In the midst of a playoff race, the Celtics were presented a very winnable game against a struggling Magic team the day before heading down to Miami to play the Heat. What looked like a game that was on it’s way to becoming a blow out turned into a classic Celtics meltdown. After going up by as many as 20, the Celtics ended up falling to the Magic 104-98.
Boston started off strong in the 1st going up 17-9 early. Smart found his shooting stroke going 2/3 from deep and Bass had a quick six points off of three dunks. By the end of the first it was 31-17 Celtics. Smart played the whole quarter leading all scorers with 9 points and did a great job defensively corralling 2 steals and forcing a Ben Gordon travel late in the frame. Orlando stayed afloat with their success on the offensive boards.
The Celtics pushed the lead up to 20 early in the 2nd (37-17), but the Magic climbed back against the Celts’ reserves and cut the lead to 44-36. Thanks to some big shots by Isaiah Thomas late in the half, Boston was able to carry a 49-43 lead into intermission.
The third quarter started with the Celtics and Magic going back and forth with Boston maintaining a 57-52 lead. However, lead by Victor Oladipo, the Magic surged back and took a 66-61 lead. But the Celts rallied back late on a couple of three’s from Luigi Datome and Marcus Smart to go into the 4th tied at 69 apiece. The fourth quarter started with a lot of back and forth scoring with physical defense, and inconsistent officiating. Unexpected surprise Luigi Datome had 8 points and the Celtics were able to regain the lead at 80-78. But the Magic came roaring back led by rookie Elfrid Payton and after a steal and dunk by Maurice Harkless the Magic took a commanding 90-84 lead. The Celtics tried to rally back, but with the Magic containing Isaiah Thomas, Boston couldn’t muster up enough scoring and went down 104-98.
The Green
- Brandon Bass had a huge night scoring 19 points, and grabbing a career high 17 rebounds, 10 of which were offensive.
- Luigi Datome got his first meaningful minutes and scored 10 points on 4-5 shooting.
- Marcus Smart tied his career high with 5 steals.
The Gross
- Celtics again were unable to maintain a 20 point lead.
- Magic outscored the Celtics in the paint 52-26.
- Magic attempted 16 more free throws than the Celtics
- Maurice Harkless game clinching slam
- Questionable Flagrant 2 on Marcus Smart:
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The Greenlights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7zZl0TYYeI
The Grid (quick stats)
- Boston made a season high 15 three’s
- Isaiah Thomas and Jonas Jerebko outscored the Magic’s bench 28-24
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