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 The Magic beat the Boston Celtics, 110-91, Sunday night, winning
their third consecutive game since Oladipo went from unproductive
starter to a stellar reserve, sparking a new aggressiveness in his
game.
Oladipo had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists Sunday, giving
the Magic (9-8) a holiday weekend sweep and a newfound confidence
after three awful seasons in a rebuilding mode.
Oladipo had 24 points in the win Wednesday over New York and 17
points and nine assists Friday in the win over Milwaukee. In his
three previous games as a starter, he scored 10, 11 and one point,
respectively.
"I didn't know what to expect (with the lineup change)," he said.
"But I knew I had to be more aggressive in this role. And that's
when I'm at my best. I'm just playing my game."
The Magic (9-8) are above the .500 mark going into December for the
first time since 2012.
Magic center Nikola Vucevic had 18 points and 10 rebounds before
fouling out with 2:07 remaining. Forward Tobias Harris had 15 points
and 11 rebounds. Reserve forward Andrew Nicholson had 14 points and
eight rebounds.
"Victor should get a standing ovation for how he has handled the
switch," said veteran Channing Frye, who replaced Oladipo in the
starting lineup. "I didn't know what to expect, but this says a lot
about him as a player and person. It's not easy sometimes for a
young player to do what he has done."
The Magic outrebounded the Celtics, 54-34. They also grabbed 17
offensive rebounds. They shot 48.4 percent (45 of 93), while the
Celtics hit only 36 of 88 shots (40.9 percent).
"Victor is playing very, very well right now, at a high level,"
Magic coach Scott Skiles said. "We're on a nice uptick now, and we
hope to keep it going. But we all know how quickly things can
change."
Isaiah Thomas led the Celtics (9-8) with 20 points and seven
assists. Avery Bradley had 17 points. Jae Crowder had 12 points.
David Lee had 11 points. They never seriously challenged once the
Magic took control in the second period.
"If you look at the two teams right now, we've got a ways to go to
catch them," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. "They are playing
better than we are. They were quicker to ball than us all night."
The Celtics, who came into the game leading the NBA in steals, had
five steals in the first period, but only two the rest of the game.
The Magic had eight turnovers in the first period, but only seven in
the next three periods combined.
"We played from behind the whole game," Crowder said. "They came
out, hit us in the mouth first, just played harder than us from the
start. We didn't respond the way we should have."
The Magic led by as many as 21 points early in the fourth, but their
shooting went cold, allowing the Celtics to cut the lead to 96-84
midway in the period when Thomas hit back-to-back baskets. The
Celtics never got closer than 12 points in the fourth quarter.
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"To be honest, aggressiveness is a mindset," Bradley said. "You
can't teach that. We just didn't come out with the sense of urgency
that you need to have. You're not always going to shoot well, but
you can always be aggressive, and we weren't tonight."
The Magic led 84-67 going into the fourth period. Frye, who didn't
take a shot in the first half, hit two of his four 3-point attempts
in the third period. Vucevic scored 10 points in the period.
The Magic scored 32 points in the second period for the 53-45
halftime lead. They struggled with eight turnovers in the first
quarter, but followed with a hot-shooting second when they hit 13 of
their next 17 shots.
Nicholson, who has worked his way into the regular rotation after
hardly playing in the first few games, had 10 points by halftime.
Oladipo had nine. Lee led the Celtics with 11 points in 10 minutes
before intermission. Bradley had 10.
The Magic led 51-42 when Aaron Gordon hit a 3-pointer. The Celtics
had tied the game at 35 on a 3-pointer by Lee, who scored nine
consecutive Boston points.
Oladipo broke the tie with a 3-pointer and started an 18-10 run
before halftime.
NOTES: The Celtics were without G Marcus Smart (lower leg injury),
who had started eight of his nine games this season. He is expected
to miss at least a week of action. ... Even before the game, the
Magic clinched their first winning-record month (8-6) since March of
2012. ... Celtics coach Brad Stevens before the game compared Magic
F Channing Frye and his 3-point shooting ability to Hawks
sharpshooter Kyle Korver. Frye is averaging just 6.5 ppg. "You fear
them like they are averaging 30," Stevens said. ... This was the
start of a five-game road trip for the Celtics that will include a
stop in Mexico City, where they will play Sacramento. "It will test
how together we are as a unit," said F Jae Crowder. "It will be good
for us." ... The Magic will leave Monday to start their own 10-day,
five-game Western swing. ... Magic and Celtics came into the contest
1-2 in the NBA in field-goal attempts per game, averaging 89.3 and
88.8, respectively.
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