Moe Wagner Leads Orlando Magic Past Boston Celtics
In a battle between the top two teams in the Eastern Conference, Moe Wagner's 27-point performance led the Orlando Magic to a 113-96 win over the Boston Celtics in their final In-Season Tournament game in group play on Friday at the Amway Center.
With the win, the Magic (11-5) extended its win streak to six and are 3-1 in group play in the In-Season Tournament. Boston (12-4) is 2-1 in the In-Season Tournament and rounds out group play in Group C in the Eastern Conference when they host the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday at the TD Garden.
The Brooklyn Nets (6-8), who hold the head-to-head advantage over Orlando, are 2-1 and also round out group play on Nov. 28 when they host the Toronto Raptors at the Barclays Center. Boston holds the head-to-head advantage over the Nets with a 121-107 win on Nov. 10.
The Bulls (5-11) and Raptors (7-8) are both 0-2 in group play and play on Friday in Toronto at the Scotiabank Arena at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Orlando trailed by as many as 12 points in the third quarter but responded with a 17-0 run to take a 67-62 lead. The Magic outscored the Celtics 29-18 in the third quarter and went into the fourth up 77-74. The Magic began the fourth quarter on a 10-0 run to lead by 13. Moe scored 13 points in the fourth quarter.
In total, the Magic outscored the Celtics 65-40 in the second half.
Moe Wagner scored over 20 points for the second time in his career.
Jeremy Reper-USA TODAY Sports
Moe and Cole Anthony each led another strong performance from the Magic's bench. Anthony had 16 points and as a whole, Orlando's second-unit outscored the Celtics' bench 57-24.
Paolo Banchero scored 23 points and had eight rebounds plus five assists.
Jayson Tatum led Boston with 26 points.
Second-chance points and Orlando defense also played a huge role in the win. The Magic had 21 second-chance points compared to just six for the Celtics. Boston, who was averaging 117.3 points per game heading into Friday, was held to its lowest amount of points scored by the Magic.
The Magic will be back in action on Sunday when they host the Charlotte Hornets (5-9) at the Amway Center at 6 p.m. ET.
