Magic stun Celtics as Boston’s mistakes turn Game 3 into a thriller

The calm that comes from being the defending champion, keeping the same core intact to chase another title a year later — ownership change included — and cruising through the first round of the Eastern Conference after a relaxed regular season is as good as it gets. The problem is maximizing that advantage when everything seems to be going your way. That’s what happened to the Celtics in their series against the Magic, a team that had to fight through the play-in and just stole a win from Boston when the sweep looked all but certain.

Magic fire things up in Florida

A 95-93 final in Florida makes it 2-1, with Boston still technically the home team in the series. A joint effort from Franz Wagner (32 points) and Paolo Banchero (29 points) took down a one-man army in Jayson Tatum, who dropped 36 points and was the only Celtic who showed up for the party. Two runs by Jamahl Mosley’s squad rocked the best team of 2024, who tried to fight back but ultimately fell short.

The Celtics are clearly missing Jrue Holiday, the glue at both ends of the floor. And that’s without factoring in that Tatum was a game-time decision — without him, it could have been even worse. Players like Jaylen Brown are being looked at to step up, but are falling flat.

The third quarter alone told a story: a 24-11 run by the Magic right out of the locker room. The lack of urgency from thinking the game was in hand is the kind of thing that can cause real problems later in this series — or down the line when a championship is on the line.

The Magic go to school on Celtics’ previous opponents

The Magic are following a similar script to the Celtics’ playoff opponents from last year, like the Heat and Cavs, who both managed to steal games — even at the Garden. Orlando has cracked the door open. A young, hungry team — even more dangerous when the reward is this sweet.

Why focus on the Celtics’ slumps? Because there weren’t just one or two — there were three. And faced with so many gifts, the Magic stopped playing it safe and went for the kill. In a first quarter where the answer was named Tatum — 13 of his 36 points came in his return after missing Game 2 — the Celtics opened up a 15-3 run. Then came another collapse: Orlando was stuck at 44 points, midway through the stars’ rest periods, and Kornet capped a 14-0 Boston run just before halftime. But coming out of the break, the same margin flipped the other way: a 14-0 Magic run. A true emotional rollercoaster. Chaos reigned. Orlando played with physicality, something that showed after the game, and pushed Boston to the limit — perhaps in the sloppiest game the Celtics have played all year, committing 19 turnovers.

Never count out the Celtics

There was still some fight left in the champions, who found themselves down by 12 late but battled back. After White tied the game at 91 with 2:31 remaining, the ball went to Franz Wagner. First he delivered — blowing past Porzingis with a spin move and finishing with a high layup — then he stumbled with two ugly shot attempts. Still, the curtain began to fall. Four points up, White got a quick dunk to cut the lead, but then the Celtics made a costly mistake: they let the Magic burn the clock with minimal time left, about four seconds, and a long rebound on a missed shot let Orlando maintain possession and call timeout. A lob pass for a tip-in fell short, and Boston’s hopes of overtime vanished.

The officiating standard set by the referees isn’t sitting well with the Celtics, who are worn down by injuries to the Jays (Tatum earlier, Brown now) and Holiday, despite still leading the series. Jaylen Brown didn’t hold back after the loss at the KIA Center: “At some point, we’re gonna end up fighting. You start to feel like this isn’t even basketball anymore. The refs aren’t controlling the game. If they want us to fight, we’ll fight.” Caldwell-Pope — once a key piece for the Lakers and Nuggets, now held scoreless — has been among the main targets of criticism. A series that was flying under the radar is suddenly heating up.

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