Magic Win Southeast Division, Clinch No. 7 Seed with Win over Celtics

With a 96-76 victory over the Boston Celtics, the Orlando Magic have officially clinched back-to-back Southeast division titles and secured the No. 7 seed in the East Play-In Tournament.

Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) defends Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner (22) during the first quarter at Kia Center. | Mike Watters-Imagn Images

ORLANDO, Fla. –– The Orlando Magic now know exactly how their postseason journey will begin.

After a 31-20 third-quarter advantage helped the Magic shake off an ugly first half, they defeated the undermanned Boston Celtics 96-76 in their regular-season home finale on Wednesday evening.

Orlando's victory, although not pretty, was its fourth straight, clinching the Magic the Southeast division title for the second consecutive season.

The Magic have now won back-to-back division titles for the first time since winning three straight from 2008-10.

Orlando (40-40) also secured the No. 7 seed in the Play-In Tournament with two regular-season games still to play.

"[I'm] extremely proud of this group," Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. "Being able to endure through all the things – the injuries, the bump back, guys in, guys out – and still come away getting the division and giving yourself a chance at a secured seventh seed for the opportunity to get into the playoffs.

"I’m proud of our group for that, for being as tough as they are, resilient as they are to continue to push through no matter the circumstances.”

Franz Wagner tallied 23 points (9-17 FGs) and eight rebounds to lead the Magic in the win.

Paolo Banchero shot 6-17 from the field and tallied 15 points, bringing his streak of 20 consecutive games of 20-plus points to an end. It also snapped he and Wagner's run of 11 straight games with 20 or more points, which stands as a franchise record.

But Orlando's defense stifled Boston, who, sans its five usual starters and a sixth bench option, shot just 39 percent from the field and 7-of-40 from three. The Celtics conceded 25 points on 16 turnovers, and their 76 points are the lowest in a single game this season.

Contrastingly, the Magic, while shooting only 41.1 percent from the field, made 16 threes in the win. Orlando entered the night as the NBA's worst three-point shooting team this season.

'I think that was a great team win. Everyone contributed," Cole Anthony said postgame. "It wasn't a particularly close game. Obviously they didn't play the majority of their guys, but this is the league and every time you step on the court [and] handle business, that's a plus. We have to keep building off of this."

Anthony buried five of those triples and scored 18 points. Ten came in the first half, but Anthony quickly exited the game in the second quarter after dealing with a mid-game sickness, and Boston closed the half on an 11-0 run minus the reserve shot-creator.

In so many words, however, Anthony said postgame he wasn't worried about his sickness.

"Sometimes, you've just got to get some negativity out of your body," Anthony said. "And you know what, the negativity tonight was reflected in some throw-up.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope played only seven minutes in the contest before exiting with a sore left knee. Postgame, however, Mosley said the veteran guard is "okay."

Orlando will host the No. 8 seed (to be determined) at the Kia Center in the No. 7-8 matchup on Tuesday, April 15, at a to-be-announced time. TNT will have the exclusive broadcast of the contest.

Tickets will go on sale Thursday, April 10, with presale beginning at 10 a.m. ET and general sales opening at 1 p.m. ET. For more information and to buy tickets, fans are encouraged to visit OrlandoMagic.com. Magic season ticket holders are given first priority for postseason tickets.

The winner of the No. 7-8 matchup will face No. 2 Boston in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

The loser of the April 15 game will host the winner of the No.9-10 game on Friday, April 18 (time TBD, TNT).

The winner of that game will earn the No. 8 seed and face the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs, while the losing team will be eliminated.

Up Next

Orlando travels to meet the Indiana Pacers in the penultimate game of the regular season on Friday, April 11 at 7 p.m. ET. They close the regular season at Atlanta on Sunday, April 13 at 1 p.m. ET.

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