Orlando Magic's Paolo Banchero Is 'Playing At His Own Pace'

Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero spoke about his performance in a loss against the Boston Celtics.

ORLANDO - Despite taking a loss to the Boston Celtics on the road, Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero had a solid offensive output against the top Eastern Conference team. 

Banchero dropped 36 points on 14-of-30 shooting from the field in the 114-97 loss while adding in 10 rebounds, an assist and two steals. 

"I think just taking what they give me," Banchero said. "Putting Holiday on me, he's a smaller guy but very, very active, very good defender, trying to speed me up. So just trying to play at my own pace, use my size, and then just be aggressive. Take my shots, make my shots."

The 21-year-old forward went 4-of-10 from behind the arc, tying a season-high for makes. It was also the first time in his career that he took double-digit three-point attempts, setting a career-high with his 10. 

Paolo Banchero scored 36 points against the Boston Celtics but it wasn't enough as the Orlando Magic fell 114-97.  / Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

The first quarter looked like shootaround for Banchero, as he went 7-for-9 from the floor and 3-for-4 from deep for 19 points. He finished the first half with 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting but the Magic trailed 61-50. 

The second half didn't go as well for Banchero as the first, with the Celtics limiting him to just 10 points on 15 shots and forced him to turn the ball over twice. 

"Would have liked to play better in the second half but, you know, that's a tough team," Banchero said. "When you start how I started, rarely do you get to continue to score at that clip, they're gonna do whatever it takes to put a stop to it. You got to give credit to them."

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Orlando will have a chance to bounce back after back-to-back losses to Boston when it hosts the Miami Heat on Dec. 20 at 7:00 p.m. ET.