Orlando runs out of magic, fall to Boston Celtics in OT 122-119

It might have been a low-energy slog, but a win is a win as Boston forces overtime, and takes home a 122-119 victory in the extra period.

The Orlando Magic might have been down several of their best players against one of the best teams in the Disney ‘bubble’ in the Boston Celtics, but someone forgot to tell them they were supposed to get blown out of the water early.

Despite shooting guard Jaylen Brown winning the opening tip, it would be Orlando center Nick Vucevic to get the magic on the board first with a trey.

Boston wouldn’t get on the board until the 10:30 mark with a Gordon Hayward make. The Magic kept the pressure on early, with several of their players scoring early and jumping out to a 13-6 lead with D.J. Augustin converting from the line.

A pair of dunks from Robert Williams III got the Celtics back into it, and a Brad Wanamaker layup would cut the lead to just one with just under four to play in the frame. Wanamaker would tie it up at 23 from the line at the 1:45 mark, and the game stayed close to the end of the quarter with the Magic finishing the frame up 29-28.

The second quarter started with guard Markelle Fultz pushing the lead to 31 for Orlando. Enes Kanter would steal the lead back from the charity stripe just a few plays later, putting the Celtics up 32-31.

The two teams battled back and for for the next several minutes, with several ties and lead changes until Brown gave Boston a 51-43 lead with a four-point play at the 4:30 mark.

Orlando would fight back however, cutting the lead to 55-51 to go into the break, neither team seeming to break a sweat.

Augustin would cut the lead to 2 at the 11:15 mark of the penultimate frame, and Vucevic gave the Magic a 56-55 lead with a 3-pointer. The energy level remained low as the Celtics slowly retook the lead as Gordon Hayward started to heat up.

Yet again Orlando dug in, and cut the lead to 71-68 with an Augustin shot from deep. A James Ennis tip shot would bring the Magic to within one, but a Robert Williams III bucket gave Boston back their miniscule cushion.

The Celtics would add to their lead with a Marcus Smart trey, and on Boston’s next possession, Jayson Tatum would add one of his own to push the score to 83-78. Orlando refused to go away though, with Boston ending the third quarter up 87-86.

The final frame began with a Wanamaker layup of a nifty pass from Smart, and Time Lord would keep the Celtics in front with a flush on the team’s next possession.

The Magic continued to hang around, Fultz tying it at 95, and then took a 98-97 lead off of a Wes Iwundu 3-pointer with just over seven minutes to play. Brown would take the lead back with a quick layup, and a steal by Semi Ojeleye set the Georgia native up for another bucket.

Gary Clark and Augustin would steal the lead back with a a pair of wide-open treys to put the Magic up 106-101 with a little over five minutes left in the contest, but Hayward would cut it to a 3-point lead, then Walker a 1-point lead soon after.

The Magic would go on a run while the Celtics seemingly took a nap, a last-second shot by Tatum saving the Celtics from losing in regulation as he tied it up at 112 with 3.8 seconds left in the game.

The game would head to overtime, and Fultz would score the first bucket of the extra period. Hayward would psych out Vucevic at the 3-point line and head to the line to take their first lead of the extra period, a Tatum and-1 putting the Celtics up 116-114.

A trip to the stripe for the Duke product gave the Celts a 4-point cushion, but Gary Clark would erase almost all of it with a 3-point play on the subsequent possession.

A Tatum jumper and a Theis layup gave Boston the lead for good, the Celtics coming away with a 122-119 win.

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