The Orlando Magic can even their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series when they meet the visiting Boston Celtics in Game 4 on Sunday night.
After losing two games in Boston, seventh-seeded Orlando rebounded by earning a 95-93 home victory Friday. The second-seeded Celtics, who played without Jrue Holiday (strained right hamstring) in Game 3, are 0-3 in Orlando this season.
The Celtics led by 10 points at halftime, then were held to a season-low 11 points in the third quarter.
“We just got stagnant,” Celtics forward Jayson Tatum dsif. “We’ve just got to play with some more pace and movement. That’s when we’re just at our best.”
As has been the case all series, Franz Wagner (32 points) and Paolo Banchero (29) provided most of the Orlando scoring. Wagner also had eight assists and seven rebounds.
“I would say really gutsy,” Banchero said when he was asked about Wanger’s performance. “He was locked in from start to finish on both sides of the ball, just being ultra-aggressive on both sides of the floor.”
There was some concern about Tatum’s health after he missed Game 2 with a bruised wrist, but Tatum led all scorers with 36 points. He tossed in 21 points in the first half, but Orlando’s physical style of play got the best of Boston in the second half.
“It’s just dealing with pain tolerance,” Tatum said. “The treatment has been progressing every day and I felt like I could try to go out there and play.”
Orlando picked up its third flagrant foul of the series when guard Cole Anthony yanked on Jaylen Brown’s arm as Brown drove to the basket in the second quarter. Brown said he sustained a dislocated finger on the play.
“I dislocated my index finger, but I got nine more so I’m all right,” Brown said. “There might be a fight break out or something because it’s starting to feel like it’s not even basketball, and the refs are not controlling the environment. So it is what it is. If you want to fight it out, we can do that. We can fight to see who goes to the second round.
“Definitely was a physical game. They got away with a lot. When you get away with it, I would do it, too. We’ll be ready for Game 4.”
The Magic’s first flagrant foul in the series was Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s hard foul on Tatum in the series opener, which caused the injury that forced him to miss Game 2. Goga Bitadze earned the second flagrant in Game 2 when he hit Kristaps Porzingis with an elbow that opened a cut requiring stitches.
“We have to also bring our game and our physicality,” Porzingis said. “That’s what teams need to do to compete with us. They got us (Friday), but we’ll bounce back.”
After Sunday’s game, the series returns to Boston for Game 5 on Tuesday night.
“(The Game 3 victory) can propel us into whatever the future holds for us,” said Orlando center Wendell Carter Jr. “At the same time, you don’t want to dwell on this win too long. It’s still a series. It’s still the first to four. Our job is to take care of home court, take care of Sunday and we go from there.”
–Field Level Media
