ORLANDO, Fla. _ Despite building a 16-point lead in the first half, the Orlando Magic couldn't hold off the Boston Celtics during a 109-98 loss at Amway Center Friday night.
The Celtics (30-14) lurched out to an early 14-7 advantage, but the Magic (21-25) responded with a 20-4 run. Evan Fournier led the Magic's rally, going 6 for 10 to score 15 points.
The surge was bolstered by Khem Birch, who made a difference with his strongest start so far this season. In the first eight minutes of the contest, Birch recorded four points and one assist, but it was his six rebounds that made the biggest impact for the Magic.
The forward fought for an offensive rebound, flipping the ball to the top of the key for a Nikola Vucevic 3-pointer that pushed Orlando ahead 19-18. The Magic went on to stretch the lead to 16 points, but the Celtics chipped away as Kemba Walker heated up at the end of the first half.
With four minutes left in the first half, the crowd chanted, "We want Tacko," urging Celtics coach Brad Stevens to play UCF graduate Tacko Fall. Despite chants throughout the rest of the game, the center did not play.
The Celtics got a thunderous breakaway slam dunk by Daniel Theis, cutting the lead to single digits with 2:15 left in the first half, and a 3-pointer from Gordon Hayward to cut it to four with 14 seconds left in the half.
Although Walker didn't score in the third quarter, the Celtics quickly regained the lead. When Javonte Green stole the ball in the final minute of the third quarter for a breakaway slam dunk to put the Celtics up 82-73, Celtics fans in the crowd roared, drowning out the subdued Magic fans.
Orlando's second half slump included a dismal shooting performance by Vucevic. The center went 2 of 6 from the field in the first half, then stumbled in the third quarter, going 3 of 8 and missing all three of his shots from 3-point range.
Vucevic still finished the game with 17 points, going 6 of 18 from the field.
The rest of the Magic struggled as well _ the team shot 41%, with Markelle Fultz also going 3 of 10 from the field.
Fournier attempted to make up for the lack of Orlando scoring with a 30-point performance, and the Magic cut the lead to five points with three minutes left. But it wasn't enough to overcome Walker's 37-point night and another 22 points from Hayward.
It was the Magic's 10th home loss this season. Orlando will close out a three-game homestand when it faces the Los Angeles Clippers Sunday at Amway Center. Tipoff is at 6 p.m. and the game will air on Fox Sports Florida.
