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The Orlando Magic’s season came to an abrupt end Tuesday night with a 120-89 loss to the defending champion Boston Celtics in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series. But following the defeat, attention quickly shifted from the scoreboard to the officiating.
Magic forward Paolo Banchero, who finished with 19 points, nine rebounds, and six assists in just 30 minutes, was plagued by foul trouble throughout the night. He picked up his fifth personal foul with 9:46 remaining in the third quarter on an and-one layup by Jaylen Brown. At the time of the call, the Magic led by two points. Orlando challenged the foul, but the challenge was unsuccessful.
“It was tough. Never really had anything like that happen before,” Banchero said postgame. “I was trying my best not to foul. I knew I had four fouls… I felt like I stopped short of him going up and he went up with his elbows out, hit me in the face and they called it on me. Then, he did the same thing to Cory Joseph, they called it on Cory. So, I’m not sure what that rule is… maybe I had a misunderstanding of what the rule is there, but I was trying my best not to foul.”
Paolo Banchero, Jamahl Mosley call out officiating after pivotal third-quarter stretch
Banchero expressed frustration with how quickly the fouls were called.
“I’ve never in my career, NBA or before, picked up three fouls that quickly,” he said. “So, I told the refs that, I told him how I felt. I told him that two of the three weren’t fouls, but they saw it a different way.”
The fifth foul, in particular, changed the course of the game. After Banchero exited, the Celtics went on a decisive run to close the third quarter, outscoring the Magic 36-13.
“They opened the game up,” Banchero said. “But I mean, that's what happens. If I'm able to be in the game, that doesn't happen. We was playing well, but it wasn't in the cards for us.”
Head coach Jamahl Mosley echoed Banchero’s sentiments and expressed concern over the lack of consistency in officiating during the game.
“What I saw was the fact that he was driving to the basket and not getting calls,” Mosley said. “In those moments, there’s a level of frustration that can kick in when they’re impeding your progress to the rim. And so, they give him one charge and then they give another one where it’s a touch foul. Then at the same time he’s going to the rim, they’re bodying him out of the way and there’s no call.”
Controversial fifth foul on Banchero swings momentum as Magic fall to Celtics in series-ending loss
Mosley was particularly critical of the call that resulted in Banchero’s fifth foul.
“It definitely swung the series, it definitely swung the game,” he said. “I have no idea what the explanation was. It was, ‘He came into his path.’ All I saw was Paolo getting an elbow to the face or backed into the face and he got the foul. That was a game changer right there. Your best player picks up his fifth foul in the third quarter. It becomes tough to come back from that moment.”
Despite the loss and controversial officiating, Mosley credited his team for continuing to compete, but acknowledged Boston’s execution down the stretch.
“We missed a ton of shots,” he said. “They did a helluva job getting down on the break and hitting some big shots in that situation.”
The Magic now head into the offseason following their second consecutive playoff appearance, having also reached the first round last year before falling to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Led by rising star Paolo Banchero and a young core, Orlando showed clear growth throughout the season despite the disappointing finish in Boston.
