Orlando Magic Survive, Earn First Win of Series Against Celtics
The Orlando Magic won their first game of the 2025 NBA playoffs in a 95-93 win over the Boston Celtics on Friday Night as the Celtics missed the last-second shot at the buzzer for the win. The Magic were led by Franz Wagner, who had 32 points in this game, and Paolo Banchero added 29 points. Jayson Tatum returned from his bone bruise on his wrist and led Boston with 36 points on the night, but the rest of the Celtics struggled in this game in Orlando.
The Celtics struggled from 3 for the first time these playoffs
The Celtics, who led the league in 3-point shooting in terms of makes and attempts, were only 9-for-27 from three-point range in this Game 3 loss. The key to this series for the Magic for them to have a shot at winning any games was limiting the Celtics’ ability to shoot the three ball in general, and holding them to only nine makes from three is a STRONG WIN in those regards.
The Magic were physical tonight at the point of attack, forcing the Celtics to take a lot more contested looks than they normally do from Three-Point range. Derrick White and Kristaps Porzingis struggled from three in this game as Porzingis was 0-3, and White was 2-8 from three-point range. I will detail Porzingis’s performance in even more detail in this next section, but the Magic were able to take advantage of those guys’ struggles from outside on the night.
Porzingis STRUGGLED
Porzingis only had seven points, and six rebounds on 3-for-10 shooting from the field. The Celtics NEED a lot more from Porzingis if they want to repeat as NBA Champions. I’ll chalk this Porzingis performance to just a lackluster game, rather than a concern that can be catastrophic if it happens again. The Celtics and Porzingis should bounce back better in Game 4, but Game 3 was horrendous!
Wanger and Banchero are Becoming A Legit DUO
Both Banchero and Wanger had excellent performances, as previously stated at the beginning of this recap. Banchero added six rebounds and two steals to go with his 29 points, and Wanger had seven rebounds and eight assists to go with his 32 points. This duo is going to have to keep it going the rest of the way to keep this series as tight as it could be because the Magic aren’t going to get any production from their role players in this series at all, it seems like. Wendell Carter Jr. was the only Magic player other than Banchero and Wanger in double figures.
Final Thoughts
This game was a combination of home cooking for the Magic, coming through, with some physical play on the defensive side of the ball, as well as the Celtics relying too much on the three-ball when it wasn’t going in. I trust Joe Mazzula to make the necessary adjustments needed for the Celtics to play better in Game 4 on Sunday. Total Apex Sports will have more NBA Coverage throughout the rest of the NBA Playoffs.
