Celtics' Road Trip Begins With Loss To Orlando
ORLANDO -- Reserve guard Victor Oladipo had 19 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists in leading the Orlando Magic to a 110-91 victory over the Boston Celtics on Sunday night at Amway Center.
It was their third consecutive victory. The Magic (9-8) are above the .500 mark going into December for the first time since 2012.
Magic center Nikola Vucevic had 18 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out with 2:07 remaining. Forward Tobias Harris had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Reserve forward Andrew Nicholson had 14 points and eight rebounds.
Isaiah Thomas led the Celtics with 20 points and seven assists. Avery Bradley had 17 points. Jae Crowder had 12 points. David Lee had 11 points.
The Magic led by as many as 21 points early in the fourth, but their shooting went cold, allowing the Celtics to cut the lead to 96-84 midway in the period when Thomas hit back-to-back baskets. The Celtics never got closer than 12 points in the fourth quarter.
The Magic led 84-67 going into the fourth period. Channing Frye, who didn't take a shot in the first half, hit two of his four 3-point attempts in the third period. Vucevic scored 10 points in the period.
The Magic scored 32 points in the second period for the 53-45 halftime lead. They struggled with eight turnovers in the first quarter, but followed with a hot-shooting second when they hit 13 of their next 17 shots.
Nicholson, who has worked his way into the regular rotation after hardly playing in the first few games, had 10 points by halftime. Oladipo had nine. Lee led the Celtics with 11 points in 10 minutes before intermission. Bradley had 10.
The Magic led 51-42 when Aaron Gordon hit a 3-pointer. The Celtics had tied the game at 35 on a 3-pointer by Lee, who scored nine consecutive Boston points.
Oladipo broke the tie with a 3-pointer and started an 18-10 run before halftime.
NOTES: The Celtics were without G Marcus Smart (lower leg injury), who had started eight of his nine games this season. He is expected to miss at least a week of action. ... Even before the game, the Magic clinched their first winning-record month (8-6) since March of 2012. ... Celtics coach Brad Stevens before the game compared Magic F Channing Frye and his 3-point shooting ability to Hawks sharpshooter Kyle Korver. Frye is averaging just 6.5 ppg. "You fear them like they are averaging 30," Stevens said. ... This was the start of a five-game road trip for the Celtics that will include a stop in Mexico City, where they will play Sacramento. "It will test how together we are as a unit," said F Jae Crowder. "It will be good for us." ... The Magic will leave Monday to start their own 10-day, five-game Western swing. ... Magic and Celtics came into the contest 1-2 in the NBA in field goal attempts per game, averaging 89.3 and 88.8, respectively.