Orlando Magic Struggles Mightily in Loss vs. Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics punched the Orlando Magic in the mouth in the first contest in a two-game series.

Jeremy Brener | Dec 15, 2023

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ORLANDO - The Orlando Magic is heading back to the drawing board after a 128-111 loss to the Boston Celtics on Friday night at TD Garden.

The Magic came into the game with the upper hand having had three days of rest, while the Celtics were playing the second half of a back-to-back. However, the Celtics had the ultimate edge playing in front of their home fans. At 13-0, the Celtics are the only team to never have lost at home this season.

Dec 15, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Orlando Magic center Goga Bitadze (35) shoots against the Boston Celtics during the first half at TD Garden / Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

Orlando started off hot, but Boston was able to cool the Magic down by forcing 21 turnovers. The Celtics were also strong from behind the 3-point line, making 18 of 42 attempts. Boston's 128 points is the second-highest total that Orlando has surrendered this season.

Jayson Tatum led all scorers with 30 points on an efficient 11 of 22 from the field. Payton Pritchard also added 21 points off the bench, including 6 of 7 from downtown.

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For the Magic, Jalen Suggs, who injured his hand and wrist in the first half but returned, scored a team-high 19 points. Suggs was one of six Magic players to finish in double figures. Goga Bitadze had a double-double with 15 points and a team-high 11 rebounds.

This is one of Orlando's worst losses of the season, but it came against a really strong Boston team. Luckily for the Magic, the team will have another shot at revenge in Sunday's contest at TD Garden. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. ET.

Published Dec 15, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.