The Orlando Magic held the lead late, but made critical errors down the stretch and allowed the Boston Celtics to go through the door for an overtime win.
Orlando Magic coach Steve Clifford said after Friday’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers that Joel Embiid’s star power cost them the game through the fourth quarter. Against star players, you cannot let them get comfortable to get to their spots. And you cannot give them second chances when you do get stops.
Orlando led by five with about 40 seconds left in regulation when things began to unravel.
The Magic forced a Marcus Smart miss only to see Daniel Theis outhustle the team to the rebound. He dished it out to Jayson Tatum who sidestepped Gary Clark to drain a three.
Orlando needed some strong execution to get a good shot or take the clock down. They really got neither. D.J. Augustin attacked quickly driving into the paint, trying to draw a foul only to have Daniel Theis block his shot at the rim.
Tatum again got the matchup he wanted with the smaller Markelle Fultz defending him. Fultz was game, but Tatum knocked him off balance and spun back toward the baseline to hit the tying basket.
Orlando, having lost a five-point lead, was not quite deflated. The team, playing without Aaron Gordon (hamstring), Michael Carter-Williams (foot) and Evan Fournier (illness), had to band together and find scoring wherever they could. This group scrapped and scratched and clawed.
The Celtics just had more in a 122-119 win overtime win Sunday. They had Tatum and his star power scoring 12 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, hitting big shots to keep the Magic at bay.
Orlando lost much of its pace and rhythm too. The Celtics employed a soft press to slow the Magic down, forcing them into their offense later and later in the shot clock. That decreased their shot quality and their ability to move the ball to get open looks.
The Celtics locked down the paint, blocking several of D.J. Augustin and Terrence Ross’ attempts to attack the rim. And they were able to still give themselves a small chance to win.
Orlando got the stop only for Fultz to take a few steps before calling timeout. The Magic had to inbound from the backcourt. The Celtics were happy to let Fultz receive the past and have a free lane up to the 3-point line. He hesitated and shoveled the pass to Nikola Vucevic who missed the fadeaway three, ceiling the loss.
The defeat was disappointing for the lost opportunity and mistakes late in the fourth quarter and through overtime. But also disappointing for the effort that went behind it.
Orlando was dialed in defensively for much of the game and got performances throughout the bench that it normally would not expect. Everyone stepped up throughout the game.
Just not at the end.
The Orlando Magic are now 32-39. They can be eliminated from winning the 7-seed with a Brooklyn Nets win later Sunday night. The Magic will next face those Nets on Tuesday.