The Celtics and Magic continue their first round series with Game 4 in Orlando on Sunday. Currently, Boston leads this series 2-1. On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Celtics are a 7.5-point favorite for Game 4 and this game carries a total of 198 points.
Below, I break down Game 4 between the Celtics and the Magic and give a pick for the game via DraftKings Sportsbook.
Magic vs. Celtics preview, prediction
Just when everyone had written them off, the Magic defeated the Celtics 95-93 in Game 3. This was a very strange game that had many controversial calls at the end and according to the NBA’s last two-minute report for the contest, there was a missed foul call by the officials with just under two minutes remaining that would have given Al Horford a chance to tie the game at the free-throw line. Furthermore, many fans believe there was a clock managing error in the final moments and that Boston should have had more than 0.3 seconds left on the clock for its final play, which was an attempt to tie the game down two points. Nonetheless, Orlando won and this series is now 2-1 in favor of the Celtics heading into Sunday’s Game 4.
The Magic once again were led by Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. Wagner led the team with 32 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, while Banchero posted 29 points and six rebounds. Orlando also got 10 points out of Wendell Carter Jr. and nine points out of Anthony Black off the bench, but after that, no other player scored more than six points.
As for the Celtics, they were without Jrue Holiday (hamstring), but Jayson Tatum (wrist) returned after missing Game 2 and he didn’t miss a beat, finishing with 36 points, nine rebounds and four assists while shooting 46% from the field. Jaylen Brown and Derrick White also scored 19 and 16 points, respectively. However, Kristaps Porzingis struggled mightily for Boston, finishing with only seven points and six rebounds on 3-of-10 shooting. The big man has yet to hit one of his 10 three-pointers in this series and as we saw in the regular season, the Magic are just a poor matchup for Porzingis.
As a team, the Celtics got off to a strong start and led by 10 points at halftime, but they came out very flat in the third quarter and uncharacteristically only scored 11 points in that frame, while the Magic scored 24 points. Boston just didn’t look like itself in that period and its poor third quarter was the main difference in the game. While the Magic’s stout defense was a factor, Boston simply was out of sorts and it’s hard to imagine this happens again in Game 4. This season, the Celtics rank second in offensive rating and they rank second in third-quarter scoring.
All in all, while Orlando did prevail, the Celtics very much gave this game away and this experienced group should be far more focused in Game 4, even with Holiday remaining sidelined. Jaylen Brown (knee) is also questionable, but he carried this designation heading into Game 3 and should play through the questionable tag again Sunday. While Porzingis’ struggles against the Magic are concerning, the Celtics can afford for the big man to struggle or play a small role to defeat this Orlando team. Boston finished the regular season second in net rating, compared to the Magic who finished 17th. The Celtics have been an incredible team after a loss under head coach Joe Mazzulla and Boston should look like the defending champions in Game 4.
Magic vs. Celtics pick, best bet
The Celtics should bounce back in a big way in Game 4 and backing Boston -7.5 is a sharp move Sunday. After a loss this season, no team in the NBA has been better than the Celtics with their 19-2 record. Furthermore, Boston is an incredible 17-4 ATS after a defeat, which is also the best record in the league for this situation and it’s not even close. With 86% of the handle and 75% of the bets spread-wise on the Celtics -7.5 on DraftKings Sportsbook, attacking this line quickly is smart, as this line is very likely to keep moving before tip-off.
