What the Magic Said After Losing Game 4, Going Down 3-1 to Celtics

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Orlando Magic fell short to the Boston Celtics in Game 4 at home on Sunday evening, 107-98.

Recap: Celtics take commanding 3-1 lead over Magic behind Tatum's 37 | Full series schedule

After the game, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley and forwards Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero met reporters to discuss the result.

Here's what they had to say.

Jamahl Mosley

On the Celtics down the final stretch and what made the difference...

“I think they came up, you know, [with] 50-50 balls. The rebounding margin, you know, we miss one, they get down on...get a break, hit a big shot. And I think going back, I have to look at the film to see exactly what, where we [messed up] there. I think there’s some communication breakdowns in a couple pieces that allowed them to get out in the open court and then just our level of communication that attention to detail and those moments matter.”

On what changes are implemented when you notice the team facing challenges...

“You have to sit down and get stops to get yourself some easy baskets. You know, I think they came down, hit some tough ones, some big ones, you know, I think that’s a big portion of it. Again, and then where we were defensively being able to communicate the right things at the right time, I think that was a big portion of it as well.”

On Paolo Banchero’s shot making during tonight’s game in scoring 31 points...

“I think they were putting bodies on him, I think he went to the basket a couple of times. There was a couple hits, a couple of grabs at the rim. His ability to...you know, those guys, that whistle didn’t blow in his direction. But again, I think our ability to just continue to push the pace, get quicker looks in transition. I think we’ve got to continue to look to do those things as well.”

On the ball movement throughout the game from the Orlando Magic...

“Well, I think they collapse the floor. I think as we were down, you have to speed the game up a little bit, so you’re looking into attack to get downhill. Now mind you, them collapsing, we can find the little bit more sprayouts as they sink to the paint. But the...our ability, you know, they did a great job of having hands on the basketball, getting...getting active hands just to, you know, get steals.”

On what lessons can be learned going into Game 5...

“I think it’s just what we’ve been saying. It’s in the margins, the small minor details. You know, I'm saying from the beginning of the game, the 50-50 balls they came up with quite a few of them. Again, it goes back to them having 11 offensive rebounds. Those are the minor battles, so the offensive rebounds, the free throw counts, those little things are where they win the possession battle, and we’ve got to continue to learn those things or in the small margins of the game.”

Jamahl Mosley said the #Magic allowed Boston to shoot too many free throws & his team has to knock theirs down, too. (BOS was 30-32, ORL 14-20).

In the same response, he said: “We had to understand the whistle was going to head in that direction after what’s been said.”

Mosley… pic.twitter.com/i6gzFKjpLG
— Mason Williams (@mvsonwilliams) April 28, 2025

Franz Wagner

On how the team can be more productive and efficient in their halfcourt offense...

“Yeah, I think in the halfcourt, I think you need space, I think you need to share the ball and when you do those two things and you have a purpose, I think that’s what the good teams do. I think we struggled a little bit in that four minute stretch a little bit, early in the fourth [quarter] as well with some of those things and we’ll clean it up especially when they, you know, have their smaller lineup in. We’ll make sure we have some adjustments for that next game and like I said, I think then we’re in a good chance of winning every game.”

On the lesson they want to carry over to game five to help swing this back in their favor...

“I think that we control a lot of the stuff that happens in the game and that we can play a lot better. I feel like we still haven’t played our best basketball, and you know, it wasn’t all bad today. You know, 91-91 with four minutes to go, it could go a lot of different ways. So, we’ll be better in game five and we’ll make sure we come out with the right mentality.”

Paolo Banchero

On what he saw from the Celtics in the final four minutes of the game...

“I think they just did a good job of slowing the game down and getting whatever they were trying to do, whether it was a matchup or isolation. They were just making plays.”

On playing within the margins and whether that was a difference late in the game...

“I mean, you could just tell their experience showed. They weren’t rattled at all. They were making big plays on both sides; offensive rebounds. They were just really sharp, I would say, in those last four minutes.”

On what the team can learn from a game like this...

“Just that you have to play a full 48 minutes of good basketball to win the game. It was tied up with four minutes left. You’ve got to really lock in those last four minutes.”

Up Next

Boston hosts Orlando for Game 5 of the series on Tuesday, April 29 at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBA TV and FanDuel Sports Network Florida.

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