The Orlando Magic continue to think big picture and continue to put a pretty face on some ugly warts. This time a near-collapse to the Boston Celtics.
As the Boston Celtics made their comeback the mood within Amway Center changed from jubilation to horror, much the same way it did Sunday night against the Philadelphia 76ers. The shock of another double-digit collapse, this time from 27 points up with 10:45 to go, was beginning to sink in as the once quiet Celtics fans inside the arena started to make their noise.
That part may not have mattered much as Magic fans have begun to become audibly restless within the arena with each blown lead and each mistake from this young squad. Patience is running thin particularly as the team seems like it is trying to avoid embarrassing moments more than anything else.
Not on the sideline though.
Jacque Vaughn has begun breaking his staid demeanor at times. He called a timeout 30 seconds into the second half after his team blew an assignment they had just talked about. He burned another quick timeout 30 seconds into the fourth quarter after not liking a particular design from the Magic. He sensed something turning if his team did not focus.
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The Magic did not and saw that 27-point lead slink to three points with 22.9 seconds left. The Celtics outscored the Magic 35-15 in the final quarter, as the Magic panicked and struggled their way to a frustrating 3 for 15 in the final quarter. They saw Elfrid Payton get intentionally fouled to force the 47-percent free throw shooter to make tough shots. They harassed the Magic into five turnovers in the quarter and frustrated them with physical play that would not draw any whistles.
Orlando’s body language was not good once again as the going got tougher and tougher for the team.
The lead though was too big and the Celtics could not make enough shots down the stretch. Jameer Nelson missed two 3-pointers in the final minute that would have given the Celtics a chance to steal one at Amway Center, but Kyle O’Quinn, Evan Fournier and Tobias Harris wer able to finish things off at the foul line . . . eventually.
Nothing was guaranteed as the Magic won 100-95 at Amway Center on Tuesday to snap a four-game losing streak.
| Score | Off. Rtg. | eFG% | O.Reb.% | TO% | FTR | |
| Boston | 95 | 94.3 | 42.9 | 19.1 | 10.9 | 34.1 |
| Orlando | 100 | 99.9 | 51.2 | 16.3 | 13.1 | 27.7 |
Tyler Zeller (BOS) — 22 pts., 10 rebs.; Avery Bradley (BOS) — 20 pts.
Tobias Harris (ORL) — 19 pts.; Kyle O’Quinn (ORL) — 18 pts., 13 rebs.
“We’re a group that we try to stay positive throughout the course of the game,” Jacque Vaughn said. “That’s always a challenge when things aren’t going your way. We’ll continue to address it and we’ll continue to improve. What I do love about this group is we lost multiple games in a row and we kept a team to 30 points in the first half. While you definitely can look at some negative, we’ll definitely pull some positive out of this also.”
There was some positive. You have to build a 27-point lead somehow.
That positive was a defense that finally looked suffocating. It scrambled and rotated to gobble up every outlet and driving lane. The Celtics committed turnovers and sparked the Magic fast break.
At long last, it seemed the Magic were playing how everyone envisioned they might at the beginning of the season.
It was no fluke the Celtics shot 2 for 22 in the first quarter and managed only nine points. Despite Boston’s wild comeback in the fourth quarter, the team ended up shooting only 38.8 percent for the game. The Magic turned the Celtics’ 12 turnovers into an outstanding 17 points.
Hardwood Houdini
Orlando only unraveled when it lost the attention to detail on defense and then began pressing on offense. Again, everything seemed to snowball for this team and they could not maintain the level of intense focus and attention to detail they had at the beginning of the game.
Still there was a relief, if not a determination, after the game that this one still ended up a win.
“To get a win tonight, I think is important for us,” Tobias Harris said. “We played some good basketball. I thought tonight we couldn’t get settled because they did come back. They made a good run, but the NBA is a game of runs. We stuck with it and we came through at the end.”
Whether the Magic are lacking experience in these close games and simply failing to execute or whether this team just cannot get the puzzle to fit, there is an issue that exists with this team sticking to and having confidence in what they do when things get tight. The Magic played much of the fourth quarter allowing the Celtics to dictate the tempo and pressure defensively.
They crumbled in other words.
Victor Oladipo, playing much of the quarter at point guard, committed a few turnovers and struggled to finish at the rim, shooting 2 for 15 for the game while dishing out six assists. Elfird Payton was intentionally fouled to put a damper on his 12-point, seven-assist night. Evan Fournier was missing open looks as he failed to hit a 3-pointer in four attempts and then split free throws down the stretch to leave the door open and enlarge the consternation from the Magic sideline.
Through the Phog
Despite all that, Vaughn and the Magic put on a happy face. They did not hide from the mistakes that were made and the work that needs to be done. But they also recognized they won the game too. That is not the worst thing in the world.
And this was a team that needed a win badly, if not to flip confidence around.
“Any time you get a win, that’s positive,” Kyle O’Quinn said. “I don’t care how you got it. We went through what we went through. We want to build on that win, but some of the habits we don’t want to build on.”
There are plenty of bad habits that continue to exist that the Magic need to correct and work on. They existed before this game and before Sunday’s loss. The team recognized them at those points too.
Teams can only talk so much however. Actions speak louder and the Magic are still looking for the right way to act.
At least when Vaughn paints a pretty picture on this one, he can paint it with a win.