Orlando, Florida. Franz Wagner scored 32 points, Paolo Banchero added 29 and Orlando Magic defeated Boston 95-93 on Friday night to reduce the advantage of Celtics to 2-1 in the first round series of the East Conference.
Jayson Tatum had 36 points and nine rebounds for the Celtics on his return to the initial alignment after losing game 2 with a bruised doll.
The NBA defenders were 33-8 on the road this season, but now they are 0-3 in Orlando in 2024-25. The Magic Host Game 4 on Sunday.
Boston recovered after scoring only 11 points in the third quarter to tie 91 on the Derrick White tray with 2:31 to play. Wagner responded with a tray, and after a Tatum fault, he continued with another basket for a 95-91 advantage with 1:26 to play.
White scored, and after Wagner lost a triple, the Celtics obtained the ball and entered with 0.3 seconds, but White’s pass towards the basket was beaten when the time expired.
Jaylen Brown had 19 points for the Celtics, which were 17 minutes without a 3 -point basket in the second half.
The Celtics played without Jrue Holiday, which has a tendency of the right hamstrings.
Tatum, who was listed as doubtful on Friday afternoon, scored 21 points in the first half, which led the Celtics to a 10 -point advantage.
Tatum triple at the beginning of the second half extended its advantage to 11, but the Celtics lost 17 of their next 19 shots and did not reach another 3 -point shot until the Horford connected with 6:20 remaining in the last quarter.
Wagner and Banchero combined for nine points in a 14-0 race that took the magic ahead and led 86-74 after the third quarter.
