The Orlando Magic can fight and claw. No one doubts their spirit.
After trailing the entire second half, they finally found the daylight they needed to get back into the game and tie it with 4:15 to play. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit a three, and Wendell Carter followed up with a putback layup to send the Boston Celtics to a timeout and the Kia Center into hysterics.
The Magic could see hope. They could see a chance. Their effort, their heart and their energy were all out there. Orlando took every shot from Boston, harassed and bullied them, fouled and frustrated them, and stood tall. There were four minutes between them and an improbably tied series.
Jayson Tatum might be the reason why the Magic's season now stands on the brink. The Celtics and their championship experience might be the reason why they trail 3-1.
The Celtics burned off five straight points after Wendell Carter's tip-in tied the game. They came out of the timeout with a lob play for Kristaps Porzingis where he missed the lob and immediately tipped it back in, with Paolo Banchero fouling him after helping late. They saw Tatum drain a turnaround shot over Banchero for a six-point lead with about three minutes to play.
It became mistake after mistake as the Magic missed shots—Paolo Banchero missing a pull-up, Wendell Carter missing a short jumper and Franz Wagner missing a step-back three. Tatum picked up a foul on a missed 3-pointer to extend the lead to nine with 2:19 to play.
Orlando saw its opportunity to even the series slip through its fingers. The Celtics outright took the game from the Magic.
The championship team looked like it to close Game 4 to put the Magic on the brink of elimination with a 107-98 victory at Kia Center on Sunday.
"I think they just did a good job of slowing the game down and getting whatever they were trying to do whether it was a matchup or isolation. Just making plays," Paolo Banchero said after Game 4. "You could just tell their experience shows. They weren't rattled at all. They were making big plays on both sides, offensive rebounds. They were just really sharp I would say those last four minutes."
Late-game execution
Ultimately, games like these come down to execution. Basketball is not a mano e mano sport all the time. But these playoff games are decided by the choices star players make. That is why they are so important in the league.
Jayson Tatum is a veteran and an NBA champion. Paolo Banchero is still learning that responsibility
It was a tie game with four minutes to play. The game would be decided on who made the better plays, the tough shots and baskets down the stretch.
The Magic's chances evaporated in an instant with the Kristaps Porzingis and-1 and Paolo Banchero missing a hesitation mid-range jumper. It disappeared further with Franz Wagner missing a step-back 3-pointer over Kristaps Porzingis after the Jayson Tatum fadeaway. It got deeper with a Paolo Banchero layup that Al Horford blocked when the Magic were running out of time.
All of those things were small in isolation but they added up.
Banchero put it plainly: The shots the Magic got down the stretch "were not very good." He said he felt the Celtics baited the Magic into doing what they wanted them to do. Orlando fell into Boston's trap.
"I think we tried to play a little bit fast," Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said after Game 4. "We've got to be patient and poised down the stretch. We have to at least try to get a shot up every time down the floor and come down to the other end and get stops. That's what we leaned our hat on for most of the season and postseason. We've got to continue to trust in our defense and try to get easy baskets in transition."
No one should question the Magic's heart or toughness. They left everything on the floor to try to extend this series. Orlando it felt like emptied their energy and their passion to try to keep this series going.
Caldwell-Pope said the end of the game felt like it was about the Magic's mistakes. That is how the other losses felt too. Wagner said he did not feel the Magic have played their best game yet.
They will still have one more game to try to play that game and stay alive. And then another and another if they can find a way to win.
The mountain to climb
Like every game in this series, Game 4 was indeed a battle. Nearly a fight to the death, with at least two pull-aparts and a pair of technical fouls given out late in the fourth quarter. The simmering frustrations of a physical series finally got to them.
The Boston Celtics continued to put pressure on the Orlando Magic and test boundaries, but they never could put the Magic fully away. Every time Boston seemed set to pull away, Orlando reeled the lead back in.
But that is as much a symbol of this series, too. Boston represented a mountain Orlando had to climb. A tough one to climb with all the pressure they put on teams defensively. Even this defense. The Magic have always had to pick what they needed to give up.
Even then, they needed to be perfect.
This young Magic team in their second playoff series, is learning quickly how missing key possessions and key plays can add up, whether they are late in the game or not.
Orlando ended up with more second-chance points, but gave up 11 offensive rebounds (to seven for Orlando). That included the Kristaps Porzingis tip dunk and Payton Pritchard tracking down a long rebound with a minute left and a seven-point lead to eat up more clock and begin the foul game.
The Magic were upset with the free-throw disparity once again, taking only two in the fourth quarter. But they missed six free throws in what was a close game. The Celtics took 32–26 before the Magic fouled at the end of the game—missing only two.
Those are points and opportunities they could not get back.
"They came up with 50/50 balls," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Game 4. "The rebounding margin, we miss one and they get a break and hit a big shot. I thin kthere's some communication breakdowns and a couple of pieces that allowed them to get out in the open court. Our level of communication and our attention to detail in those moments matter."
Nobody has faulted the Magic for their effort or desire. They have pushed the Celtics and stretched them, taking the champions far from their comfort zone. But the Celtics have far too often shown their grit and experience to win these points on the margins.
Boston is the defending champion. The Celtics proved that by outexecuting the Magic down the stretch and putting the Magic on the brink of elimination.