Subscribe
Follow Us
The Orlando Magic escaped with a critical 95-93 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series on Friday night, but tensions surrounding the series continued to escalate after the final buzzer. Celtics forward Jaylen Brown voiced his frustration postgame regarding the physicality, suggesting the games were bordering on something other than basketball.
“I don't know. There might be a fight break out or something,” Brown said. “It’s starting to feel like it's not even basketball, and the refs is not controlling the environment… If they want to fight it out, we can do that.”
Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley addressed Brown’s remarks during Saturday’s practice, providing a measured yet firm response. Speaking to Sports Illustrated’s Mason Williams, Mosley emphasized that physicality is an expected part of playoff basketball.
“Just like we talked about with our guys, it’s playoff basketball,” Mosley said. “It’s going to be physical and you expect that. That’s part of what we know a playoff series is. It’s a physical basketball game.”
The Magic have embraced the intensity and physical demands of the series. Franz Wagner, who delivered an impressive performance in Game 3 with 32 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, and two steals while shooting 7-for-12 from the free throw line, reinforced that message after Friday’s win.
“I feel like it suits our team, our playing style,” Wagner said. “Whoever is the [most] aggressive for a longer time in the game, wins the game and the series, so hopefully we can come up with the same mentality on Sunday.”
Magic aim to even series in Game 4 as physicality continues to define showdown with Celtics
Physicality has become a growing theme throughout the series. Game 1 saw Jayson Tatum suffer a right wrist bone bruise after a flagrant foul by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. In Game 2, Kristaps Porzingis took an elbow to the head that required five stitches. Following Boston’s Game 3 loss, Brown revealed he dislocated his left index finger after a flagrant foul by Cole Anthony. The series has grown increasingly physical, with both teams adjusting to the elevated playoff intensity.
Orlando will look to build on its momentum when it hosts Game 4 on Sunday night at 7:00 p.m. ET on TNT. A win would even the series at 2-2 before the teams return to Boston for Game 5 on Tuesday night.
Mosley credited Orlando’s home-court advantage as a major factor in the Magic’s postseason push. The Celtics have not won at the KIA Center since October 22, 2022, and Mosley expects the energy from the crowd to once again play a pivotal role.
“Our fans. This crowd. I can’t say it enough, our fans and that crowd last night was unbelievable,” Mosley said. “The energy that building provides, the fans that have the support, how they come and cheer us on and get the energy going when we’re getting big time stops or making a big shot, you can just feel that atmosphere. It is something special the way that our community has gotten behind us in order to keep propelling us to wins at home.”
The Magic will aim to feed off that energy again as they seek to further shift the series momentum against the defending champions.
