The Boston Celtics, playing without Jayson Tatum, come up short in Orlando

On By Littum

ORLANDO, Fla. – Tristan da Silva scored 18 points and made a critical 3-pointer with 9.9 seconds left, and the Orlando Magic rallied from a 15-point deficit Monday night for a 108-104 victory over the Boston Celtics, who were missing Jayson Tatum due to an illness.

With Tatum sidelined two nights after his 43-point triple-double in a win at Chicago, Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 35 points.

Boston led 58-43 at halftime, but the Magic dominated the third quarter to tie the game at the end of that period, and they went ahead by 10 in the fourth. The Celtics made a late run and Brown’s layup got Boston within 105-104 with 59.6 seconds left. Al Horford missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer for the Celtics, and when Silva responded with his game-sealing 3.

Trevelin Queen added 17 points in his first NBA start and Jalen Suggs scored 16 for the Magic. Kristaps Porzingis and Derrick White each scored 17 for the Celtics.

Magic center Goga Bitadze was ejected with 3:36 remaining for stepping into an altercation between Suggs and Porzingis, who both drew technical fouls.

Takeaways

Celtics: The defending NBA champions went cold in the second half in their final road game of 2024.

Magic: Orlando was outplayed in the first half for the second straight game while playing without Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Mo Wagner, but still found a way to win.

Key moment

Late in the third quarter, Cole Anthony lost the ball on a drive, stole it back in the corner and drove around 7-foot-3 Porzingis and 7-2 Luke Kornet for a reverse layup to give the Magic their first lead, 73 -72.

Key state

The Celtics, who average nearly 19 3-pointers per game on 51 attempts, shot 8 for 32 from distance.

Next

Celtics: Host Philadelphia on Christmas Day.

Magic: Host Miami Thursday night.