to Kia Center for Game 3 against the Celtics on Friday broadcasted on ESPN.
With Tatum sidelined, Boston turned to their other All-NBA forward to step up on the offensive end.
Brown scored 12 of his 14 first-half points in the opening quarter when Orlando switched smaller defenders such as veteran guards Cory Joseph and Cole Anthony onto him. What really hurt the Magic, however, was the fact that the Celtics took their largest lead of the first half (11 points) when Brown was on the bench getting a rest.
Porzingis, who was held to 5 points in Game 1, had 15 by the halfway mark of Game 2 before he collected a double-double, with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Then, late in the third quarter, Porzingis went to the locker room with a gash to his forehead but returned in time to shoot a pair of free throws after taking an elbow from Goga Bitadze. The play was reviewed and upgraded to a flagrant foul Penalty 1 on Bitadze.
Porzingis returned to the bench area midway through the period and came back into the game with 7:15 left. He said he got five stitches to close the wound.
“I love my WWE moments,” Porzingis said. “We’re not going to let anybody punk us. We expect teams to do this kind of stuff. … We’re not surprised. But we’re not going to take it. We’re going to hit them right back.”
Brown caught fire later in the third quarter when he buried a pair of 3-pointers coming out of the locker room to shoot 5 of 7 from 3-point range for the night.
“They came out of the locker room in the third quarter, went on a run and we had trouble getting back the rest of the game,” Banchero said.
Although Orlando held Boston to a respectable 12 of 37 (32.4%) shooting from distance, the Magic themselves shot just 7 of 29 (24.1%).
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Celtics, however, were able to take advantage of their extra opportunities when they grabbed 13 offensive rebounds that turned into 20 second-chance points.
“A team this good, you can’t give them second-chance opportunities,” Wagner said.
Banchero and Wagner had no other option but to carry Orlando’s offense again. Although the duo shot a combined 3 of 13 from downtown, they totaled 38 points on 19 of 32 shooting inside the arc (59%).
Despite picking up two early fouls in the first quarter and playing the majority of the fourth with 4, Banchero was able to find his spots on the floor and reach 30-plus points for the second time this series and fifth time in his nine playoff appearances.
“He’s a winner,” Mosley said. “He’s doing whatever he can for this team in order to put us in the position to be successful and win games.”
Wagner spurred a 7-0 run in the second quarter after Boston took a double-digit lead early in the frame. But after shooting 1 of 6 from 3 in Game 1, he finished 1 of 7 Wednesday.
Wendell Carter Jr., out of Duke, became the first Magic player in the first two games other than Banchero and Wagner to reach double figures. Physical around the basket, he had 16 points with 8 boards.
“We played with a lot of heart, a lot of character,” Wagner said. “They made a bunch of runs throughout the game. We never gave up, we played real physical and played with great effort all evening.”
Whether they agreed with the official’s calls or not, the Magic sent the Celtics to the charity strike throughout the night. Orlando attempted as many free throws in the first half as Boston did in the first quarter (10).
The Celtics ended the night 25 of 33 at the free throw line, well above their league-low average of 19.1 attempts during the regular season. Although the Magic eventually found their way to the line, they did not take advantage. Orlando finished 15 of 24 (62.5%) there.
“I’m not the one to complain about any of it, but there’s a reality that all of our starters had two fouls at one point, quickly,” Mosley said. “And there was a time where it was 16-2 in the free throw count.
“That’s part of how the game goes,” he added. “Now, when we get to the free throw line, we’ve got to knock them down too. Can’t miss 9 in a 9-point game.”
