Boston Celtics shocked by the Magic on Championship Sunday

(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Boston Celtics played the Magic on a pretty uneventful Sunday. Unfortunately for the fans, the early game meant they had nothing to do for the rest of the day.

At 1:00 on a Sunday afternoon, the wait was over for Boston sports fans. After an entire day of waiting for the game to just start already, everybody in the New England area could finally settle in and watch the big game…the Orlando Magic facing off against the Boston Celtics.

It was time for the most important game played today between a team from Florida and a team from Massachusetts. The Magic, the league’s worst team, and the Celtics were set to face off.

Leading up to the matchup, many people expected the Celtics, a perennial contender, to defeat the Magic, a hopeful underdog. Backed by a very smart coach and a star who controls the offense, the Celtics were 7.5 point favorites.

Still, there was a fairly large camp who were pulling for the Magic. They wanted to see a huge upset and could not stand seeing the same team win over and over again.

Another storyline heading into the game was the injury of Boston Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving. An injury kept him out last game and it was unsure if he would play today. But everyone knows Kyrie’s a big boy and he is going to show up for any big game.

It was time to settle things on the court

In the first half, the game was a lot closer than expected. The Celtics looked very slow on defense and allowed tons of open shots and uncontested layups. Maybe the Celtics were distracted by Elfrid Payton’s hideous haircut, but you had to give the Magic some credit. They dropped 58 points on 56% shooting in the first half against the top defense in the league.

Evan Fournier and D.J. Augustin were the two keys for the Magic. Or you could say they won the raffle for the two players the Celtics would leave open the most. They combined for 20 points in the first half.

More from Boston Celtics

The Celtics had just a one point lead heading into halftime. Kyrie had 24 points and showed no signs of any lingering injury. Still, you can’t let the worst team in the league stick around. That’s something only a team like the Cavaliers would do.

Somehow, the Celtics came out even more sluggish and uninterested in the 3rd. The Magic were getting shots easier than when they were in the layup line or at shootaround. Going into the fourth, the Magic led 90-71. The Patriots in Celtics uniforms could have put up a better fight.

The Magic would end up taking the game 103-95. Not the way you want to end a homestand before a west coast road trip. Just a dumb loss and a lackluster effort from the top team in the  east.

Next: Boston Celtics rumors: Intriguing players to watch at NBA trade deadline

Kyrie was a silver lining for the Boston Celtics. He had 40 points and shot well from the field. Other than that, the defense was putrid and the energy was nonexistent. If you’re going against a team who is playing someone named Khem Birch down the stretch, there are no excuses to why you can’t win that game.