Last week, the Orlando Magic left the Boston Celtics’ home court having just received one of their most demoralizing losses of the season.
The Magic returned the favor, but the Celtics made them work for it.
Tobias Harris scored 19 points and the Magic hung on to beat the Celtics 100-95 on Tuesday night. Nik Vucevic and Kyle O’Quinn each added 18 points as Orlando ended a four-game losing streak.
Orlando looked to be in control in the second half and led by as many as 27 points. But that advantage was trimmed all the way down to three points in the closing minutes. The Magic were outscored 35-15 in the fourth quarter, but never trailed.
“We just got away from what we were doing throughout the whole game, and they capitalized off that,” Harris said. “But we got it together toward the end of the game and came out with the victory.”
Tyler Zeller led the Celtics with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Avery Bradley added 20 points, and Kelly Olynyk 14.
Boston looked sluggish offensively for most of the night, connecting on just 38 percent of its field goal attempts.
Orlando was up 25 entering the final period, but fell apart in the closing minutes, relying on outside shots and turning the ball over five times.
The Celtics, who couldn’t find the basket in the first half, scored from all over the court in the final 12 minutes.
Olynyk’s 3-pointer got Boston within 90-87 with just 2:34 to play, but the Magic were able to cobble together enough free throws in the final 2 minutes to preserve the win.
“Obviously in the fourth quarter they got on their heels a little bit, but it’s a lot easier to be a team coming back than the team with the lead,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said.
The Magic were the beneficiaries of an inept first-quarter shooting performance by the Celtics. Boston connected on only one of its first 17 field goal attempts in period, and finished the quarter 2 for 22.
“We’ll continue to improve,” Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. “What I do love about this group is we lost multiple games in a row and we kept a team to 30 points in the first half. So while you can definitely look at some negative, we’ll pull some positive out of this also.”
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TIP-INS
Celtics: The Celtics set new season lows for points in a quarter (9), and points in a half (30) on Tuesday night.
Magic: Reserve G Willie Green, who was inactive Sunday against the 76ers with flu-like symptoms, was activated Tuesday night.
NELSON’S RETURN
Celtics G Jameer Nelson received a noticeable ovation from Magic fans when he was introduced in the pregame. Nelson later acknowledged them with a wave while a video tribute played on the scoreboard during a timeout. Nelson played with Orlando from 2004 to 2014, before being waived this past summer. He left second in regular-season games played for Orlando at 651, behind only Nick Anderson (692).
MAGIC BIG GIVE
As part of the NBA Cares Season of Giving initiative, the Magic and Walt Disney World surprised David Duppins, his wife and four children with gifts including Ringling Brothers Circus tickets, Disney theme park passes and a vacation to Hawaii. Duppins, a minister, contracted malaria while doing missionary work in Africa, before recovering and eventually moving back to the states. The team also recently joined with Habitat for Humanity to give the family a new home.
UP NEXT
Celtics: Host Brooklyn on Friday.
Magic: Host Cleveland on Friday.