Tatum Scores 32 as the Celtics Beat the Magic 108-97, Leaving Orlando Winless at Home
Orlando erased a 15-point deficit to tie Boston twice in the second half — and still lost by 11. Jayson Tatum's 32 points and a late 18-6 Celtics run dropped the Magic to 2-4 and 0-3 at the Kia Center.
Orlando — Jayson Tatum tossed in a game-high 32 points and the Boston Celtics pulled away late to beat the Orlando Magic 108-97 on Sunday at the Kia Center, extending their winning streak to five games, Reuters reported. Tatum was 8-of-19 from the field and made 15 of 17 free-throw attempts — as many as the entire Orlando team made all night.
The Magic (2-4) fell to 0-3 at home despite two separate comebacks. Orlando led by nine early in the first quarter, then watched Boston build a 69-54 lead in the third before storming back with an 18-3 run, capped by an Anthony Black 3-pointer, to tie the game at 72. Boston carried a 77-74 lead into the fourth, and after Orlando tied it again at 79, the Celtics answered with an 18-6 run that put them up 97-85 with 5:02 to play.
Tristan da Silva led Orlando with 23 points and 10 rebounds, Black added 23 points and eight rebounds, Desmond Bane scored 19, and Franz Wagner had 14 points and a career-high 12 assists. Paul George finished with 17 points, six rebounds and eight assists for Boston (5-1), and his 3-pointer with 1:32 remaining gave the Celtics an 11-point cushion the Magic never threatened. Orlando gets no rest to dwell on it: the Magic host Washington on Monday night.
