Embarrassing Magic loss to undermanned Celtics puts Orlando on road

The Orlando Magic did not deliver in their regular season finale to the undermanned Boston Celtics, losing 113-108. What were a few of our takeaways? Let's examine the crushing defeat.

Only one team had any sort of incentive to win, and they lost:

Magic Celtics — Apr 12, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) drives to the basket defended by Boston Celtics forward Jordan Walsh (27) during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images | Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

A turbulent regular season from the Orlando Magic came to a painful, yet fitting close.

No Jaylen Brown. No Jayson Tatum. No Derrick White. No Payton Pritchard. No Neemias Queta. No incentive to win after wrapping up the No. 2 seed in the East.

Yet, the Celtics bested the Orlando Magic after trailing by as many as 11 points with 10:07 left in the third quarter.

Boston's barrage of buckets came in the third -- spearheaded by Baylor Scheierman and Ron Harper Jr., who combined to score 24 of Boston's 42 third-quarter points. The Magic's offense completely stagnated, and it gave life to the Celtics' offense, which shot 64.0 percent in the period.

Desmond Bane appears in all 82, but only plays 18 minutes in this game:

Unbeknownst to anyone, Bane -- who became the 23rd Magic player ever to play 82 games in a single season -- played just 17:34 in this loss after just 17 in the Magic's penultimate regular season contest.

Keeping the Magic guard, who's been their most consistent player this season, fresh is always important. But as we highlighted earlier, there was an incentive for the Magic to win this game. He wasn't on the injury report, nor were there any reports suggesting that Bane was expected to be limited.

We'll see if head coach Jamahl Mosley gets pressed after the game about his decision to limit Bane, who had just six minutes through three quarters. He was ultimately finished with eight points and a pair of rebounds on 3-of-8 shooting.

Baylor Scheierman was hotter than fish grease (cc: Mark Jones):

As many of you may know, longtime ESPN play-by-play broadcaster Mark Jones is leaving the network after over 35 years. He had the fortune of calling this game, where Scheierman was, in Jones' words, "hotter than fish grease."

Baylor Scheierman from DEEP 🎯

He's got a career-high 28 PTS! pic.twitter.com/BzRRpZI0L0
— NBA (@NBA) April 13, 2026

Mark Jones reacting to it!pic.twitter.com/x8Jo9d0P4b https://t.co/BC0GwXy4rK
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) April 13, 2026

Both Scheierman and Harper were huge thorns in the Magic's side. Scheierman led the C's with a career-high 30 points, while Harper poured on a career-most 24 points.

Even though you'll still be with NBC Sports California (Kings), congratulations on a phenomenal ESPN career, Mark.

Magic are officially No. 8 seed, will play 76ers:

Magic 76ers — Jan 9, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) is guarded by Philadelphia 76ers guard Kelly Oubre Jr. (9) in the fourth quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

It's officially official: As a result of the 76ers' 20-point win over the hapless Milwaukee Bucks, the Magic sink to the No. 8 seed and will travel to Philadelphia to face Orlando.

The Magic went 1-2 against the 76ers this season, with their most recent being a 103-91 Magic victory on Jan. 9. The 76ers are not expected to have center Joel Embiid available, after his appendix surgery, but Orlando will still be tested by Tyrese Maxey.