Second Half Collapse Dooms Magic
After the Magic were blown out of the TD Garden in Boston Monday night, they entered the rematch Thursday night looking for revenge.
Throughout the first half, it looked as though the Magic would get that revenge. After Boston took an 8-2 lead, it was all Orlando. The Magic went on a 30-8 run and played most of the quarter without Dwight Howard. Howard picked up two fouls after only playing 2:55 and would sit the remainder of the quarter. The Magic led at the end of one quarter 32-16.
They extended their lead in the second quarter getting as far up as 27 with 3:11 remaining in the half. Dwight Howard picked up his third foul after only 3:48 on the court in that quarter. He played under seven minutes of the first half. Boston would go on a brief run to end the quarter but the Magic led 58-37 at halftime.
The Celtics came out of the locker room strong starting the second half on an 8-2 run cutting the Magic lead to 15. After the Magic pushed their lead back to 21, the collapse started. The Celtics went on a 32-8 run aided by Magic turnovers and with 7:32 remaining, the Celtics took a 79-76 lead. The Celtics wouldn’t look back after taking the lead and would go on to win 91-83.
During the fourth quarter the Magic began to deteriorate physically and mentally. With under four minutes remaining, both Ryan Anderson and Dwight Howard were assessed technical fouls for arguing with the officials. It was Anderson’s first technical foul of the season but Howard’s fifth. Ryan Anderson led the Magic in scoring in the first half with 12 points but didn’t score any points in the second half. Dwight Howard ended another double-double game with 16 points and 16 rebounds but that was little consolation.
If the Magic thought that the loss in Boston Monday night was bad, this loss must be worse. The Magic had a 21 point lead at halftime and led by 27 at one point in the second quarter. They were outscored 54-25 in the second half, a complete opposite of the first half. Now the Magic will have to try to recover as they did at the beginning of the week.
Up Next: The Magic (12-6) play again Friday night as they travel to New Orleans to take on the 3-15 Hornets.
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