Magic Musings: Orlando avoids another letdown by holding off Celtics

By foxsports
Published

ORLANDO, Fla. -- After frustrating and confounding losses at home to the Utah Jazz and the Philadelphia 76ers, the Orlando Magic weren't taking any chances of a repeat performance Tuesday night against the Boston Celtics.

At least they weren't through the first three quarters.

Up by 27 points early in the fourth quarter, the Magic saw the Celtics get to within three on Kelly Olynyk's pullup 3-pointer with 2:34 remaining. But a basket by Tobias Harris and four clutch free throws by Kyle O'Quinn gave the Magic some badly-needing breathing room, and they held on for a 100-95 victory.

Except for Victor Oladipo, all five starters shot 50 percent or better and scored at least 12 points. Oladipo hit just two of his 15 shots.

Even with a 53-30 halftime lead, Magic coach Jacque Vaughn wasn't resting easy. He called a timeout 33 seconds into the third quarter after Celtics center Tyler Zeller scored on an uncontested layup. And he had more reason to be concerned when the Celtics outscored the Magic 20-5 in the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter.

Leading that charge was Jameer Nelson, the former Magic guard who was acquired last Thursday from Dallas as part of the trade that sent Rajon Rondo to the Mavericks. Nelson scored all nine of his points in the second half and led everyone in assists with 11.

The Magic went only 3 of 15 from the floor and 8 of 16 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.

THE TURNING POINT

The Magic took a 26-9 lead after one quarter, with the Celtics making only two of their 22 shots. The all-time record for the fewest points by a Magic opponent in a first quarter is 8.

THE DIFFERENCE MAKER

In his second game since replacing Channing Frye as the starter at power forward, O'Quinn turned in his third double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds.

STAT OF THE GAME

The Magic's largest lead all season had been 17 points at Utah on Dec. 5. They matched that when Vucevic's putback gave them a 22-5 advantage less than nine minutes into the game.

WHAT'S NEXT

Friday night vs. Cleveland, 7 p.m.

You can follow Ken Hornack on Twitter @HornackFSFla or email him at khornack32176@gmail.com.