9. Jan. 21 @ Boston Celtics
Grades . . . Orlando Magic find their grit and the wins follow
The Orlando Magic rolled into Boston on a sleepy Sunday afternoon expecting a tough game against one of the league’s best teams. With point guard issues plaguing the team, Kyrie Irving was going to be a problem too. And he was.
But here was one of those games that showed just how good the Orlando Magic could be when they actually turned out their best. And this was one of their best games.
The only hole defensively came against Irving. Irving scored 40 points on 14-for-23 shooting. He hit five of his seven 3-pointers. That was about all the offense the Celtics could muster.
Defense surprisingly won the day.
Boston scored only 12 points in the third quarter, giving Orlando the chance to race by and get control of the game after merely keeping pace in the first half. The Celtics just could not find the offense.
Orlando put the clamps down defensively somehow with Bismack Biyombo and Khem Birch making big defensive plays throughout the fourth quarter. Elfrid Payton and Evan Fournier made enough shots down the stretch too to keep the Magic in the lead.
It was a solid, gritty win. One that a team could be proud of.
The kind of win the Magic did not get enough.