Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) drives past Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown, left, during the second half in Game 4 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series, Sunday, April 27, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) drives around Boston Celtics guard Derrick White (9) during the second half in Game 4 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series, Sunday, April 27, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Boston Celtics guard Derrick White, left, falls in front of Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner (22) and center Al Horford (42) as he moves the ball downcourt during the second half in Game 4 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series, Sunday, April 27, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner, right, loses control of the ball as he goes up against Boston Celtics center Luke Kornet (40) during the second half in Game 4 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series, Sunday, April 27, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner (22) goes past Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown during the second half in Game 4 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series, Sunday, April 27, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Big scoring performances by Banchero and Wagner not big enough for Magic against Celtics
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) 鈥 Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner are expected to combine for at least 55 points in every game played by the Orlando Magic 鈥 and they have rarely disappointed.
Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) drives past Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown, left, during the second half in Game 4 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series, Sunday, April 27, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) 鈥 Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner are expected to combine for at least 55 points in every game played by the Orlando Magic 鈥 and they have rarely disappointed.
The problem in their first-round playoff series against Boston is that 55 or 60 points have not been enough.
The Celtics have shut down everyone else in winning three of the first four games and the Magic now face elimination in Game 5 on Tuesday night at Boston.
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Banchero and Wagner have scored 61% of Orlando’s 379 playoff points and have shot 58% of the team’s free throws. Entering Sunday’s games, Banchero ranked as the NBA’s No. 3 playoff scorer (32.3 average) and Wagner was eighth (26.7).
鈥淭hey’ve got two guys that can score at three levels,鈥 Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said.
The 22-year-old Banchero scored 31 points Sunday night in the . It was his sixth 30-point performance in 11 playoff games, but his 12-for-32 shooting was framed as something of a failure. Too many jump shots hit the front of the rim.
鈥淚 just tried to be aggressive,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 think there was one stretch in the third quarter I shot like three in a row. I was probably forcing right there, but I really just took the shots they were giving me. They were trying to keep me from getting to the paint. They weren鈥檛 falling at a high clip, but I just had to stay aggressive.鈥
Wagner shot 10 for 22 and had 24 points.
鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 all bad today. It was 91-91 with four minutes to go and it could have gone a lot of different ways,鈥 he said. 鈥淚n the half-court, I think you need space and you need to share the ball. When you do those things and you have a purpose, that鈥檚 what the good teams do.鈥
The good teams tend to have more scoring options.
鈥淭hey kind of baited us into what they wanted to do on offense, and then on defense they got what they wanted,鈥 Banchero said. 鈥淭heir experience showed.鈥
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