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The Orlando Magic find themselves trailing 0-2 in their first-round series against the Boston Celtics after a 109-100 loss in Game 2 on Wednesday night. While the team remains focused on regrouping for Game 3 at home, frustration surrounding the officiating was evident in postgame comments from both Paolo Banchero and head coach Jamahl Mosley.
Banchero, who once again led the Magic with 32 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, and two blocks, addressed the officiating during his media availability.
“I mean you can’t expect the refs to be perfect every game,” Banchero said. “A couple of calls that, you know, I didn’t agree with — we as a team didn’t agree with — but like I said, it’s gonna be like that some games. Gotta play through it.”
Jamahl Mosley addresses early foul trouble, free throw disparity in Game 2 loss to Celtics
The Magic faced a significant free throw disparity in the first half. Boston ended the first quarter with 12 free throw attempts compared to Orlando’s two. By halftime, the Celtics had 23 attempts to the Magic’s 10, while Orlando had been called for 14 fouls — resulting in at least two fouls on nearly every starter. Boston, by contrast, had only eight team fouls at the break.
The second half saw a more balanced whistle, but the overall totals still leaned in Boston’s favor. The Celtics finished with 33 free throw attempts to the Magic’s 24, while team fouls ended at 23 for Orlando and 19 for Boston.
Mosley offered a composed yet telling response when asked about the officiating postgame.
“I’m not the one to answer that question. I promise you, I can’t answer that one right now,” Mosley said. “I think there is some things that you’d like to look at and say differently — I’m not one to complain about any of it, but there’s a reality that all of our starters had two fouls at one point quickly, and there was a time that it was 16-2 in the free throw count.”
He acknowledged that the team must find ways to overcome adversity.
“That’s part of how the game goes, and that’s what we gotta learn to push through and fight through,” Mosley continued. “And that’s what these guys did. Now when we get to the free throw line we gotta knock them down too. Can’t miss nine in a nine-point game.”
Mosley praises Paolo Banchero’s playoff rise as Magic eye Game 3 response in Orlando
Mosley then pivoted to praise Banchero, who has once again elevated his performance in the postseason. Through two games, Banchero is averaging 34 points, 10 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.5 blocks while shooting 50% from the field and 46.2% from three-point range.
“It’s who he is. He’s a winner. He’s trying to find ways to do whatever he can,” Mosley said. “Not coming out of the game in that fourth quarter just because of how bad he wants to go take this game… this young man is doing whatever he can for this team in order to put us in the position to be successful and to win games.”
With the series shifting to Orlando, both Paolo Banchero and Jamahl Mosley expressed excitement about returning to their home court. Game 3 is scheduled for Friday at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.
“Yeah, really excited to get back home and defend home court,” Banchero said. “But if we wanna win the series we gotta get a win on the road… still looking for that.”
Mosley echoed the importance of playing in front of their home crowd at the KIA Center.
“I think for this group absolutely,” Mosley said. “I think our crowd is one of the best in the league and they’re gonna be behind us, supporting us… that energy at the KIA Center is gonna be something that we’re gonna need as we move back home to be able to take care of home.”
