In what was likely their most embarrassing loss of the year the Magic fell to the Celtics 109-92 on Wednesday at TD Garden.
The Celtics shot 55.3 percent from the floor including 7 for 19 from 3-point range. On the flip side of the coin the Magic only managed to shoot 43.5 percent from the field while only managing to shoot 5 for 19 from 3-point range.
This loss was very identical to Monday’s loss to the Raptors. One similarity between Monday’s contest and tonight’s was the opposing team’s bench dominance. The Celtics bench outscored the Magic bench 50-24. The major bench contributions for the Celtics came from former Magic man Brandon Bass, who scored 18 points on 10 shots, and Kelly Olynyk who scored 15 points on eight shots.
If you like defense the first half of this game was not for you.
Neither team could contain the pick and roll, whether it be rotating to help on the roll man or containing the handler. Most obvious of all neither team wanted to contest a shot in the paint. The Magic did make a little run in the second quarter to give themselves a 47-37 lead but that was short-lived as the Celtics responded with a 19-6 run that included four 3-pointers with one coming from Rajon Rondo.
Evan Fournier’s consecutive games with a 3-pointer streak came to an end as the Magic struggled to find any offensive rhythm in the second half. David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Coming into the second half, there was a strong sense that the first team to step their game up defensively was going to be the winner.
That is exactly what happened.
The Celtics took control in the fourth quarter behind a combination of solid defense and an alarming lack of ball movement from the Magic, which made the Celtics’ job significantly easier.
Orlando’s defense was not any better than its stagnant offense in the fourth. The Magic allowed the Celtics to shoot 13 for 19 from the field.
More concerning than allowing that kind of shooting was Orlando’s seeming lack of effort.While watching this game I definitely felt like the Magic needed Dewayne Dedmon in the game. Somebody who you know will give a contagious amount of effort. Orlando really needed a spark from somewhere and Dedmon could have helped out.
Game Notes:
- This game was hard to watch. For a team that has played so hard all season you could tell that they just did not give it their all in this one.
- Maurice Harkless did not look comfortable again tonight. He might still be rusty but if he does not start turning the corner soon Devyn Marble might get a chance to play. And Aaron Gordon‘s return is always looming to take playing time away.
- Jacque Vaughn has to help his players out. Playing Elfrid Payton off the ball hurts his entire team but most importantly does not let Elfrid Payton do what he does best, create shots for others.
- Channing Frye played a good half of basketball for the first time in a while. The Magic actually seemed to run some sets for him with the subs.
- The longer Jacque Vaughn tries to drag out this Victor Oladipo at point guard thing the worse it is going to be for everybody. Nothing against Victor but he needs to be playing off the ball, he is just not effective enough at running the offense.
- Something to ponder as Orlando’s bench got thrashed again: Should the Magic bench Evan Fournier and Channing Frye and bring them off the bench? They seem to have a chemistry with each other and Orlando needs scoring off the bench.
Rookie Report:
Elfrid Payton: Elfrid had an unusually poor defensive performance tonight. He didn’t pressure the opposing ball handler and was also caught making mistakes on rotations allowing the Celtics some easy baskets on the pick and roll. Offensively Elfrid had a decent night. In particular early in the fourth quarter Elfrid realized that he was able to easily dispatch of Kelly Olynyk and Phil Pressey on the pick and roll. He was able to score at the rim easily and consistently fed Kyle O’Quinn right under the rim which lead to multiple dunks and free throw attempts. All in all not a bad day for the rookie.